My posting philosophy is to try to limit by posts to three paragraphs, any more and most people will not read them. Thus I'll simply bullet point some of your points:
1. In your paragraph #1 you state: "you have failed to explain what you believe "the left" wants for America"
The obvious answer is, I asked a question, why would I supply the answer? But, I will.
IMO, the far left has no single set of goals, it is manifest by a disaffected minority who want immediate change, thus they eschew democracy and adopt the an ends and means philosophy.
Let me help you out with some further clarity.
let me patronize you is what I read The Left is very ambiguous (
there is no "left", there are a few who advocate a "utopian philosophy, but a very few and they do not speak for everyone left of center) about what they want. This is by design.(
whose design?) They couch the debate in emotive platitudes and catch phrases that actually mean very little For example, social justice... what does that mean? How do we know when it is achieved? (I suppose when the work force and the jail/prison population mirror the national demographics) Same with equality... when do we know it has been achieved? The fact is we don't know because we're chasing a dream of idealism.
2. I suspect everyone wants a more perfect union, a nation where a hard working citizen won't be bankrupt by a serious illness or injury, where they or their children won't be denied opportunities based on their race, ethnicity, creed, economic status, sexual or political identification, where hard work is rewarded by a fair wage and employers are not exploiting their labor, and where they can retire before they are worn out and live out their final days with dignity.
Yes, everyone wants the world to be perfect and life to be fair. It's not. Get over it. (
Why?) As opposed to a nation where you'd basically DIE if you got sick, we are fortunate to live in a country with the best medical facilities and technologies known to man, thus your life is saved...(if and only if one can afford insurance and not be faced with an insurance imposed limit or exclusion because a life saving technique is not approved) being able to file bankruptcy in exchange for living a little while longer, seems a very tiny price to pay. (
Really, are you in touch with reality?) No one in this nation is legally being discriminated against because of race, sex, religion, creed or national origin. If it happens, it's illegal. The national minimum wage was adopted specifically to address sweat shop labor and exploitation, but as we see and just as is the case with ALL left-wing issues, it's never enough. You simply return to the same old mantra, the same talking points, pushing the same agenda. The goals are never defined because the objective is chasing an idealistic dream.
Wow, it's okay if the price of milk and bread and meat and eggs rises, but no one should recieve an increase in their income. Yep, you are a Republcian for the mantra of the new age Republican is this: "I got mine, **** the rest of you"
It was BOTH! Along with bankers and financiers, a strong and vibrant workforce willing to do the jobs needed, is the key to our tremendous growth and expansion as a nation. Programs that discourage work, reward people for work they haven't done, or punishing the bankers and financiers, is the way you DESTROY that system of capitalism. We're well on our way to that.
Yep, you never took either of the courses noted below, did you?
I have a BA from CAL with a double major, History and Poli Sci. Who I find naive are are those who believe the exploitation of labor, denial of the rights to organize and form unions, to collectively bargain wages, benefits and working conditions, can lead to anything good. History tells us it will not, maybe you missed courses in the Economic History of the US, and The History of the Labor movement. I did not.
You initially stated you wanted to remain above the fray and not deal with vitriolic put-downs and insults, but here you seem to have forgotten that. Don't insult my intelligence or education. I've not said one word against labor unions or collective bargaining. We have proven that can be part of a viable capitalist system, however, when the unions become too powerful and demanding, the consequences will effectively stifle capitalism. That has been proven with the auto industry as well as most of the manufacturing sector.
Let me humbly suggest a book I've recently finished: The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Read how TR and Taft handled some of the questions of today.
5. Finally, you try to define the left but do so, IMO, framed by biases and prejudices. Speaking for myself, a registered Democrat and someone who spent a career in Law Enforcement (mostly in management, spending an inordinate amount of time butting heads with the business agents on working condition issues), the left is not hateful or envious of the very wealthy as some contend, but most of us believe in fairness. Thus most Democrats support the civil rights act, the equal rights amendment and affirmative action. We support a womens' right to choose, the rights of gay and lesbian couples to marry and the rights of all workers to form unions and bargain collectively.
Again, "fairness" is a platitude, an undefined statement with no indication of how we know it has been obtained. What YOU think is fair, another person may find quite unfair. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, and it was DEMOCRATS who mainly opposed it. The ERA was attempted and failed to meet the criteria for passage. Affirmative Action, again... opposed by segregation-era Democrats. Abortion and Gay Rights are social issues that you don't get to unilaterally decide for all of society, sorry! No one I am aware of has proposed we outlaw unions.
In any event, half of the things you mentioned have already been addressed, we had the debates years ago, we passed legislation, we dealt with the problem... now here you are lamenting the same problems as if we've never done any of that. Again, this is not about the issues, it's about advancing a liberal Utopian ideology. Nothing is ever good enough, we've never done enough, the problems are never fixed. More money is always needed, more legislation is always required, more government is always the solution.