This covers a lot of area that I consider to be of particular moment. Just as ‘Republican’ is by no means synonymous with ‘conservative’ (my biggest problem with Republicans is that they so often are NOT conservative), so is ‘the left’ distinct from — if widely intersecting with — ‘Democrats’.
Modern liberalism — or progressivism, since the practitioners thereof not only used ‘liberal’ to describe decidely illiberal things, but eventually by their behavior turned the word into an insult — is simply a particular brand of elitism. The people who know better than us (and they’ll be the first to tell us that they know better) are determined to make all our decisions for us, of course for our own good. And any of us who disagree with them can only be doing so out of hate for all the designated victims they insist they’re trying to help.
Newsflash: maybe we’re not evil or ignorant, maybe we just honestly disagree. And, who knows, maybe we aren’t the ones who are wrong.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 12:21 am (UTC)Modern liberalism — or progressivism, since the practitioners thereof not only used ‘liberal’ to describe decidely illiberal things, but eventually by their behavior turned the word into an insult — is simply a particular brand of elitism. The people who know better than us (and they’ll be the first to tell us that they know better) are determined to make all our decisions for us, of course for our own good. And any of us who disagree with them can only be doing so out of hate for all the designated victims they insist they’re trying to help.
Newsflash: maybe we’re not evil or ignorant, maybe we just honestly disagree. And, who knows, maybe we aren’t the ones who are wrong.