Liberalism’s bad manners in pursuit of power

American Thinker ^ | 28 Oct, 2025 | Alan Loncar

[MtnClimber]

The English pioneer and Quaker William Penn is attributed to having said “I know no religion that destroys courtesy, civility and kindness.” Penn is not alive to see modern American liberalism, which is a radical philosophy bordering on religious fanaticism that guts those three virtues to gain political power.

Just begin with Democrats’ lack of courtesy toward those with different opinions. On a podcast on Oct. 25th, California governor Gavin Newsom said of Republicans that “All this anti-woke stuff is just anti-Black, period, full stop… It’s this great purge.” It is not just a disagreement Newsom submits, but a discourtesy to the sizeable population which object to woke ideology’s broad brush painting over careers and substantive thought. Little to no courtesy was shown to those who were purged and lost positions due to artificial diversity goals. Newsom is also discourteous to those very wise voices, who just so happen to also be black, that obviously do not accept the Left’s claim that those against DEI and affirmative action are implicitly racist.

Civility also retreats when it meets Democrats’ ambitions. Take Democrat National Committee Chairman Ken Martin, who in an Oct. 23rd interview on MSNBC said that the nation “may be nearing” a moment where “the resistance looks completely different.” What Martin likely means is if Democrats keep losing elections, they will get far nastier politically. The retaliatory undertones in his statement reveal a political party not ready with robust ideas to debate but a compliance to enforce. The Left’s bitterness does not lead to sound reflection but rather a shrill call for uncivil war, posing not with open arms but holding the nation in a hostage-like standoff with inflammatory rhetoric.

And there is the Left’s dearth of kindness, an example of which is Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell.

[MtnClimber]

The Compassion of the Left

[SharpenedEdge]

Exactly. There’s not a nickel’s worth of difference between today’s Democrats and the Khmer Rouge. Only the Second Amendment stands between us and them.