Posted on 11/08/2014 8:17:44 AM PST by Yashcheritsiy
How far left was I? So far left my beloved uncle was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party in a Communist country. When I returned to his Slovak village to buy him a mass card, the priest refused to sell me one. So far left that a self-identified terrorist proposed marriage to me. So far left I was a two-time Peace Corps volunteer and I have a degree from UC Berkeley. So far left that my Teamster mother used to tell anyone who would listen that she voted for Gus Hall, Communist Party chairman, for president. I wore a button saying “Eat the Rich.” To me it wasn’t a metaphor.
I voted Republican in the last presidential election.
Below are the top ten reasons I am no longer a leftist. This is not a rigorous comparison of theories. This list is idiosyncratic, impressionistic, and intuitive. It’s an accounting of the milestones on my herky-jerky journey...
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
You got better ;)
There is something about leftist/communist philosophies that corrupts people and turns them into people who believe the means justify the end.
In my personal experience the road to ruin always starts with these words. “If only they would just DO what I told them to do. Then everything would be just fine.”
The liberalism of my time was all about feelings and guilt. One quick example. I was once aboard a gorgeous yacht, in a fairly rarified MA harbor, getting ready to watch a private fireworks display. The hostess said she was going to “pour” (the champagne). I mistook her comment for a reference to the “poor” - and felt such relief. It was good to know that even in the midst of such opulence we, good liberals that we all were, had not forgotten the poor.
When I realized she meant ‘pour’, I didn’t think, ‘X, you miserable liberal. Can’t you get past your guilt long enough to enjoy one night of fireworks?’ Rather, I thought, ‘What a shame, that we aren’t thinking of the poor after all’.
It’s a mindset where your feelings of guilt comingle with feelings of moral superiority—WE are the ones who think about the poor—to produce a non-functioning brain. Sad but true.
As for a cult, the liberalism that superseded that of my day is much more cultish. It is far stricter, in terms of what kind of thinking is ‘allowed’, and it relies far more heavily on hatred of ‘them’ (vs us). So to me it is the more cultish version of the ideology. Ymmv.
You've got their number Fantasywriter...
Thanks.
Btw, GOPJ, I’ve noticed that I keep an eye out for your comments. I really enjoy your input.
Just letting you know.
Still the same for the most part. Just smarter.
This was a great opinion piece. We MUST change hearts and minds by staying true to principles. The way to do that is to exhibit a caring manner, but never compromise on principles.....NEVER. Their are people you can never reach, but decent people may hate you, but they end up respecting you.
“Liberal policies sabotage us.”
That must have been quite a revelation for her. And I just don’t understand why Lefties can’t see it.
Excellent article! A must read.
We should NEVER forget the poor. That is, the legitimately poor and less fortunate.
I my experience:
A conservative is a person who actively helps the poor. On the other hand, a Liberal expects someone else, for example the government, to do it. Actually that is exactly the definition of conservatism and liberalism — the individual helping the individual versus the collective helping the individual and it is pretty obvious which is better.
It is unfortunate that the Democrat party and Liberalism don’t allow true free thinkers. Because that would help to set the party on the right track.
+1
+1.
Now there's an interesting thought. I'm not sure how that would work in practice.
The reason I am so hard on Leftists is partially because Republicans, when in power, generally refuse to investigate, prosecute and punish Leftist criminal activity, even when evidence is available and offered. Republicans even fail to fire and replace corrupt and partisan DemoRat prosecutors and political operatives in the "Justice" system, often cooperating with the same Rats to appoint "special" (corrupt partisan) prosecutors demanded by Rats making False Witness bogus charges, and refusing to provide innocent Republican supporters legal assistance (example: scooter Libby).
On the other hand, Rats are allowed to use the Beria method: Show the Rat the man and the Rat will show you the crime.
So anyone who does not actively put Leftists in prison is useless to a free society.
It’s pretty easy to tell you why they believe the means justifies the ends.
There’s a ratio of “costs/goal” that people automatically measure in their minds when they make decisions. If this ratio gets above a certain threshold, then the goal is not worth the costs.
The left defines their goal as perfection, ie, infinity,
so ANY means/costs are justified in order to reach it.
I think it would be great to ask Boehner and McConnell why there are two sets of rules.
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