Posted on 01/13/2018 7:33:40 AM PST by RoosterRedux
It is true that Trump did not win the popular vote. Nevertheless, his victory depended on, and demonstrated, a significant shift in public opinion in a set of electorally decisive states—big states, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan—that had been reliably Democratic for decades. Besides, Trump got kneecapped, too—not on a single day by the FBI director, but every day for fifteen months by the entire national media establishment. It is very possible that Trump’s positions—on trade, immigration, and foreign policy—are far more popular than he is personally.
The Toxin of Identity Politics
Enter Mark Lilla, Professor of Humanities at Columbia University and well-known public essayist. Lilla is as astute, erudite, and reflective a liberal as America today can boast. In his new book, The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics, he offers a sympathetic critique of what American liberalism has become in recent decades. According to Lilla, the disastrous (for liberals) 2016 election was not simply a fluke but instead at least partly the result of certain defects in contemporary liberalism that must be corrected if it is to hope to govern the country again.
The key problem, according to Lilla, is modern liberalism’s embrace of identity politics, which involves serious political disadvantages both tactical and strategic, or of both style and substance. At the level of tactics or style, identity politics fosters a spirit that is insular and irritable, preachy and off-putting. Its character is exemplified in the “social justice warrior” who loves moral purity and disdains compromise. This approach either ignores (at best) or insults (at worst) those who do not hold one of the preferred identities that contemporary liberalism thinks are its job to protect and exalt, with the result that many voters are driven away who would be necessary to any workable liberal governing coalition.
(Excerpt) Read more at thepublicdiscourse.com ...
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The key problem, according to Lilla, is modern liberalism’s embrace of identity politics, which involves serious political disadvantages both tactical and strategic, or of both style and substance. At the level of tactics or style, identity politics fosters a spirit that is insular and irritable, preachy and off-putting. Its character is exemplified in the “social justice warrior” who loves moral purity and disdains compromise. This approach either ignores (at best) or insults (at worst) those who do not hold one of the preferred identities that contemporary liberalism thinks are its job to protect and exalt, with the result that many voters are driven away who would be necessary to any workable liberal governing coalition.
Exactly. Like the parable of the turtle and the scorpion. The scorpion stings the turtle because that’s the nature of scorpions. Destroying good is the nature of liberals.
The liberals do not believe in discussion or compromise. Nor can they believe that any reasonable person can disagree with liberal positions.
Hillary’s screed, about how Trump supporters are racist, sexist, xenophobic, Islamphobic, etc. perfectly sums up the liberal attitude.
The liberal attitude is that those with differing views are bigoted, hateful, intolerant in some way, and thus, not worthy of discussing issues with.
I can think of some examples.
If you opposed homosexual marriage, you are homophobic. End of discussion.
If you oppose abortion on demand, you hate women. End of discussion.
If you oppose the whole global warming thing, you hate science, you are flat earther, you don’t care that mankind is imperiled. End of discussion.
If you oppose illegal immigration, you are xenophobic. End of discussion.
If you oppose Muslim immigration, or oppose Muslim terror, you are Islamophobic, because you will get lectured that not all Muslims are terrorists, and that the terrorists are not representing true Islam. Again, end of discussion, because you are some kind of bigot.
In all these sorts of discussions, the discussion ends because the liberal, from his perch of perceived superiority, decides you are not worthy of even discussing any of these issues, BECAUSE YOU ARE WRONG. YOU ARE HATEFUL. YOU ARE BIGOTED.
That horses*** attitude is what we are up against with liberalism.
Which ultimately results in the decision to alter opinions by force. They nevet start out shooting and hanging dissidents but it’s always where they end up.
...Can Liberalism Change?...
They have no desire to stop lying, being deceitful and misleading, corrupt, and end their quest to run other people’s lives better than they themselves can.
Only after they finally realize they gave away the farm, and that some animals are more equal than others with them awakening to the fact that they are not one of those animals. Until then most likely not.
Ultimately, while Lilla currently might be right, the demographic trends are on the SJW’s side. There will be too many non-whites who buy into the arguments of identity politics and those who are alienated by these tactics will be far outnumbered by its adherents.
I think that is because Liberalism is based on emotion, not on logic or rational thinking.
It is indefensible by calm debate...hence the shouting, cursing, demonizing of--and even violence against--its opponents.
Long answer, sort of. Very few, perhaps only a percent or two of the liberals will change. All of them will die, eventually of something.
Change the few we can, outlive the ones we can't.
...and most importantly replace them with children who understand the principles and benefits of a free, competitive, individually responsible and individually compassionate system!
If it changed it would no longer be liberalism.
Liberalism can change but only after everyone ELSE reaches rock bottom.
Once there is nothing left to steal and no reason to lie or cheat.
Liberalism as it is defined today are people who are basically bullies.
They want you to hop every time they say "frog".
There is no cure for that other then the repeated application of the wood shampoo.
You have to keep them far away from any position of power.
Liberalism (Progressives, aka DemonRAT party of 2018) is pure evil.
Can farts stop stinking?
Good points.
It does seem that the liberals don’t believe in logic or rational thinking.
I’ve thought, that if the liberal positions are so “correct” or “self evident”, that the liberals would be able to present their arguments in a clear concise manner. But they don’t seem to be able to do so.
It seems so much easier for them, to bellow about how Trump is an idiot, Trump is Hitler, the planet is in danger, and other one liners, than actually discuss the issues at hand.
Modern liberalism is not a political ideology. It’s a religion and a cult.
Exactly right and well said.
Thank you. It does seem that we don’t have actual debate, back and forth, with liberals. Instead we get name calling and charges that someone is a bigot.
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