The progressive movement is all about freedom of speech – unless the speech is something progressivism disagrees with. Then the gloves come off from slander and vilification to ostracism, ridicule, shout down, sabotaging the ability to make a living, and sometimes even to vandalism, assault, and other crimes. It's the intolerance of ideologues who call for tolerance. Those progressives who are so involved might just as well cast off the pretension and wear pointy hats and sheets while burning upside down, broken beam crosses in offenders' front yards.
A major way the left shuts down discussion is by redirection to another subject which is then hammered on as some form of bigoted social injustice.
For example, if one believes that the nation is not sovereign without enforced borders, the issue is redirected to race with allegations of hate. If one objects to President Obama's domestic policies, it is spun that the objector is a race hater who can't stand that a black man resides in the White House.
Or if it is pointed out that nearly every progressive politician on Capitol Hill is a capitalist pig concerning his own interests, a poser in progressive clothing mouthing the right words to rouse the base while taking money from the very same rich people and corporations he trashes and/or is the very same abusive employer and exploitative businessman he denounces, the redirection is an allegation that a former Republican Speaker of the House is gay - a flaccid attempt to change the subject from greed driven, progressive base deceiving Democrat politicians to Republican homophobia. It's not good for the elite progressive agenda (which differs from faithful progressive follower expectation formed by orthodox progressive belief) to discuss the truth behind gaining the power of unchallenged progressive political supremacy, which smells like a formative oligarchy.
A progressive oligarchy differs from a robber baron capitalist oligarchy only by the manner in which it is established. There will be an impoverished, very large and dispirited slave class dominated by a small yet obscenely wealthy privileged class. There will be no middle class, and true believer, progressive foot soldiers will have been duped into facilitating despotism.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Hey Doug. Two days in a row I've posted a comment on your blog. I really am feeling better, after 3 years of excruciating ringing in my ears and the loss of my partner. It's incredibly exciting to feel like I'm getting my life back. I still have a ways to go, but the pin of light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't looked at your blog in ages, since I essentially gave up on political debate, but I have to say it's looking really good. The layout and colors are terrific and it's great that you have other contributors. The quality of the writing has stepped up, even if I disagree with it.
That doesn't mean that I don't think you're still completely insane, it just means that you've got a certain flair now. Well done.
I don't think I'm going to go back to politics regardless how well I'm feeling. I've figured out a while back that left/right, blue/red, it's all the same thing. The only thing that changes is the culture of the young generation. That's where societal change comes from, not political parties, and I don't think that the standard institutions (schools, religion, etc.) have much of an effect in a post-internet world.
I'm content being an observer, and I haven't had much to complain about since I stopped blogging.