CommentsVOICE FROM THE CENTER--This is a somewhat extreme title. This is also an extreme situation. I've always been an advocate for liberal causes, but have pivoted as of last year.
I'm now in the Center. I still have left-leaning positions on matters such as the fight against “Too Big to Fail” banks, ending dependence on fossils fuels (they belong in the ground with the fossils) and maintaining our current air, water, and land pollution restrictions.
Fast forward to now. For lack of a better word, have the “Leftists” (between the moderates and including the extremes) basically hijacked all reason and common sense? Is common sense not as common these days? Why this indictment? Consider these five issues that need -- no, beg -- balanced discussion. It's time.
- If you protest everything, you protest nothing.
There are very important issues that need to be properly addressed. (Conversely, there are issues that are not worth mentioning...many.) Successful protest must have a specific goal. The marches led by the wonderful Martin Luther King Jr. had an acute specific, and organized purpose: The basic civil rights of blacks mattered. This included fair housing, the right to drink from the same water fountain as whites, the right to be served in so-called “white restaurants”, etc.
The great Women Suffrage March had a direct goal: woman should have the right to vote. Gandhi's protest? The main goal: independence from England.
Fast forward to NOW (no pun intended). Concerning the 100th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage, the “Indivisible March on LA” was held on Saturday, August 26. I do not understand their exact goal, or what they aimed to gain. From where do I make this claim? Answer: right from their own mission statement. In it, we read:
"Ninety-seven years after gaining the right to vote, women are faced with the most openly misogynist, regressive, bigoted, corrupt and dangerous administration in United States history. We need to show Congress that there is broad resistance to Trump’s agenda. Join us."
Then we read:
"Please focus on solidarity and what you are for more than what you are against such as signs that promote, love, peace, Indivisible, voting and equality."
And, ready for this one? Let's talk about creating true division. Perhaps, didn’t the inDIVISIble March for Woman on Saturday sow, in some respects, nothing but division? We read this in the event's statement:
"If applicable, we ask that all marchers avoid conversation with any Trump Supporters to prevent conflict. LAPD may assist...." Allow me to repeat. "We ask that all marchers avoid conversation with any Trump Supporters."
They are basically saying, "If you support anything “Trump” and if you are a woman, you have NO PLACE in a march to honor the INDIVISIBILITY of woman." God, I hope logic will “trump” emotion, and soon.
Let's talk race for a moment. I hear how racist America is, and how it's getting worse. Oh my. A simple counter is this: if America is so racist these days, how is it that a black president was elected twice? In fact, if “whites” did not vote for Obama, he would never have been elected. By the way, I voted for Obama twice. I think it's terribly clear that, although there still exists racism in this country, the idea that it is literally everywhere just creates new racism. And so, we continue to fulfill the prophesy because the machine is fed every day.
- If everything is a crisis, then nothing is.
Phobias, phobias, phobias, oh my! We now have these ubiquitous words floating around the ethos everyday: xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia, etc. I honestly have never heard those words used much prior to 2015. They're used so much now that when I hear the term "----phobia", my knee-jerk reaction is to ignore it. I'm sure many share this view. Lesson: crying wolf too often never advances a cause, it weakens it.
- “Love Trumps Hate” should be replaced with “Our Hate Trumps Your Hate.”
Hate is hate is hate. Simply giving yourself a blank check to protest, riot, loot, burn cars and buildings, fight, throw feces (yes) at police, in the name of “fighting hate” is wrong. As an analogy, if there is a raging fire that needs to be quelled, does adding more gas to it help? Or, does adding water (the opposite) help more?
- Resist, Resist...What?
I've seen the “Resist” meme almost every day for the past 6 months. It reminds me of the French Revolution, in which excesses abounded. I've asked quite a few in the “Resistance” what exactly they are resisting. I’ve heard, "Trump", "the Republicans", "racism", "people like you (me)", and "the Nazi types", etc. All these answers are ineffective in promoting the cause. In fact, it's evident that many “resisters” are not even sure what the cause is that has merited such resistance.
- Everything Trump does is wrong...even the right things.
Citizens and media alike complain about the President. A LOT. Indeed, with some validity. His insensitive tweets, environmental deregulation, and other shortcomings deserve to be called out. However, nonsensical minutia like the length of his tie or an inaccurate handshake deserve no media attention. None. What's worse, good actions (like dissolving the TTP) get little to no recognition. In fact, I half-joked in my blog that even if President Trump found a cure for cancer, the CNN headline would read, "Trump Cures Cancer...It Took Long Enough...and He's Still a Racist."
So, I hope this country can sustain itself internally. I have never remotely entertained the idea we could have any sort of second Civil War. Now, about 150 years on, there is, unfortunately, a case for it.
(Kevin J. Suscavage has written about politics on both sides of the aisle. He was involved with Patty Lopez’ successful CA Assembly campaign in 2014.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
-cw
