One Year Later: Why I Left…the Left

It was exactly one year ago since my piece, "Why I Left...the Left" was published here in CityWatch. (FYI, Aug 28 is also the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech.) 

So, as a timely exercise, I'd like to offer a new piece of writing, "Why I Left...the Left, Part 2." Allow me to reiterate something: I used to be quite Left, as in the protesting, social justice type, years back, especially speaking against those terrible "Too Big to Fail" banks in 08. Wow, what a zinger the banks did! 

Fast forward, post-Election 2016, and it's my opinion that much of Left has become "too Left" for my liking, as I argued in my first article, and again, in Part 2, argue that same premise. Mind you, I'm not "all the way Right" either, as I continue to care about environmental issues, for example. I'd say I moved to Center/Right of Center due to issues of monetary policy, foreign policy, the "flag issue," where I see America's place in the world, and so on. Now, I present "Part 2" of the reasons why I'm no longer at the table of all things Left. 

What's in a Word? 

Words matter. Word meanings matter. Some words have an implicit enormity tethered to them. When words like Nazi, Holocaust, dictator, and the like are thrown around so easily as they have been recently, they may lose their original meaning. Consider this: Anywhere, USA. A 2nd grader overhears others (teachers, parents, other kids) say, "Yep, that Trump sure is a Nazi." Even worse, the youngster sees a protest sign on TV, equating Mr. Trump to the German Nazi leader who lost WW2, whose name I won't mention. So, what might this child's thought process look like? Enter the probable mind speak of the youngster, innocently and logically making sense of it as best he can. 

"Wow, I'm hearing our President is the same as a Nazi. 

And I know the Nazis were really bad.  

And Mr. Trump does bad things like, um...calling people dumb and starting fights...and

doesn't want immigrants coming here and says bad things about women sometimes. 

So, I guess the Nazis did very bad stuff too, like calling people dumb, starting fights, wanting immigrants to go back to Mexico and other places, and calling ladies names." 

And so, this kid may very well go on thinking that that was what the Holocaust was like, until he's corrected. In a way, it's denying the reality of what happened; one could argue it's almost like misinformed, unintentional "Holocaust denial." When words are virtually stripped of their meanings through collective reckless and selfish overuse, they are simply no longer effective. Another common utterance is, "Trump, the Dictator." Let's peruse our knowledge of history's actual dictators like Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Stalin, and so forth. I'm fairly certain that if "social justice warriors" called Stalin out publicly, they would not be around too long to say anything again. It seems many Americans don't seem to see that. 

The Ego and the 'ID' 

When boarding a plane, serving on a jury, buying liquor, or going to a nightclub, we often need to produce an ID, a practice woven into the fabric of daily American life. As we know, there's a strong push from many to make sure nobody shows an ID when voting. Since the unexamined life is not worth living, I did a little experiment the last time I voted. I took my ID out and attempted to show the polling attendant, to see what would happen. The unforgettable look I received was slight shock, as if I was caught stealing bread or something. No joke. I asked why it was such a "crime" to show an ID. She replied, "It's the law. Since not everybody has one to show, they just make it equal for everybody, so nobody shows it. In that way, everyone's treated the same." 

I asked about voter fraud, for which I received some reassurance that at least they can compare a voter's written signature done at the polls with the one on file. With seven people behind me waiting, I got more question in, "Who exactly can't get an ID in this day and age?" She replied that sometimes folks in "less advantaged" areas have trouble accessing the DMV and other services. However, let me say there's a YouTube video in which 15 people from a "disadvantaged area" were asked if they could get to the DMV if needed. Outcome? All 15 said yes, and were surprised, perhaps a bit offended, the question was asked of them. 

How Far Down the Rabbit Hole? 

The contemporary ideas of sex, gender, and sexuality can be confusing. Here's a really quick breakdown. Your sex refers to the physical anatomy you're born with. Gender, in simplest terms, is what the person feels they are. In other words, someone born as a boy, can "feel" like a boy, or a girl, or neither, or both, etc. Lastly, sexuality is who/what the person feels attracted to. I generally accept these standards BUT here's where I think the Left goes a bit "too far Left." You see, there used to be a few genders (as stated above), but now, last time I checked, there were 63. Now, that number may be higher, and may even change every day. By the way, who exactly decides this? For one thing, it's not doctors. In fact, I've even heard an argument for infinite genders. My, oh my, just imagine trying to find the right bathroom if that was the case! Try to imagine "really having to go" but before you you find a never-ending row of different bathroom assignments. Oh my, is right. A visual that comes to mind is the "mirror trail" when one looks at a mirror in a mirror. 

Ok, back to reality. All this can be tremendously confusing for children. So much “liberation” of thought is really liberation from thought. It is a BAD thing. When there is no baseline, it's a BAD thing. Example? If we are free to identify as, well, anything, then what if folks identify as another race? (Some already do, really.) And what about identifying as another age? And, what about ... (hope you're sitting down) a cat? An oak tree? A sprite can? Ok, now we've crossed the line!  But where is the line? Yes, where is the line? It seems every year, the line of normalization moves further out of reach, almost as if on purpose. If we are kept guessing what the postulates are, it's hard to even have a debate. 

People of Color Can't Be Racist 

This one bothers me a bit, maybe a bit more than a bit. First off, I had a Eureka! moment last month when I noticed a box of crayons, eight crayons to be exact. I thought to myself, "Wait a minute. White is also a color. Hmmm. So, then I could be a person of color too, right?" To my main point though, there is a popular idea that since the country was "founded" by white-skinned people, and since the "system" was created by white people, then any systematic racism in that system is a product of the creator of the system. (Feel free to read that sentence again.) So, people of color can NOT be racist. However, think about this. Relative to a system, there may be a point there. That said, if we view this relative to the individual, then anyone of any race can judge someone solely on their skin color. Hence, on an individual basis, this narrative withers.  

To Be, or Not to Be....Fake? 

#FakeNews. If you have not seen this hashtag, then surely, you've been living under a rock. (And no, I did not mean to offend any rocks.) So, is the mainly Left-leaning media really all fake? No, it's not all fake. There. However, I think there's enough of a media problem that it's worth discussing. First, about 90% of mainstream media is considered "anti-Trump." (Of course, FOX, admittedly is quite right-leaning and very pro-Trump.) Although the Donald definitely deserves criticism, it seems all too often the positive things (economy, ending the TPP, the return of our Korean War soldiers' remains, etc.) are minimized or even omitted. Secondly, the spin is absolutely amazing. Please hear me out. Ponder this funny exaggeration, of which the subtext of the statement is valid, rather than the literal exaggeration. 

Here it is: It was a foggy day as folks looked out at the lake. Just then, a figure appeared on the water. It was walking on the water! Who was this? As the figure came to shore, everyone gasped, for it was Donald Trump. A case of calm confusion combined with cautious curiosity consumed the crowd. This was almost the biggest news story, ever. CNN got busy right away and within two hours, it was out. Headline: “Amazing Aquatic Occurrence where Donald Trump Proves...He Can't Even Swim.”  

(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.