One does not have to be a right-wing nutcase to apprehend the dangers of government, a position staked out by Republicans and pseudolibertarians (“pseudo” because almost invariably concerned with taxation, rampant individualism, and laissez-faire business aggrandizement, rather than its originative creed, the sacredness of the human person) to push for unrestrained capitalist development, while the Left in America still regards, uncritically, government per se as the friend of the common people. Both evade the necessary critical awareness of the conditions shaping what government represents and its potentialities for advancing societal well-being. Let’s forget here the Right; we know its nostrums ad nauseum: Get off my back; screw the next guy; wealth accumulation by fair means or foul, without government interference! It is the Left, or what passes for the Left, that concerns me here, Obama’s assorted groupies and hero-worshippers, “liberals” and “progressives” who are satisfied by apparent victory oncultural issues (who wouldn’t look good, in light of Republican/conservative positions on abortion, contraception, gay rights?) meanwhile overlooking war, assassination, widening differentials of class, income, and power, and the other fundamentals of a democratically-functioning society, from the state of the environment to the vigorous strengthening of civil rights and civil liberties, from the quality and character of education to the bedrock institutional contributions to human dignity, such as in the case at hand a deep and abiding respect for privacy of the person.Counterpunch
The New McCarthyism
Norman Pollack
(Kevin Fathi via email)
The president comes in for it from the Left.
1 comment:
Yes. I tried telling some "liberal" folks before the election (while trying to get them to vote for ANYBODY but Dems and Reps) that the Democratic party has moved far to the right, taken the Republicans' turf, and have pushed the Republicans even further to the right (towards loony-town). Most just thought I was full of it and said Obama was their man - all I could do was shake my head.
They were so afraid of Romney (FUD, FUD, FUD) that they couldn't conceive of voting for anyone but Obama because their one non-Obama might get Romney elected. Third parties got what, about 1% of the vote? That's some powerful FUD.
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