Interesting Article

[Heather]

So, I read this a few years ago, right after I graduated from college. It was actually written by a friend of mine. I showed it to Ashlee last night, and she encouraged me to post it in here. So here goes. Its a good read. :)

The Politics of the Left
by Jerome D'Angelo

When I was the editor of The Montclarion op-ed section, in a time long past, I had staff comprised of writers who were mostly liberal. Some were leftist for political reasons, while others just wanted marijuana legalized. There was only one conservative writer to go with this group of five or six liberals. She was, as a result not always shown the respect she deserved. I basically had roped her into writing for The Montclarion because I thought the staff was not balanced enough in its overall makeup. Even though I disagreed with just about every one of her columns, or as I liked to refer to them, "NRA, Jefferson-loving diatribes," I made every effort to accommodate her as I did the rest of the writers, as my job was not to agree or disagree, but to aide them in their right to free expression.

Truth be told, she was one of the most gifted writers on staff. Well anyway, I got e-mail from her a week or so ago telling me that she had taken a gander at The Montclarion website. And suffice it to say she wasn't happy with what she saw. The publication, in her assertion, was dominated by leftist "propaganda."

More importantly though, she saw a disturbing theme developing, one that I actually have been sadly observing over the past few years myself. "Can I ask you a question, as a liberal?" she inquired of me. "Why is it that the majority of liberals see it as their mission in life to convert those people with differing opinions?"

With all due respect to my fellow so-called liberals, she's absolutely right. The sheer fact of the matter is that the word "liberal" has come to mean something much different than what it is supposed to mean. In my view, being a liberal is about accepting people for who they are, not simply regarding all conservatives as backward Neanderthals. It seems that toleration gives way to partisanship.

Basically, there is no "us," it is simply "us or them." There is no mind paid to the collective good, but rather just to the good of the political right or left. In that way, many liberals I've met are themselves no better than conservatives are who do the same thing.

Even though I am a registered Democrat, and in reality probably closer to a socialist, I accept the fact that not everyone believes as I do. Does this mean they are less entitled to their opinion? Of course not, they are equally entitled.

I find it frustrating to listen to anyone who seems so intolerant of others, regardless of who he/she is, that he/she ends up contradicting the very cause of freedom and equality he/she claims to support. I've listened to so-called feminists ramble on about how the ails of the world are caused by solely men, and that women are oppressed by them. They seem though, to want nothing more than to oppress men in return. This hardly seems democratic. The same goes for animal rights activists who are so vehement in their beliefs that they will insult or even assault people who eat meat or who are wearing animal skins. Let's face it; someone who would throw red paint on me just because I wear a leather jacket is considerably over-zealous, not to mention misguided.

As for my former staff writer, I felt horrible for her at times while she was working at the paper because she was not given a fair shake by the rest of the staff, or even by other students. One of them even once asked me how the "fascist" was doing. Conservative, yes. But fascist? How does being a Republican make you a fascist? It would if you were so set in your method of thinking you would not accept another viewpoint.

What this is really indicative of is how most ideological people generally think. The natural inclination of any such person is to want to have everyone else see things their way. The world is wrong, you see, and everyone believes they know the best way to right the ship, as it were. Conservatives think the world is too liberal, liberals think the world is too conservative. The NRA thinks gun laws are too steep, and the NOW thinks they are too limited.

In my view, being a liberal means that you allow for others to voice their opinion in addition to your own, and that equal respect is given for each. I'm not crazy about conservative thought or conservative politics, but then again, I represent only myself. I must realize that, especially for a borderline nihilist like me, I can seem very harsh to someone not accustomed to hearing certain viewpoints. Sometimes people get too carried away in emotion and loose sight of the proper means of going about moderate and intellectual ways of expressing themselves.

As John Locke once observed, those who do not tolerate should not be tolerated. The constant push and pull is what keeps democracy going. However, some of the firmest believers in democracy still fail to recognize this simple concept.The principles of freedom should apply to all people who support them.

As the conservative former staff writer herself once put it, "Isn't the fact that we can disagree what makes this country so amazing?"

This column is dedicated to her. Thank you for showing me what it really means to be liberal.

[zealousheart]

I like that article a lot but I don't think it should have focused SO much on liberals. There are papers that are exactly the same in the conservative direction. There is a disturbing trend in this country to try and make others believe what you believe. No one should do that- light or right. It is acceptable to state your opinion and back it up, just to a certain point. What makes America America is that everyone has the right to their own beliefs.

[Heather]

This was written at a college paper, which was biased in favor of those who are liberal minded.

He was simply making a point, that even though we dont need to agree, we need to be tolerant, and level headed. And I think he proved his point nicely. Agree or not, people are entitled to their opinions, without attacking those with different point of views.

At least thats how I took it. But I know him personally, so I know where he was coming from, which makes me more biased than the average reader. :lol:

[zealousheart]

You do? How do you know him?

Well as I said I think it was extremely well written. Additionally I believe in his point wholeheartedly, but he could have been a bit less biased, all in all, great article.

[Heather]

Since I do know him, you calling him biased is pretty hysterical to me. He is the most liberal person I have ever met. We used to get into the most heated debates.

How do I know him? We had several polisci classes together. I'll PM you as to how our friendship evolved from there.

[Jon]

Seeing as how I've read this already, I don't have much more to comment, but I will say many schools especially Universities are filled with "leftist propaganda." The majority of universities are like that.

[Ashlyn]

I always dislike it when people make generalizations about "liberals" or "conservatives" when they can hardly say they've met a large enough sample of the population to make that judgment call.

That being said, I think there is a sense of urgency to liberal politics that goes along with a desire to talk people to their side. Because liberal politics are often about things like defeating poverty, ending war, providing safe health care, there can be a "saving the world" sort of complex that might inspire people to want to convince people to go on their side, but I thing it's a bit ridiculous to suggest that liberals are intolerant of other views while conservatives are relaxed open-minded people, tolerating every belief and enjoying relaxed open-minded discussion of all ideas.

In the end, I think it's more about the type of person you are, not the type of idealogy you subscribe to.

[Heather]

Not to make an overall generalization here (which I am aware I am doing) but when was the last time you saw a Conservative accost someone on the street, or threw paint on someone wearing a leather jacket?

Yes, I know they are generalizations, and do not represent the norm. But they do happen.

[Ashlyn]

If you count the religious right, I was stopped on the street yesterday.

What about protesters outside of abortion clinics?

That happens much more than the red paint thing, these days anyways. Even PETA no longer condones THAT hateful practice.

Perhaps it's because of where I come from, but I've much more often come back to my car to find a "Don't Kill Your Baby" tract attatched to my windshield than any sort of liberal propaganda.

In fact, I've NEVER been randomly approached by anybody with a liberal agenda, and I've never heard a first-hand account of this happening.

Again, this could be because of my geographical location, but all I'm saying is that there are two even sides to this fence.

[Jon]

If you count the religious right, I was stopped on the street yesterday.

What about protesters outside of abortion clinics?

That happens much more than the red paint thing, these days anyways. Even PETA no longer condones THAT hateful practice.

Perhaps it's because of where I come from, but I've much more often come back to my car to find a "Don't Kill Your Baby" tract attatched to my windshield than any sort of liberal propaganda.

In fact, I've NEVER been randomly approached by anybody with a liberal agenda, and I've never heard a first-hand account of this happening.

Again, this could be because of my geographical location, but all I'm saying is that there are two even sides to this fence.


I don't have time right now Ashlyn, but if you want a first-hand account, I can name you more than 5 instances within the last half a year of being approached by a liberal/group. And I can also tell you about an instance at Neiman-Marcus.

I wasn't there long enough to see any "red paint," but I have seen that in the past. This time around they were calling Neiman-Marcus, "Neiman-Carcus." And were especially mean to those who were wearing clothing made of some kind of animal.

[Webeh]

In fact, I've NEVER been randomly approached by anybody with a liberal agenda, and I've never heard a first-hand account of this happening.

To be perfectly honest, I don't think I'd notice if I was approached by someone with a liberal agenda. I'm a fairly liberal person. If someone did come up to me, we'd find nothing to argue over and we'd both go our separate ways. I'd probably forget about the person later.

However, I do remember instances of being annoyed/harrassed by people with conservative views. Why? My views were different, I made that known (that's usually clear just from my lack of interest in listening), and we didn't get along. (This only happens when the other party doesn't immediately backdown.) When we separate, it's not on good terms. So yes, I notice when I'm approached by those preaching/pushing a conservative viewpoint. (I can get hostile sometimes because I've had bad experiences in elementary school and high school. I've been singled out a couple times by other students and teachers.)

Although, to be fair to both sides. It's usually only the really irritatingly noisy and loud one's that give each side a bad rep. I'm liberal and I will admit that I don't like Michael Moore. The way he goes about pushing his viewpoint is confrontational and cruel. He makes liberals look bad. I'm sure there's some conservatives that make the rest of them look bad too.

[Heather]

Im not saying that either side is perfect, Webeh. They arent.

Jerome was talking about the situation in the college we went to. Where I had Professors write me calling me "ignorant and unenlightened" because my POV differed. Where writers, rather than get to know me, maligned me and referred to me as a fascist, or Eva Braun. He wasnt saying all Conservatives are perfect, or that all liberals are evil. Compromise gives way to partisianship. THose who do not tolerate others should not themselves be tolerated. He was talking about how he could understand someone who was his polar opposite politically, yet we could still come to an understanding, and mutal respect, without it turning personal.

Did that make sense?

[Webeh]

Im not saying that either side is perfect, Webeh. They arent.

Yeah. I know. I ramble and go off on tangents. :)

Did that make sense?

Yup. I did get the gist of the article.

BTW, I'm not sure if anyone ever mentioned this before, but I do appreciate that the admin at this board do not allow their political views to affect their moderating. This forum is great when it comes to discussion because no one is punished (account-wise) for having opposing views. In the past, I've seen boards with conservative/liberal admin abuse their admin powers by picking on liberal/conservative members. I feel that Fanbolt isn't like that. So... Just thought that I should mention that. :)

*hides after sucking up shamelessly. ;)

I wasn't there long enough to see any "red paint," but I have seen that in the past.

The use of paint has always freaked me out. I've never personally seen that myself, but I've heard that it happens. So aggressive and not cool. (I feel the same way with the aggressive picketing outside abortion clinics, churches, whatever. If you want picket, do it at city hall and not at random pedestrians.)

[*Ashlee*]

aww Heather is a facist I KNEW IT :) jk

I just think liberals suck sometimes, conservatives suck sometimes and everything inbetween sucks(because quite frankly half of what they fight for really doesnt have much to do with politics..but go team go? lol). The moral of story is lets all peacefully get along.

It is sad how some people push their beliefs on to people or punish them for having differing believes. I honestly dont stand for that very well.

For example: I do not like Steven Harper, my Prime Minister. Ive never liked him. I dont agree with him. I dont agree with what he stands for. He is shady to me and just..rubs me the wrong way. So if someone likes him, i basically say thats your perogitive and move on lol Maybe a bit of a discussion. If someone approaches me who likes him and I say nah, not my cup of tea...im a blind ignorant moron...hmmmm i dont like it lol

Man, im not even sure that fit in...

[Webeh]

I just think liberals suck sometimes, conservatives suck sometimes and everything inbetween sucks(because quite frankly half of what they fight for really doesnt have much to do with politics..but go team go? lol).

Hee! :)

I do not like Steven Harper, my Prime Minister.

Me too. ;)

^ Yes, that was a random comment on my part.

[*Ashlee*]

^^ I believe we discussed are issues with Harper around election time last year lol :)

[Ashlyn]

To be perfectly honest, I don't think I'd notice if I was approached by someone with a liberal agenda. I'm a fairly liberal person. If someone did come up to me, we'd find nothing to argue over and we'd both go our separate ways. I'd probably forget about the person later.

However, I do remember instances of being annoyed/harrassed by people with conservative views. Why? My views were different, I made that known (that's usually clear just from my lack of interest in listening), and we didn't get along. (This only happens when the other party doesn't immediately backdown.) When we separate, it's not on good terms. So yes, I notice when I'm approached by those preaching/pushing a conservative viewpoint. (I can get hostile sometimes because I've had bad experiences in elementary school and high school. I've been singled out a couple times by other students and teachers.)

Although, to be fair to both sides. It's usually only the really irritatingly noisy and loud one's that give each side a bad rep. I'm liberal and I will admit that I don't like Michael Moore. The way he goes about pushing his viewpoint is confrontational and cruel. He makes liberals look bad. I'm sure there's some conservatives that make the rest of them look bad too.

For every Michael Moore there is a Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter. With these people as role models, it's no doubt people tend to blindly hate the other side.

It's so nice that we're all able to actually communicate and dicuss our views in here. I have feeling that Michael Moore and Ann Coulter would just end up throwing down or something.

[Heather]

Dont really know much about Harper...lol. The US press tends to not really report too much on international politics that doesnt concern us. Selfish, and sad, I know.

Thanks for that sidebar, Webeh. We do try our best to be fair and balanced in here. We want all opinions heard, even if they arent necessarily ours. BTW....we miss you in RL thread. Where have you been with your commentaries? They were AWESOME.

Ashlyn,
I dont see Rush or Ann Coulter throwing tomatoes at anyone in aggrivation. Mark Levin on the other hand....

Plus, Michael Moore is a completely different breed than Rush, Ann, and Mark. They argue intellectually. He doesnt.

[Bely]

Dont really know much about Harper...lol. The US press tends to not really report too much on international politics that doesnt concern us. Selfish, and sad, I know.

Thanks for that sidebar, Webeh. We do try our best to be fair and balanced in here. We want all opinions heard, even if they arent necessarily ours. BTW....we miss you in RL thread. Where have you been with your commentaries? They were AWESOME.

Ashlyn,
I dont see Rush or Ann Coulter throwing tomatoes at anyone in aggrivation. Mark Levin on the other hand....

Plus, Michael Moore is a completely different breed than Rush, Ann, and Mark. They argue intellectually. He doesnt.


:lol: and that's all i'm gonna say

[Webeh]

BTW....we miss you in RL thread. Where have you been with your commentaries? They were AWESOME.

I've been infected with "lazy college student" syndrome. ;)

Also, the last two seasons I pretty much lost my passion for the show. I'm a passive watcher now and rarely feel the need to discuss anymore. I'm not too crazy about the writing and I can't relate to Rory at all now.

I have feeling that Michael Moore and Ann Coulter would just end up throwing down or something.

You know, I'd find that so amusing. Get a mud pit and throw in some of the snottier liberals/conservatives. Sit back and watch the destruction occur.

Yeah, I've become so disillusioned by politics that I began equating it with entertainment. :)

[Heather]

I just had a really disturbing image of Michael Moore and Ann Coulter jello wrestling. :lol:

[Webeh]

Now see, I have an issue when jello is used in that way because I actually like jello. If I wasn't too darn lazy to make it, I'd eat jello everyday. ;)

Something happened in class today that reminded me of this thread. We were discussing a drug case where an officer arrests someone entirely on a hunch. He walks up to a lady and grabs her by the front of her neck. (Apparently some people hide drugs in condoms in their mouth. They swallow if they suspect a cop is on to them.) Heroin is found. So, the issue at hand was whether the drugs should be admissible as evidence or would it put the administration of justice to disrepute. There wasn't much debate. Our prof found it so weird that no one felt that the evidence should be admitted. (He's had classes where he'd find some really left-wing students and some really right-wing students always arguing with each other.)

[Heather]

Im really missing my pal, Jerome, right now. :crying:

[danyjoncew]

Jerome was talking about the situation in the college we went to. Where I had Professors write me calling me "ignorant and unenlightened" because my POV differed. Where writers, rather than get to know me, maligned me and referred to me as a fascist, or Eva Braun.

What a lovely environment :lol:.

I don't know, people can be very arrogant and harsh, but my own experience is that it's not a privilege of liberals, conservatives, white, black or whatever group of people.

And I've always seen Michael Moore as comedy that leads into further discussions, never as a solid source or wise form of debate... if I'd take it seriously, I think all I'd see would be be this guy clearly always speaking his mind and almost attacking whoever thinks in a different direction. But that's not how I approach his work, so I love him. Everytime I watch something of his, I end up laughing a lot and feeling really light afterwards.

[Heather]

Well, if that was what he truly intended, he would be passing off his films as documentaries, which is exactly what he does.

[Jon]

I just had a really disturbing image of Michael Moore and Ann Coulter jello wrestling. :lol:

Well half of that sounds nice. Blonde bombshell in jello, that's okay. That's the extent of what is okay with jello.

[danyjoncew]

Yeah, but I have the power to decide to watch it as a mockumentary. Obviously, it's easier when I agree with a lot of his views, if I hardly ever agreed with what he was saying, I'd probably want to punch him. I think it's like when you're making fun of your color or your country, you can do it, but if other people do it, you get defensive.

I mean, I'd love to meet the guy and have a laugh with him, but I wouldn't want him on my debate team.