When they have adequate opposition, left wing political parties are fluffy, cuddly, and sometimes useful. They defend Free Speech and the Rights of the Accused. They oppose racism. They call out corporations doing naughty things and demand better conditions for the working classes. Their solutions are expensive and often counterproductive, but their hearts are usually in the right place.
But take away real opposition and a phase change happens. They become crazy, tyrannical, and often bloodthirsty – like gremlins if you feed them after dark. It happened during the French Revolution. It happened in Russia a century ago. It happened in China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Eastern Europe, North Korea… And it’s happening now in Venezuela…and the United [sic] States of America.
The Left has gone from Question Authority to Believe the Science. They have gone from defenders of Free Speech to demanders of censorship and Safe Spaces. From whining about McCarthyism and the blacklisting of Communists to a ridiculous Cancel Culture. Today, the Religious Right has more sense of humor than college campuses. The Babylon Bee is the new National Lampoon. Left wing big city politicians talk of legalizing theft outright – if you are poor. Innocent Until Proven Guilty has given way to Believe Her. Open socialists threaten to take over the Democratic Party. With Identity Politics, the American Left has also embraced racism. And then there were the riots.. It’s as if they are plagiarizing the Nazi playbook, but with WASPs instead of Jews as their villains.
This is something of an emergency situation.
Continue reading “What is to be Done in 2021?”