I also see the left has letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. The abortion fight is a good example. While I believe it should always be a woman's right to choose an abortion, to hold this as a non-negotiable position by refusing to support legislation that might allow abortion up to some point and put restrictions on later term abortions is to not get anywhere on legalizing abortion. Accepting a less than perfect compromise dooms progress as much as any reactionary stance from the right. A better social safety net and more income equality are fine ideals. I hold them myself. We need to take small steps in this direction rather than going all in on some perfect idealized solution. Small steps would allow the country to see that the government does work for them, making more progress toward an ideal possible.
I find current left cultural ideology to be toxic, politically and morally. To view all social phenomena through the lens of intersectional victimology is crudely reductive and just plain unethical. OTOH -- progressive ideas on climate, economy and healthcare may be debatable, but seem to have a sound and defensible moral basis. As a democrat, I agree with some, disagree with others, but none make me cringe. Bernie's first campaign focused on these ideas, soft-pedalled the SJW talk, and that partly accounts for its success. It's easier to draw others in when you don't first define and then dismiss them according to their ineradicable ethnic and gender attributes. His second campaign let in the cultural leftist toxins and was, not surprisingly, less successful. I didn't support him in either campaign, but I retrospectively admire the approach of his first go round.
I also see the left has letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. The abortion fight is a good example. While I believe it should always be a woman's right to choose an abortion, to hold this as a non-negotiable position by refusing to support legislation that might allow abortion up to some point and put restrictions on later term abortions is to not get anywhere on legalizing abortion. Accepting a less than perfect compromise dooms progress as much as any reactionary stance from the right. A better social safety net and more income equality are fine ideals. I hold them myself. We need to take small steps in this direction rather than going all in on some perfect idealized solution. Small steps would allow the country to see that the government does work for them, making more progress toward an ideal possible.
I find current left cultural ideology to be toxic, politically and morally. To view all social phenomena through the lens of intersectional victimology is crudely reductive and just plain unethical. OTOH -- progressive ideas on climate, economy and healthcare may be debatable, but seem to have a sound and defensible moral basis. As a democrat, I agree with some, disagree with others, but none make me cringe. Bernie's first campaign focused on these ideas, soft-pedalled the SJW talk, and that partly accounts for its success. It's easier to draw others in when you don't first define and then dismiss them according to their ineradicable ethnic and gender attributes. His second campaign let in the cultural leftist toxins and was, not surprisingly, less successful. I didn't support him in either campaign, but I retrospectively admire the approach of his first go round.