Labor Day is a strange holiday: we honor labor by taking the day off. That's a bit like honoring the Christmas Spirit by robbing an orphanage... or breaking up on Valentine's Day. Anyways, here it is again, and it's making me reflect on the left, seeing as how they once associated themselves with "labor." But here's the thing, the left isn't what it once was...
The Old School Left: Karl Marx, Engels and others envisioned a new means or organizing the world with workers pitted against capital holders in a system that would eventually wipe out government when all contributed what they could but took only what they needed.
Modern Leftists: Want a $15 minimum wage... phased in slowly... for some workers... who will be replaced by robots.
The Old School Left: Fought pitched battles with Imperial soldiers in Russia and their National Socialist cousins in German streets to seize power. They fought wars in dozens of countries, overturned governments, rounded up millions who stood in their way and purged their ranks mercilessly to get their agenda in place.
Modern Leftists: Worry that they don't have enough Republican support to pass their agenda.
The Old School Left: Fought for civil rights in America for minorities... after enslaving them first, of course.
Modern Leftists: Worry that a singer culturally appropriated a hairstyle.
The Old School Left: Claimed a brotherhood of man where all men were equal, though some were more equal than others and some were redefined as not men. But after changing their minds about slavery, colonialism, gulags, and sterilizing the infirm, the left claimed to stand for equal legal right for women and minorities in the West against determined, sometimes-armed opposition.
Modern Leftists: Is outraged when a doctor says that female doctors earn less because they work less.
The Old School Left: Spared no toxin in their quest for economic, military and political power, but then did eventually come around and pushed for clean air, clean water and clean land. They pushed through consumer laws that protected consumers from (some) predatory lending practices, shoddy construction standards, unsafe ingredients and handling practices, and workplace safety.
Modern Leftists: Worry that films and toys send the wrong gender signals. Want to ban 16 oz. sodas. Want magic to make renewable resources work better than they do.
The Old School Left: Put you in a gulag or concentration camp if you stood in their way.
Modern Leftists: Cyberbully you on Twitter if they don't like you.
The Old School Left: Used strikes to cripple industries to get their way.
Modern Leftists: Hold cute little one-day rallies in pussyhats before going home to wait for someone to do something.
Not that the old school left was good. They weren't. They were monsters who occasionally made use of a good cause to mask their agenda. But they did have an agenda. And they had a plan of action. They were an enemy to be feared and respected. The modern left is to the old school left as a Chihuahua is to a wolf. Indeed, old school leftists must be rolling over in their unmarked graves. I supposed we should be thankful that the modern left has become so pathetic and feeble, but I will admit that they are much more annoying than their forebearers. Both suck, they just suck in different ways, and right now we are going through a period where the left is an intolerable whiny infant. Happy Labor day.
Thoughts?
The Old School Left: Karl Marx, Engels and others envisioned a new means or organizing the world with workers pitted against capital holders in a system that would eventually wipe out government when all contributed what they could but took only what they needed.
Modern Leftists: Want a $15 minimum wage... phased in slowly... for some workers... who will be replaced by robots.
The Old School Left: Fought pitched battles with Imperial soldiers in Russia and their National Socialist cousins in German streets to seize power. They fought wars in dozens of countries, overturned governments, rounded up millions who stood in their way and purged their ranks mercilessly to get their agenda in place.
Modern Leftists: Worry that they don't have enough Republican support to pass their agenda.
The Old School Left: Fought for civil rights in America for minorities... after enslaving them first, of course.
Modern Leftists: Worry that a singer culturally appropriated a hairstyle.
The Old School Left: Claimed a brotherhood of man where all men were equal, though some were more equal than others and some were redefined as not men. But after changing their minds about slavery, colonialism, gulags, and sterilizing the infirm, the left claimed to stand for equal legal right for women and minorities in the West against determined, sometimes-armed opposition.
Modern Leftists: Is outraged when a doctor says that female doctors earn less because they work less.
The Old School Left: Spared no toxin in their quest for economic, military and political power, but then did eventually come around and pushed for clean air, clean water and clean land. They pushed through consumer laws that protected consumers from (some) predatory lending practices, shoddy construction standards, unsafe ingredients and handling practices, and workplace safety.
Modern Leftists: Worry that films and toys send the wrong gender signals. Want to ban 16 oz. sodas. Want magic to make renewable resources work better than they do.
The Old School Left: Put you in a gulag or concentration camp if you stood in their way.
Modern Leftists: Cyberbully you on Twitter if they don't like you.
The Old School Left: Used strikes to cripple industries to get their way.
Modern Leftists: Hold cute little one-day rallies in pussyhats before going home to wait for someone to do something.
Not that the old school left was good. They weren't. They were monsters who occasionally made use of a good cause to mask their agenda. But they did have an agenda. And they had a plan of action. They were an enemy to be feared and respected. The modern left is to the old school left as a Chihuahua is to a wolf. Indeed, old school leftists must be rolling over in their unmarked graves. I supposed we should be thankful that the modern left has become so pathetic and feeble, but I will admit that they are much more annoying than their forebearers. Both suck, they just suck in different ways, and right now we are going through a period where the left is an intolerable whiny infant. Happy Labor day.
Thoughts?
I think it's funny that the most used insult by babies is that whoever they're mad at are babies. Remember the Newt Gingrich in a diaper magazine cover? And now they have the baby Trump balloon. I'm sure they think they're very original.
ReplyDeletewhat I have noted about the left is this. Since the stunning 2016 election, they have ramped up their "get in your face" resistance to an almost constant barrage. It is everywhere. I give leftists credit for their ability to infiltrate and control education, music, theater, film, sports, journalism, social media. I think the tendency is not unlike the old cliche "those that can do, those that can't teach". But literally, we cannot even have a funeral anymore without the left politicizing it, not to mention eat dinner in piece while wearing any apparel that might indicate you did not vote for Hillary.
ReplyDeleteConservatives tended to business, getting a job, working hard, and achieving, but I can't believe it is an easy lot to try and be a conservative teacher or reporter, not to mention young actor or musician (think ostracize). More recently, as a fan of bluegrass and Americana music, I see genre publications such as No Depression injecting politics into their stories.
So yes, both suck, but the new breed is truly, truly annoying, but is positioned well to brain wash our kids if we are not alert to it.
tryanmax, I've noticed over the years that the left ALWAYS insults people with insults that apply to themselves. Nazi, childish, stupid, intolerant, racist, anti-science, etc. It's always something that actually applies to them, but they toss it at other people.
ReplyDeleteJed, I think the real difference is that leftists are herd creatures and they instinctively need everyone to think like they do. Conservatives accept that people are different. So liberals will inject their politics into anything because they want to make everyone espouse the same views and exclude those who don't.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the current batch, I think it's fascinating to compare them to what the left was in the past to what it's become. They really are pathetic by comparison. The only thing they excel at today is being super annoying.