Larry Alton
At no point in time has the divide between Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal, been so great. In fact, the division is so wide that it's becoming dangerous. A country that was founded on the premise of freedom is quickly losing its identity. And while neither side is handling the divide as well as it could, it's clear that the modern liberal has transitioned from a free thinker into an oblivious product of a system that demonizes intellectual freedom.
Where Liberals are Missing the Mark
Let's be clear about one thing: Not all liberals are evil or stupid. The majority are simply uninterested in hearing opinions that don't align with their beliefs. In particular, let's examine two areas where the modern liberal is missing the mark.
1. Victimization and a Lack of Responsibility
Have you noticed recently that liberals are always victims? Do you know a liberal who isn't currently being victimized by something? Whether it's race, gender, wages, weapons, or anything in between, liberals glorify those who are oppressed – regardless of whether or not the oppression is a figment of their imaginations.
This habit of labeling yourself a "victim" is pervasive in the liberal community and speaks directly to something your average leftist disdains: responsibility. If you look up the definition of responsibility, there are a few different explanations. One is: "The state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something." Another is: "The opportunity or ability to act independently and make decisions without authorization."
Responsibility is a concept that's central to a healthy and functional society. There are dozens of laws that deal with this idea. There's something called an implied warranty of habitability that requires landlords to keep their properties livable for tenants.There are laws in 28 stateswhere adult children can be required to pay their parent's unpaid bills. The entire premise of HOA guidelines is based on taking ownership of what's rightly yours.
Yet, everywhere you look, liberals are seeking to remove responsibility from their plates and instead put it on others who are supposedly victimizing them – rich people, privileged classes, corporations, etc. Instead of taking responsibility for their actions and dealing with the circumstances they've been dealt – i.e. doing everything they can to overcome their situation – suppressed liberals would rather whine, moan, and leach.
This is something old-school liberal FDR saw coming and spoke about extensively during his 1935 inaugural address:
"The lessons of history, confirmed by evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence on relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber," FDR proclaimed. "To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is a violation of the traditions of America."
In other words, FDR stood for helping those in need. At that time, liberals were interested in lending assistance to those in need. They took responsibility for the poor and oppressed, but didn't constantly scream about victimization themselves. Oh, how times have changed.
2. Hatred for Free Speech
The second biggest problem with the modern liberal is that they publicly proclaim a love for freedom of speech, yet are hypocritically the biggest opponents of freedom. While they want everyone to have the right to be anyone they choose to be – men can choose to be women, people of the same gender can get married, parents can abort unborn children on a whim – they adamantly oppose dialogue that stands in the way of their personal beliefs.
People get fired for having conservative opinions. Students get suspended from public schools for disagreeing with liberal ideology. Twitter is silencing conservativesfor disagreeing with liberal perspectives.
Now, you can choose to agree or disagree with the statements that get people in trouble, but the point is that the left isn't willing to accept what they dish out. Liberals can express radical opinions that conservatives starkly oppose, but conservatives don't try to silence them. They may try to prevent radical laws from being enacted, but they won't drown out the conversation itself.
As soon as a liberal hears something they don't agree with, their first response is to name-call. They like to use words like bigot, racist, offensive, and hateful to describe people who disagree with them. This has become such a big problem that millions of Americans are afraid to speak up – they don't want to be labeled or ostracized.
This lack of outspokenness from the conservative community creates a liberal feedback loop that fuels the proverbial fire. Whereas conservatives are constantly exposed to liberal opinions and viewpoints, liberals very rarely hear a conservative opinion. If they do, it's quickly quelled by the fear-mongering lynch mob that is liberal social media.
"Imagine the average day for liberals," political columnist John Hawkins says. "They get up and read their local newspaper. It has a liberal viewpoint. They take their kids to school, where the teachers are liberal. Then they go to work, listen to NPR which has a liberal viewpoint on the way home, and then turn on the nightly news which also skews leftward."
It's a terrifying reality that we now live in a society where only one side of the political spectrum is allowed to speak without being attacked. As Hawkins notes, "Unless liberals actively seek out conservative viewpoints, which is unlikely, the only conservative arguments they're probably going to hear are going to be through the heavily distorted, poorly translated, deeply skeptical lens of other liberals." And it's all rooted in a hatred of free speech.
It's Time for Old-School Liberals to Stand Up
In decades past, you could have a conversation with a liberal and walk away feeling enlightened or understood. It was possible to share ideas, exchange perspectives, and shake hands.
Are there currently any old-school liberals who understand the value of free speech and taking responsibility for their actions? The answer is most certainly yes. They exist – albeit few and far between – and represent the last hope for lessening the dangerous divide between the right and the left in this country.
Nobody is asking conservatives and liberals to agree on major points of contention. This isn't going to happen. What is being suggested is that Democrats practice what they preach. If they want inclusivity – they must be willing to listen to contrarian opinions without calling conservatives names and playing the victim card.
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