Liberals Aren't Perfect Either

For those of us on the liberal side of politics, watching the conservatives (especially the Trumpers) self-destruct is not only surreal but it's scary as hell. Watching The Former Guy, now twice indicted, promise to appoint his own personal Attorney General to prosecute all of his enemies in what he calls the deep state (presumably Democrats along with Republicans who have turned on him) would leave our democracy in shambles. In addition, he would pardon the January 6 insurrectionists sent to prison. Even worse, a number of other Republican primary challengers have also expressed their approval for pardoning the January 6 prisoners and perhaps Trump himself if one of them wins and he is convicted before the 2024 election.

But while this group is going batshit crazy, NYT liberal columnist Nicholas Kristof in a recent column, It's Easy to Feel Righteous in the Trump Era. Liberals, Beware. warned his fellow liberals not to act too smug. We have faults too that we need to address and hopefully strive for improvement. I urge the reader to check out this linked article.

At the end of the article is an embedded video surprisingly produced by the NYT which is also on YouTube, Blue States,You're the Problem. The video picks out parts of the 2020 Democratic Party Platform and argues that the states exclusively controlled by the Democratic Party have been doing a poor job of upholding the principles outlined there. As a liberal, I grudgingly admit that the arguments presented have merit and that the Democrats certainly have room for improvement.

Having said that, I have to push back in a couple of areas. It's convenient that the Democrats have presented a document that can be exposed to criticism. So can we do the same for the Republicans? Unfortunately not because the party agreed that instead of creating a 2020 Republican Platform, they just agreed to say that whatever Donald Trump wanted would be their platform and called it a day. Whatever failings the Blue States may have, none are as egregious as most (but not all) of the Red States refusing to accept the Medicaid Expansion part of Obamacare needlessly leaving many thousands of their residents without health insurance.

I find that often the most interesting parts of op-ed articles are the reader comments. One in particular, eloquently summed things up by saying that although we need to examine and try to fix our own faults, we can't be caught navel-gazing when there is an oncoming freight train bearing down on us.

I will close with his words:

Bob Bruce Anderson

MA June 17

This article holds many truths. We should certainly examine the areas where we fail. There are many. Hubris doesn't help.

But let's not take our eyes off the hill in front of us. There are enemies of democracy and freedom charging right at us. They have guns that slaughter civilians - children. They love guns. They want a national religion with its own set of rules. They don't want young people or people of color to vote. They believe their elected officials are above the law. They admire dictators. They are attempting to dismantle the Federal government. They don't believe in protecting the environment. They don't believe in science. They don't believe there is a serious Climate Crisis and if a few do, they don't think we created it.

You are absolutely correct that "Liberals" have failed in many ways. I'd start with the fact that our guys still take big money from the Oligarchs. It ain't a perfect world. But if we don't fight with all our might, our failings will be silly little mistakes relative to the fascist world we are marching towards. A world where someone else's religion reigns supreme. Where women are not full citizens. Where people of color are marginalized even more than now. Where rich people will pay even less in taxes and poverty will explode.

And the homelessness you describe will multiply exponentially. Mr. Kirstof [sic], I respect your attempt at asking us to find our humility.

But now, back to the battle for freedom, democracy and to save a planet.