Reality And The American Left

From The American Thinker:

August 01, 2010


Reality and the American Left

By Steve McCann

Europe, the birthplace of socialist/Marxist theory, is rapidly retreating from this failed ideology -- and has been for some time. There is now an open discussion among the most die-hard of Leftist ideologues conceding the fact that a political or economic system which guarantees prosperity to that country's citizens, and operates a massive central government model, cannot work in the modern age of global economy and communication.





In the United States, however, the Left, including those in the White House, are determined to go where others have failed.





The 20% of the population who consider themselves Liberal or Progressive have succeeded in dominating not only government, but most of our institutions. It is this domination that has led the United States to the brink of bankruptcy and societal upheaval. Yet as a group, they are oblivious to the damage they are causing to a country which has given them so much and asked for so little in return.





The current manifestation of the American Left was incubated in a petri dish of overwhelming prosperity and freedom from any significant national hardship. They were free to sit about coffee houses and faculty lounges engaging in games of one-upmanship, trying to impress each other with their mental acumen and unquestioned intellect.





That environment inevitably fostered a sense of superiority for the self-anointed and disdain for those masses who did not possess, in the ruling class's opinion, such a high degree of intelligence and education and were stuck in the mundane and archaic belief in the God-given rights of man.





It thus became a natural progression to turn to those social and economic philosophies that emphasize the power of the state over the individual, as only those doctrines empower a ruling class with the ability to permanently dominate a society. There was no doubt in the minds of the true believers of the Left that they were preordained to rule.





Whether they are called Socialism, Marxism, Communism, or Fascism, all totalitarian philosophies have in common the guise of wealth redistribution -- theoretically resulting in a classless society wherein all are treated fairly. Yet all require a permanent class of those who are more equal and must enforce equality on the rest of society.





However, for any of these philosophies to succeed, it must have an economic underpinning that can provide the foundation for massive social spending. The Soviet Union, as early as the 1920s and '30s, proved that complete state control of the means of production iss a colossal failure, as it could not produce sufficient wealth to support the population.





Therefore, only the capitalist economic system, which is anathema to a powerful central government and its attendant oligarchy, can produce sufficient wealth to underwrite a social safety net for the general public and continue to expand the standard of living for all. Capitalism (which reinforces the superiority of the individual) and authoritarianism, of which the American Left is so enamored, cannot coexist.





The most dominant characteristic of the human race is to survive and prosper. Thus, the liberty so necessary for prosperity is ingrained in our souls. In the modern era, the tension between those who wish to dominate and those who desire freedom has resulted in unfathomable death and destruction.





The 20th century was the bloodiest in the history of mankind. It was so because totalitarian philosophies were imposed by or sustained with the barrel of a rifle. Beginning in 1917 with the Russian Revolution through the civil war in the Congo in 2000, over 179,000,000 people were killed, and another perhaps 200,000,000 wounded and displaced. This figure of 379,000,000 exceeds the total population of the earth as late as the year 1400 AD and is greater than the current combined populations of the United States and Canada.





The American Left appears to believe that they, due to their intellectual superiority, can succeed where others have failed on such a devastating basis. Only they can turn human nature on its head and force the most advanced society on earth to buckle under to egalitarian doctrine as administered by them.





The Left in the United States are fools. They know nothing of living in a society that is the product of what they espouse. They cannot fathom the prospect of not having a tomorrow to look forward to while others strive to live through another day. They dismiss the untold millions who suffered under various collective dogmas as nameless and cold statistics. These people, too, had hopes and dreams -- however, theirs were brutally dashed on the rocks by ego-driven rulers and oligarchies justified by the pursuit of a classless and just society.





Those on the Left are not intellectually superior to the vast majority of the citizens of this country; rather, they are nothing but unthinking followers looking to be a part of the current ruling class -- thus susceptible to flattery and a sense of their own importance.





Despite their best efforts to transform the United States, they will not succeed. Over the past fifty years, while the Left was busy infiltrating the education and media establishments, as well as government bureaucracies, the people, thanks to unparalleled prosperity, slept. Yet deep within the unique American character beats the heart of a proud and independent people who will never accede to a so-called Progressive ruling class wreaking havoc upon so blessed a nation.





The Left fail to understand that the foundation of liberty and freedom will not be eroded by their self-aggrandizing actions. The damage the American Left have caused to the future prospects of this country is overwhelming, but thanks to their ascendancy to power, the people have awakened, and revolution, albeit peaceful, is in the air.





It is time that that those who call themselves Liberal or Progressive also awaken and thank the God they so adamantly are trying to eliminate from the public square for allowing each of them to be born in a country that has enabled them to prosper and espouse such devastating political and economic views. Perhaps time and reason will cause many to reconsider the folly of blindly following those who will not learn from the past and present.