January 05, 2006
End-Time Panic and The Liberal Ghost Dance
Gagdad Bob writing at One Cosmos has written an absolutely brilliant piece on the continuing emotional meltdown of the left. Read it all, it's that important. A teaser:
Just as a neurosis is a personal culture, a culture--especially a subculture--is often a collective neurosis. I realized quite some time ago that it is not possible to respond to the content of a dailykos, since it is so histrionic and perpendicular to reality. As a psychologist, I assumed that the hysterical, paranoid, narcissistic, or antisocial content had to do with the personal issues of the writers, but there could be another way of looking at the florid material, that is, as a collective response to the ongoing crisis at the core of progressive thought. Instead of examining their assumptions, these progressives prescribe more of the same--only worse!--in a way that seems calculated to turn off and drive away the average moderate voter who has at least one foot in the real world."Posted by GM Roper at January 5, 2006 07:50 PM | TrackBack
Having just returned from California, where - yes - there still are SOME people who think, though not many, I mostly overheard, read and observed Lefties in great multitude. I think the deal is that most JUST DO NOT (OR MAYBE, CANNOT) THINK THINGS THROUGH TO CONCLUSIONS. Much is based on emotion and "wouldn't it be nice if.." and all sorts of absolutely silly thoughts given the way the world really is. Of course, Pelosi, Boxer, and others take advantage of this gross stupidity...often of people that have lots of academic letters behind their names. They actually believe they are quite bright.
I also note that most Lefties will not, or cannot, answer tough questions. They mostly go to the screaming mode when they discern that their position is taking on more water than the Russian Fleet in the Sino-Russian War.
One man's opinion.
Posted by tad at January 5, 2006 09:50 PM
Are you not violating APA rules by diagnosing patients without actually sitting them down for therapy? What about ethics…
Look, this is silly and GM, sadly, you have become reactionary to the point of self parody. One side of the coin could not possible be right all of the time. One that thinks with your lock step ideology surely has something wrong. The Cold War is over. Luckily, the Soviet Union lost. Sadly, market fundamentalism won. Unfortunately, pragmatism fell victim to all of the extremism.
I know plenty of lefties out here in Los Angeles and all of them are very stable. The likes of Pat Robertson seem to be cracking up. If anyone is cracking up, it is the likes of YOU. I see no posting on Abramoff… Talk about repression.
With all of the problems this country is facing right now, maybe you should expend some energy in talking about real issues instead of creating a mythical “left.†The left as a political force has been dead for over 30 years. The right has been in the saddle since the end of the sixties, so look in the mirror and blame yourself. Look, just because the “left†has influence in totally irrelevant academic programs like the Humanities does not mean that they have any real power in the country.
You have a job in education, be happy with it. You do not have to sell yourself in the corporate marketplace. If you did, you might not like it! Nor should you be jealous of the “all stars†a la Judith Butler who get ass kissing. Nobody reads those people anyway.
This kind of stuff is a waste. I would rather listen to Hugh Hewitt. At least he is funny.
Posted by Josh Legere at January 6, 2006 01:59 AM
Wow, Josh, you were wrong on nearly every point!
The Cold War itself is over, but the ideology that lost a country is alive and well and looking for a new home.
No posting on Abramoff? And your point is ...? That you perhaps have a different opinion on what is important? What a novel idea! There are a multitude of places to get any and all information on the Abramoff scandal, but lo if GM doesn't have a post on it?
"The left as a political force has been dead for over 30 years"? While some states, including but not limited to CA and MA, have moved so far left they've nearly come full circle, how can you even say that with a straight face?
"...so look in the mirror and blame yourself." You apparently subscribe to "post hoc, ergo propter hoc". Such folly.
Many students emerge from our colleges and those totally irrelevant academic programs completely indoctrinated into a world of denial and one-sided thinking and while they can become "stable" citizens in relative terms, they lack the critical thinking skills to understand that certain actions of their own do produce some results they in turn rail against because they can't "see" the other side of the issue.
The left is no "myth". The real issues in this world were not created without two sides. There are far-right and far-left factions in this world and your carefully formulated denial of one side's existence is part of the problem.
Pick up a mirror yourself.
Posted by Oyster at January 6, 2006 08:14 AM
