sorry i'm left wing

i'm a very left wing kind of guy. further so than alot of other people but not extremely.

why is this seen to be a bad thing by alot of people most of whom are american (just something i noted). mean right-wing these days seems to be normal and is never questioned but as soon as you start talking about left wing views then people start to look down at you and mutter "commie"

why are views of a left wing nature frowned upon now more than they have been considering the world (except america) is becoming more liberal? (liberal another word you can't use without being almost spat on)

why are left wing and liberal so hated these days?

The demonization of the word "Liberal" began during the Nixon Administration, and strangely, has more or less gone unchecked until now. Though Clinton was a Democrat, as was Jimmy Carter, neither were really Liberals, but more Moderates. The last true Liberal President was probably JFK and before him, probably FDR, and thus, the USA has begun to shift more and more to the Right because the Left has allowed the Conservatives to determine the debate and not really stood up as they did in the past.

Though, there is a rumbling that with all the economic cuts the Bush Administration is making, many folks are going back closer to the Middle and perhaps even a little bit back to the Left, despite the powerful stranglehold the Right has on the moral/value front.

Politics is very much like the stock market, it's up and down, or in this case, Left and Right. One side dominates for a while, then the other. Right now, the USA is in very Conversative swing, but I think if Liberals as well as Democrats really begin to stand up, the US will shift again in a few years or so.

Take care all.

The way I see it, The Right wing has monopolized patriotism. They present the idea that the left is immoral and anti American. Also the right is dominated by Christian leaders. Christianity is easily the most common religion in the US. They waste no time in making the left seem anti Christian while right wingers like GW Bush shoehorn God into every speech they make. The right wing took advantage of 9/11 by constantly glorifying their role. If a democrat was president at that time, the Right would quickly state that 9/11 happened on the Left's watch. Instead they make it a feather in their caps. Now the Right presents the Left as cowards wanting to appease terrorists rather then fight them. They do this of course with manipulation of the mass media. Getting off my soapbox now.

The right has also shown great facility in manipulating emotions. The left tends to be extremely loathe to say anything the least bit inflammatory, in more extreme cases this often manifests in censorship. Thus, the right is able to stir up emotions, using this strategy in conjunction with the demonization of the left in order to increase their own status. It's a pretty vicious way to do business, but it works. That's politics for you.

I'd say the left is pretty darn inflammatory, actually.

The difference is hard-right conservatives are better at masking their more extreme views.

Probably because the most recent great threat to the USA came from an extreme left country, so naturally the right is going to have an advantage. I guess the US is still having difficulties shrugging off McCarthy.

Well id say its because the republican attack machine, is working overtime nonstop in some hotel think tank they setup as a base of operations. And if u think thats a conspriracy THEORY, u dont know much about politics.

Seriously their base is barely stronger than the left, but the democrats in office are cowards, afraid the attack machine might single them out. Why do u think they worked so hard to paint John Kerry as extreme liberal as they could, when he was barely more liberal than Clinton.

So yeh it could also be because of where u live.

Well, as far as I know left wing is not so rare on USA. Sure, both big parties are right winged, but still there is a lot of liberal thinking. I know there's some stuff with communism and anarchism, for example, but left wing can also mean, for example, social-democracy.

I take being called a "raging liberal" as a compliment really... i mean, the fact that i actually care about others isnt a bad thing. Im sorry for all those people who want to bash me for having these beliefs but, id like to see what they could do if they werent all born into rich families. They have no real challenge and they never have to look into their heart to think..

"gee.. maybe im a total hypocrite for saying jesus is the right way to go but then not giving any of my money to the needy and kicking the poor down to poorer..."

Is it cooler to be a heart bleeding liberal or a rabid conservative? Cause I'm the first thing, but DocFrance kicks ass at the second!

I'm really not sure how to take that... umm... thanks?

But I wouldn't consider myself a rabid conservative. For one thing, I'm not a religious nutso - I'm a devout atheist. I also support gay rights - to an extent. I'd consider myself as moderate, but leaning to the right.

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Probably because the most recent great threat to the USA came from an extreme left country, so naturally the right is going to have an advantage.

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Extreame left country? Where? :confused:
Al -Queda... Theocratic, against gays, liberated women, sexual freedom, religigous liberty,ect... not exactly what I'd call extreame left. :rolleyes2 Actually, our greatest enimies are very conservative, and would most likely agree with the far-right on many issues. :mad: I'm not saying this to insult anyone, that's just the facts.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Skogs was referring to Russia and the Cold War.

It's hard to say that the USSR was leftist, because of Stalin's and Kruschev's totalitarian reigns. The only thing it really had was the equally-distributed poverty aspect of communism.

i thought is was more a case of left and right being unpopular and the centre gaining ground, monotony for all.

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Originally Posted by DocFrance

It's hard to say that the USSR was leftist, because of Stalin's and Kruschev's totalitarian reigns. The only thing it really had was the equally-distributed poverty aspect of communism.

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It was somehow leftinst in economy, only not liberal at all. Even though being left is generally asociated with being liberal, this does not mean you are, there has never been a far left country with a liberal goverment. For example, my current goverment is liberal center-left.

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But I wouldn't consider myself a rabid conservative. For one thing, I'm not a religious nutso - I'm a devout atheist. I also support gay rights - to an extent. I'd consider myself as moderate, but leaning to the right.

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But...but... we were going to make a comic duo, don't you remember? :cry:

Yes, I am indeed referring to the USSR. There has been no real threat to the US since. To US interests, maybe, but not the US as an entity.

One could argue that the current inhabitant of the White House fits that description.

contrary to the observation mentioned in the first post, being conservative or right wing will draw fire onto oneself a lot faster than anything else in these forums as well as in my university. Though, Colleges and Universities are traditionally more left wing.

There are some very negative right-opposed statements made just in this thread so far. I'm not referring to the domination on Capital Hill that the conservatives hold now, nor any of the facts mentioned, just the tenor and side comments made.

can't we all just get along? Both sides serve their purposes and would serve them a whole lot better without the constant petty bickering.

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Originally Posted by DeBlayde

can't we all just get along? Both sides serve their purposes and would serve them a whole lot better without the constant petty bickering.

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The problem is that both sides serve the same prupose, that is configuring a system on how society should work. And since both ways of doing it are not compatible, conflict occurs.

If everyone just "got along," then we would all have to agree with eachother. And if we all agreed with eachother, there wouldn't be any conflict. And without conflict, there would be no change, and we would become stagnant.

It's not so much that we CAN'T compromise, however. It's more like we WON'T.

"part of being open minded is embracing the ways other people do things, even though you know its completely stupid!" - dharma and greg

I know that people do stupid things.. but i can survive and get along with people with certain opposite beliefs, i even find myself getting along with the occasional evangelist, the problem is im just acting, and i know they are too. There will never be solid ground for the two to walk on... its been going on since before the civil war.. heck even before america was free from england. Thats why we made democracy.. so atleast we had a somewhat peaceful way of sorting out the issues.

No matter what you say it wont change someones mind, they have to see it for themselves...

Very true. I often have to remind myself that.