Why is Far Left Synonymous with Progress?
Andrew Yang is onto something when he says “Not left, not right, but forward.”
First off, I’m a left-wing, bleeding-heart liberal. I’m a registered democrat. I believe in equality, inclusion, belonging, acceptance, accommodation, empathy, reason, justice and love. I am not here to defend the right, but to criticize some the left for not being nearly as progressive as they claim. My goal is to call people to do better; the future of our democracy is at stake.
As we move closer to the Democratic primary elections, people are solidifying their candidate of choice, and speaking loudly (at least on Twitter) about these choices. I appreciate healthy discourse and dialogue. I’ve been following the primaries closely since March. My top 5 choices have changed over the last eight months as I’ve learned more and the field has narrowed a bit. What I can’t handle is this “my candidate or no one” attitude from democrats.
It appears the more progressive one claims to be, the less understanding they are of centrists, moderates, pragmatists, independents and anyone who isn’t 100% far left in every area.
And that’s a bunch of bullshit.
I’m trying to be nice, but what I have found that the most aggressive, loudest voices tend to be of the far left who have words like “Progressive” and “Justice Democrat” in their bios. And they are hurting our country and our party.
Progress is not my way or the highway, people. If you have hurled baseless insults at other candidate’s supporters for having a different view on one policy, if you participate in hashtags like #Never____ (insert any democratic candidate) and especially if you used the GOP hashtag #ByeByeBeto like I saw some of you use yesterday, you need to take a hard look in the mirror and realize that you are becoming the very thing you are fighting against.
Hateful. Uncompromising. Blindly loyal to your candidate.
Today, in a now deleted tweet, a self-described progressive dismissed individuals with disabilities on a thread about individuals with disabilities all in the name of showcasing their favorite candidate.
Another “progressive” called South Bend, Indiana “Whoville” because they don’t like Pete Buttigieg. And look, no one is asking you to like him. When I published my letter to Beto supporters yesterday, it was well received by most of his supporters because they could see beyond the politics and to our shared humanity. A few people though showed nothing but hatred and disdain, one saying she would not vote for any ticket that Pete was on, even in the general election.
There is nothing progressive about doing the GOP’s work for them.
During the primaries, I want you to support the candidate who inspires you most, the one you think will do the best job as president. Support the one who you believe will be able to move our country forward. It doesn’t have to be the same one I support for me to support you. It’s a crowded field and we are lucky to have so many top-notch candidates running, but come next summer, there will only be one, and it is our duty as concerned citizens to vote Trump out of office.
This is not to be dismissive. When I say I will #VoteBlueNoMatterWho, I do not mean I won’t be active and vocal in supporting my chosen candidate, and I don’t expect anyone who is even marginally politically active to do that either, but at the end of the primaries, I will throw my support behind the nominee. I hope you will too.
Our country will not survive four more years of Trump.
Please, progressives, stop moving the bar so far left that you are no longer moving forward.
