I have a question for my progressive friends: when is enough enough?
With climate change, we were asked to recycle, drive more efficient cars, use LED lights, etc. We’ve done much of that but it still isn’t near enough. Now we are being asked to not have children and to change our lifestyle so that we have zero emissions. To do anything less is not only negligent, but almost criminal in terms of how we impact the environment.
With immigration, the progressive standard is that you have to repudiate our current laws, welcome any and all immigration, and that if you simply believe official US policy and law should be upheld, you are a neo-fascist racist xenophobe.
With abortion, not only must we affirm current laws and legal precedent, but we must also push for ever more liberal laws and policies and affirm the dignity and awesomeness of abortion or we are anti-woman misogynists.
With the LGBTQ issue, we cannot simply live and let live. We must instead affirm and celebrate lifestyles that may contradict our religious beliefs or millenia-old traditions. If we don’t, or if we simply attend churches that don’t officially promote said lifestyles, we are automatically bigots.
If we don’t believe that government programs to combat poverty are the best way to do so, we are anti-poor.
If we don’t blindly support public school policies and programs, or give any credence to charter schools or vouchers, we are the enemy of children.
This is how the progressives in our country generally couch the terms of the debate. You are either with them 100%, or you are the enemy of the group they claim to defend.
Is it therefore any wonder some of us on the more conservative side of the spectrum just begin tuning out the progressives? In fact, by demonizing their political and ideological opponents on these issues, I feel that they back us into a corner where we feel we can’t do anything to contribute to these causes.
Why try and engage on the environment, women’s issues, LGBTQ concerns, education, the poor, etc., when we will be ridiculed and dismissed if we do anything but accept progressive orthodoxy?
By demanding extreme allegiance on any and all political issues, the Left make it nearly impossible for people of good will to come to a compromise on how to best deal with these problems.
Of course the Right must also be willing to compromise, but I see far fewer right-wingers engaged in the “cancel culture” or attempts to shut down the speech of their opponents.
No. The Left are the ones engaging on totalitarian tactics to stifle dissent and demonize their opponents not just through rhetoric, but through legal censure and media persecution.
Like I always say, we should never be afraid of truth. And truth can only be arrived at through open dialogue. Any attempt to stifle that or demonize your good-will opponent is tantamount to totalitarian oppression.
That ain’t the way to do it. Let’s come together and discuss issues and embrace each other as our best mutual hope to make things better.
Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.
Nursery rhymes and fairy tales are the answer to Trey’s question about Satisfying Progressives. Not this current group, but maybe the Millennials can teach their own kids a few things.
A good start is the Boy who cried Wolf. You know the boy as Adam Schiff and Donald Trump as the wolf. We have gone thru the first part where everyone is getting tired of hearing the same old stuff over and over again. The second part where the wolf actually shows up and does something bad is coming.
No one can be sure what Trump will do after reelection but one move telegraphed modestly was the Right to Life rally. Maybe he’ll come back in 2021 and propose a new anti-abortion law – which I consider a bad thing only because its government overreach. Dems though would view it as someone trying to burn down their church and snatch their babies. Well maybe not the babies if they are willing to abort them, but you see what I mean. Of course he could get emboldened from his upcoming acquittal or dismissal or whatever happens and go and do something really off the rails and even illegal.
The Dem’s reaction could be no worse that what the Boy Wolfcrier (Adam Schiff) is doing and saying now and if the Dem’s are dumb enough (and they are) to lose the House in 2020, then the country and maybe the world are Trump’s oyster. That being said, I doubt he’s evil, but unfettered power because of repeated Wolfcrying is a huge tactical mistake for the Dem’s.
A question that also can be asked is “When are Conservatives going to cease with their whining and crying about everything?” I can agree that extreme views from either ideology are ridiculous, but what you need to remember is those extremes are what makes talking points. Extremes are not what most humans want. What I find interesting is how so-called “intelligent” people think that those extreme views will actually come to fruition. Most of the items Trey brings up are things that will never see the light of day. Progressives think of the possibilities – to a fault. Conservatives want everything to stay the same. Each ideology keeps the other in check. Humankind was born to progress, but that progression must be tempered. Mistakes will be made -as it is inevitable. If boundaries were never pushed, humankind would never better themselves. It’s about time you get used to it – it isn’t going to go away.
Well Trey, the answer is no. Progressives will never be satisfied. Progressives actually see themselves as a solution. Sadly they are currently a solution desperately in search of a problem so they can “fix” it. Most of the racist, economic and immigration problems along with higher employment, lower gas prices and limited participation in overseas wars have been solved by our current president. Sure, it was all started under Obama – we”ll say that just to keep them happy and quiet while you read the next 2 paragraphs – that’s the good stuff.
Now that the progressives have gay marriage, they want to expand into transgender and create new rules for bathroom usage and sports participation. It will never end, although if they keep pushing and creating an underclass that doesn’t breed, logic says they will die off and become extinct. Don’t think we can actually count on that.
Remember, Conservatives are also control freaks but they only want to control your body – ban abortion, dictate sexual preferences, keep inferior bodies outside of our walls. Liberals and Progressives want to control your mind, your job, your charitable activities, your health care, your food choices, your car and your money. Seems like an easy choice to me – go with the Conservatives because even if they are in power, their extremists are easy to ignore and they don’t pass restrictive laws. Live and let live is a good motto.
Yes, spot on! If we could set aside radicalism for a while and just gather the things we can agree on and DO them we would all be better off. Perhaps we could set two months a year apart for this then go back to purr corners.
Great idea for a campaign ad. U. S. House of Representatives District around Los Angeles.
2 homeless guys in LA pick up a newspaper and one says here’s what the challenger says about the incumbent Congressman – “I think impeachment for most people in this district is only the most graphic illustration of an incumbent who has put the national partisan, ideological fights ahead of representing his district”
Second guy says “That sure rings true dude, but you are reading a 20 year old newspaper. That’s what Adam Schiff said about the incumbent when he first ran for Congress during the Clinton impeachment in 1998.”
Pull back camera and focus on wide view of the homeless village in LA. First guy voice over says “Yea, Adam Schiff he really helped our district the last 20 years. Show logo “Anyone but Schiff” music – Send in the Clowns.
THE EMERGING SCIENTIFIC TRUTH REGARDING HUMAN-INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE
Admittedly, most climatologists believe in anthropogenic global warming (AGW) but your organization overlooks (intentionally?) the fact that most astrophysicists insist that our Sun is the main driver of any warming and these solar scientists have asserted that the Earth will be cooling over the coming years due to a Grand Solar Minimum which begins in 2020. The last IPPC report asserts that CO2 is the cause of over 50% of the warming since 1850 but Prof. Judith Curry contends that CO 2 is the cause of less than 50% of the historic warming.
Recently, Prof. Nir Shaviv has contended that our Sun has driven about 67% of our planet’s recent warming while AGW has accounted for at most 33% of the recent increase in the average worldwide temperature. Subsequently, a Finnish paper (that has yet to be accepted for publication) asserted that humans accounted for at most 10% of any warming. In July 2019 Prof. Hyodo of Kyoto University and his team of investigators reported in a top scholarly peer-reviewed scientific journal (Nature) that AGW accounted for very little of any recent warming. They instead suggested that the “cloud umbrella effect” was the major contributor to an increase in temperature. Next, in August of 2019, a paper by Prof. Wu of China’s National Academy of Science and her team was accepted for publication in an important peer-reviewed journal and this research found no evidence of any human-induced warming. Their research confirmed the findings of an earlier 2014 scholarly paper. Then in September of 2019, a letter signed by over 700 climate experts was delivered to the UN Secretary-General insisting that “NO CLIMATE EMERGENCY EXISTS” (emphasis in the original). Interestingly, this letter came to life in Italy and most of the signatories are from Europe. Couple this with the 145 US “deniers” and the size of the entire group becomes very compelling. In an October paper published in the scientific journal, “Geology”, it was reported that climate change and ocean acidification has occurred before the appearance of hominoids on our planet. Lastly, in November, five papers from the Federal University of Sao Paolo came to light which confirmed the veracity of this other research. In Oct. 2019 David Attenbougher stated publically that the BBC has lost its reputation for reporting the scientific facts accurately. Thus, it is longer possible to rely on the mainstream media regarding the truth about climate change. The following Table and Graph show the facts:
Based upon these very latest scientific findings the case for the claim of AGW is starting to crumble before your eyes.