ant wrote:Politics, particularly Identity Politics, has replaced religion for the progressive left. This has been happening in America for quite some time and has just now completely risen out into the public arena.
I think you make some good points here. Interestingly, David Brooks makes the mirror image diagnosis of conservatism (he identifies as conservative). In his view, they lost the moral fervor of defending against communism with the fall of the Soviet Union, and "blood and soil" nationalism was the only unifying ideal left in the gap.
ant wrote:It was a perfect storm for the left to adopt a substitute for religion. After 8 years of democratic leadership in the White House, losing it created a crises of faith among the liberal sheep, which are now utterly desperate to take back their positions of power that create a false sense of security that everything will be okay.
When your identity ( aka "spiritual" for the irreligious) leaders are in their rightful place, nirvana is close.
I don't think I buy this part. I do think Obama was an inspiring, unifying leader for liberals like me and most of my friends. And I think his position did provide some sense of security about, e.g. health care and the environment, that now feel like we have been turned over to the tender mercies of corporations. But there is a similarity between the insecurity that resulted from unified Republican government (which did not actually manage to repeal Obamacare but did their darndest) and the insecurity that motivates a lot of religious people. Identity leaders? That's in your imagination, in my opinion.
ant wrote:To our politically religious progressives, Trump literally personifies all that is evil in the world - Nazism, Hitler, misogynist, racist, anti science, anti environment, anti immigrant, liar (what politician has NOT lied), Putin's puppet, and the list goes on and on and on. But it wasn't too long ago when this man personified the american ideal of opulence, success, and fame. A man who rubbed elbows with celebrities and politicians, who once upon a time took his campaign donations with smiles on their faces.
I don't think you will find that most liberals admired Donald Trump. We do not automatically assume that multi-millionaires are crooks, but even Jeff Bezos has something on his mind other than making my life better, and so naturally we don't trust him. Gates was, and remains, a scofflaw monopolist. Sam Walton built an empire on exploiting marginal workers (although he and his people did some good things too, like Gates.) Google no longer even pretends they don't want to be evil, and the demonic forces of private equity are the standard bearers for claims that greed is good.
ant wrote:Progressives do not care about my brown skin, this country, or the world. What matters most is restoring their faith and order to the universe that up till now was not in a state of "evil" chaos.
Pretty sweeping generalization. You would have a hard time making any of that stick for any of the progressives I know. But it's true we care deeply about forces of "order" like having the leaders sworn to uphold the constitution actually defend it instead of attacking it (Dear Leader recently proposed to repeal part of the Constitution by executive order. How do you like them apples?) and having the government spread the truth rather than ban it, as they have with several environmental issues now. Constitutional democracy does go to the heart of what we love about our country. What is the point of the sacrifice to defeat Naziism if we are going to empower anti-Semitism and authoritarian subjugation of law here at home all by ourselves?
ant wrote:And yet, before Satan occupied the Oval Office there were immigrant families being separated at the border, hard working immigrants being rounded up in deportation raids, horrific crimes of trafficking of displaced immigrant children, exploitation of immigrant labor, american citizens going to bed hungry not knowing where their next meal would be coming from, people living without roofs over their heads, and innocent civilians abroad dying by the hundreds because of US drone strikes.
I don't like any of those, but I don't see that they represented threats to Constitutional democracy.
ant wrote:Spare me this crisis of left wing political faith. There was such a thing as racism long before Trump entered office. As a Latino man, I can attest to it from first hand experience.
All the recent popularized racial self flogging by white Americans preaching the evils of Trumpian racism means nothing to people of color who do not wish to capitalize, or benefit from these recent fashionable waves of championing the "less fortunate."
Well, are you prepared to demonstrate that this is the view of "most" people of color, let along "almost all"? My understanding is that most people of color would love to have the racist barriers to opportunity removed, and while they may not appreciate the fashionability of resistance to racism, they would prefer Heather Heyer to Dylann Roof any day of the week.
ant wrote:We believe in hard work, and earning what we have. We do not expect or demand help. We respect others, and ourselves. We do not impose our culture on anyone. We are able to play by the rules of "When in Rome" while preserving our values and heritage.
Who doesn't prefer to earn what they have? That doesn't mean that people of color are happy to play by the rules that say sitting in Starbucks with dark skin will get you harassed by the police, and driving with a registered weapon and brown skin will get you killed. Asking for the respect white people take for granted is not asking for "help."
ant wrote:Generally speaking, one reason why religion is missed is because it was a means to contemplate something greater than yourself, truth or falsity aside. That "something" was outside of yourself. It required occupying yourself with something other than yourself. As such, in its healthiest expressions, it's a good antidote for narcissism.
This is vital truth. I'm not sure identifying with improving the world through politics and government action is a bad thing, or fails to give you something greater than yourself to contemplate. Nor am I sure the level of hypocrisy is greater among liberals than among the religious. But I do know it is not narcissistic to want the climate rescued from the damage humans are doing to it on a massive scale. It may not help my soul, but it is for sure the right thing to do, and promoting denial is bad for the soul.
ant wrote:The politics of today actually encourage narcissism. When everyone is obsessing with their identity, no one will ever bother to try and understand yours. It's you that will always be my adversary. You're the problem, not me.
This is the part I most agree with, and find most insightful. There's a reason why politics and religion are the traditional "no go" topics for polite company. It is all too easy to make them about showing other people to be wrong, instead of examining myself to see where I am worshiping idols.