What I Like About the Left
In the spirit of the season, this right-leaning Libertarian wants the Left to know they are valued and important.
This week, the Country is focused on positivity, as we anticipate Christmas and the New Year. As a right-leaning libertarian who mostly votes Republican (and for some third party candidates), I thought it would be a great exercise to write today about what I like about the Left and Democrats - some positives we can build on to bridge the ever-increasing political gap in this country. Of course, in order to do so, I’ve had to make gross generalizations about the Left - it is not a monolith and divisions exist in most issues, as they do on the right. We get way too tied up in binary thinking and us vs. them mentality, which leads to terrible outcomes. I’ve done my best though to represent what I believe about Democrats; I am sure I’ve gotten a lot of it wrong. Comments below are welcome!
The Left as a general rule has a strong sense of empathy and fairness. They care about the downtrodden, the poor and homeless, the less fortunate and the meek. They are keenly aware of injustice and over the decades have brought the problems of our society to the forefront for everyone’s benefit, including civil rights, poverty, the Drug War, Wall Street excesses and, until recently, the never-ending war machine for profit. They advocate strongly and effectively and many are willing to be arrested at protests for what they believe. Leftists will speak out when the repercussions of their views may have punishing consequences. Any hierarchical structure or institution built by humans is imperfect and needs reform before tyranny sets in. I admire their tenacity, dedication to principles they believe, and full-throated and bodied advocacy for their position.
Democrats in America - again until very recently - are the antiwar party that seeks peace throughout the world. My favorite Democrat in Congress, Barbara Lee, was the sole vote against the Authorization of Use of Military Force in Iraq and Afghanistan in Congress. Democrats protested the Iraq and Afghanistan wars which were foreign policy catastrophes for which the opportunity costs will punish Americans for decades hence. I quote President Kennedy’s Peace Speech on a regular basis, and his view on peace through strength is the finest doctrine of foreign policy produced in America since World War II. Democrats in Congress were a constant watchdog on the Department of Defense budget and foreign engagements. They helped to steer the course away from the aggressive tendencies of the Military Industrial Complex throughout the Cold War.
At home, the Democrats helped to bring about much needed reforms in labor practices through the creation of unions in the late 19th and early 20th century. They have worked to improve wages, promote worker’s rights and improve family leave policies. They have been a useful watchdog of corporate overreach, and have protected consumer rights and privacy. The Left was the force that created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to assist the most vulnerable in our society and ensure that our elderly population’s last chapters are not in destitution. The Left are consistent advocates for more benefits that aim to help everyday people in healthcare, racist and/or biased policies and righting wrongs of the past. They work to bring down drug prices, especially for seniors, and have worked to expand insurance coverage for mental health, substance abuse treatment and affordable long-term care.
The Left has been a major advocate for reform of bad policing, racist sentencing guidelines and mass incarceration, especially when it affects inner-city and poorer communities. They keep the society focused on problems with the environment, pollution and the climate. Democrats work to help the huddled masses coming to our border to seek prosperity and a better life. The entire civil rights movement can trace its beginnings and major wins to leaders on the Left (albeit many were Republicans in America until the 1970s).
Democrats and Leftists are good people who want the same thing that all Americans want: clean, safe schools where our children receive a world class eduction; fair and free taxes and trade that promote American workers and American businesses; a strong defense with a posture of peace through strength throughout the world; the end of forever wars in the Middle East and elsewhere; a strong healthcare system that provides vital services to every American; the end of poverty, racism and bigotry.
In sum, a country of which all Americans can be proud.
These goals are the same as mine and the vast majority of Americans right, left or indifferent. We simply disagree about the methods to achieve these ends. That’s no reason to continue to be ugly to one another.
We should stop demonizing each other; we should seek first to understand and then to be understood. We should think about the ways we can compromise to achieve better outcomes, to think about how both parties and everyone involved wins. In today’s modern world, we are so closely connected that a functioning democracy requires we act interdependently. The answer is not two Americas, but one made stronger through our differences - diversity that builds strength - because no one and no political party or ideology has a monopoly on truth or the best path forward. Together, we can build a better future. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “we may have come here on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now.”
May God Bless these United States, and every Democrat or Leftist among us. Merry Christmas, every one.