The fundamental tactic of the contemporary Left entails blaming perfectly rational, utterly verifiable statements made by mainstream “conservatives” for acts of hatred which they in no way intended to incite. Pointing out, for example, the militaristic, misogynistic, homophobic tendencies of Islam from its very inception, is in no way intended as an invitation to go out and kill a Muslim. “Conservatism” focuses on Ideas and Values from a Rational/Moral perspective. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, once a Muslim, then an atheist, now, apparently, a Christian, was motivated to denounce Islam not by hatred but by her impulses as a decent, intelligent human being. Millions of Muslims who share her mind set are no doubt chafing beneath the barbaric oppression of various Islamic regimes across the planet. That White Westerner who decides to open fire on a Mosque, far from being an agent of “conservative” values, is violating the rational/moral principles at the very core of “conservatism.” My point is simply that the endlessly repeated epithet “far right” is inherently dishonest in that it refuses to acknowledge that “conservatism” is decidedly of the Rational Center, besieged on the one side by racists, misogynists, etc., and on the other by those given to the equally mindless delusions of the Left.
In a recent appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, Jordan Peterson ranted against the “meta-Marxism” of the contemporary Left, asking why supposedly intelligent, mainstream “progressives” were so reluctant to criticize some of the truly repulsive behavior of certain demographics. The answer to his question, I would suggest, is quite simple. In the fantasy world created by Marx, the so-called “marginalized” are always right, always the victims of oppression, never responsible for their plight, however pathologically self-centered and brazenly unethical their behavior. “Meta-Marxism,” in other words, is not irrational at its fringes, it is pervasively so.
Hence, for example, the mainstream’s canonization of career criminal George Floyd upon his death in May, 2020! Yes, officer Chauvin was guilty of gross misconduct. But that his victim was Black and he White became the focal point of the Left’s simplistic perspective. Floyd’s personal history as well as the inordinate percentage of crime committed by American Blacks in general, were ignored by the mainstream press, anyone who dared point that out, of course, being denounced as a racist. Predictably, BLM was able to destroy over 2 billion dollars of property in the ensuing months. At the same time, specious generalizations such as the notion that most White cops are Racists and that police forces across the U.S. ought to be defunded, became more or less daily talking points on CNN, MSNBC, etc.. At the heart of such nonsense, the neo-Marxist belief that Power alone defines the villains in any human conflict, those who have it invariably denounced as “oppressors” while those who don’t are utterly beyond criticism. Morality and Intelligence have very little place in such a perspective.
Nothing better illustrates this point than the criticisms levelled at Israel for its response to the barbaric Oct. 7 attack launched by Hamas. Far too complicated to fully explore here, the relative integrity of the contending parties is perhaps best explained by the fact that whereas Israel is warning Palestinian civilians of impending attacks in the hope that they might flee the targeted areas, Hamas is in fact preventing them from doing so in a disgusting attempt to smear Israel’s international reputation. Its hatred of the Jews clearly supersedes its concern for its very own people! Its heartless, self-serving disregard for human life is truly disgusting. Yet with typical Leftist superficiality, Canada’s Prime Minister has placed the onus for saving innocent Palestinian lives on Israel which, as an evolved, Democratic State which has surpassed the accomplishments of its Arab neighbors in almost every way, now conforms to the Left’s very definition of an oppressive power.
On Jan. 14, 2023, The National Post published a wonderful piece by historian Allan Levine [yes, he is Jewish] highlighting Israel’s turbulent history since it its inception after the Second World War. A picture accompanying the article is sub-titled as follows: The Six-Day War of 1967 saw Israel transformed from a mostly admired tenacious underdog to a maligned military power and occupier. This caption says it all. Victimized throughout history, most conspicuously by the Nazis, Jews quite naturally garnered the sympathy of the “compassionate” Left. Yet as soon as they acquired the power to defend themselves, they came under attack as just another White, militaristic, oppressive bully. That they are surrounded by hostile forces too petty and xenophobic to grant them a safe haven in a portion of the world they have occupied since the beginning of recorded history, has little impact on those who now see them as just another “colonialist” superpower. That non-Jews within Israel are in fact treated with respect, is irrelevant to Leftist simpletons such as Susan Sarandon who, at a recent demonstration, was caught chanting “from the river to the sea,” an oft-repeated, pro-Palestinian mantra implying the utter elimination of Israel.
The superficiality of the Left poisons discourse on most every contentious issue in the news these days. As Men, for reasons both legitimate and otherwise, have historically held sway over Women in the political arena, many who consider themselves intellectuals are comfortable with the notion that Masculinity is inherently Toxic, that Men are inherently Oppressive. Yet Women’s hallowed status as Victims pales before that of Transgenders who perhaps constitute the greatest minority of our species. Predictably, individuals born with penises who now identify as Female are being granted entry to women’s jail cells, washrooms, locker rooms and even athletic competitions in which their Biology gives them inarguable advantages. Those given to this woke agenda refuse to allow that hormonal and surgical procedures do not necessarily cancel the fundamental facts of Nature. Examples of girls victimized by such Leftist naivete abound, including female convicts impregnated by their trans cell-mates, and the more common occurrence of female athletes soundly defeated by individuals born with penises. The truly frightening aspect of this willingness to entitle Transgenders in ways that jeopardize both the rights and safety of Women, is that it is the product not of “far-Left” fanaticism but of mainstream “progressivism.” Boxer Katia Bissonnette recently withdrew from a competition when she discovered that her next opponent had in fact been born Male. The officially sanctioned board overseeing the competition, the Quebec Boxing Federation, clearly put the “rights” of their transgender boxer ahead of the those of the many girls he/she might beat to a pulp. So much for Women’s Rights!
The Left is not merely irrational at its fringes, it is pervasively so. Their reluctance to highlight the absurdity of their own beliefs is no doubt why many supposedly intelligent “progressives,” as pointed out by Jordan Peterson, refuse to engage in honest, forthright criticisms of the often absurd repercussions of those beliefs. Thankfully, the decline in most every aspect of Western Culture, including its abandonment of the Principles of both Truth and Morality, has inspired many to abandon their former loyalties, not necessarily declaring as “conservatives,” but certainly distancing themselves from what they now seem to consider the sheer stupidity of the neo-Marxist world-view. My next blog, which I promise will be brief in comparison to the one you are presently reading, will cite a number of former “liberals” who now find the beliefs and behavior of those on the Left utterly absurd.