I think people are getting really tired of being told they are far right Nazi's for wanting reasonable restrictions on immigration. Much like with the Democrats in the US, it seems the condescending virtue signaling is no longer a winning strategy in the polls in Europe.
Yeah, I feel like a fundamental mistake across the board committed by "the left" (I hate the false simplicity of the left-right spectrum as a image but I digress) in the last half century is taking a very real and actual evil that occurred in history among the ranks of "the right"(espoused by such groups as the Nazis, racial supremacists, etc.), and conflating other beliefs and characteristics of "the right" that are patently not-evil (such as border enforcement, pro-life beliefs, traditional marriage, non-absolute church-state separation, small government, self-defense laws, etc.) as being inextricably bound to the historical evils. This has had two negative effects: 1) it has alienated, ostracized, and damaged the democratically valid presence of these beliefs as part of the dialogue, which damages the social order in and of itself, and 2) has pushed these reasonable beliefs to the fringes, allowing them at times to be infiltrated by the historical evils--a profound rarity and minority of cases, but which get a lot of media coverage, which reinforces the vicious cycle. The marginalization of the right as being allegedly "anti-democratic" (justly) enrages those who are subject to the accusation, which strains goodwill and commonweal--and then blames those angry folks for being angry. It's a lose-lose-lose situation for those that hold to "the right".
All this happens with a kind of myopia or blissful ignorance of very similar evils espoused historically by "the left" (such as those promulgated by the Communist states, eugenicists, and the like). This kind of willful blindness towards "the left"'s own vulnerabilities to incursions by evil really shows in the fact that eugenetic and abortive beliefs have managed to take a major hold in "the left" in a way that the coordinate racism, dehumanization, and religious persecution espoused by e.g. the Nazis has not taken hold in the mainstream "right". In other words, "the left" was so careful to police "the right" not to allow the historical evils of "the right" to take hold, but more or less ignored their own vulnerabilities and those evils have taken a mainstream hold.
I say this, to be clear, as someone who has both very strong "rightwing" and "leftwing" beliefs depending on the issue--historically I've identified a little more closely with "the left" even as I probably lean a tick to the conservative side (in a different era I may have been called a "blue dog Democrat" haha). I'm just calling as I see it from my limited perspective, and it really seems like the playing field has been tipped against "the right" for half a century or more.
We have to be able to separate historical evils and evil beliefs (such as explicit racism, or that fetuses are not persons) from acceptable and viable beliefs, and not associate them together. We must, must be vigilant against the evils: there is no room for eugenetic beliefs, racism, religious persecution, dehumanizing forms of government, and abortive beliefs. But if we cry wolf over reasonable beliefs like border control or (on the other side) energy reform, then the wolves are going to get in and get all the sheep.
Absolutely! In this context I'm using 'commonweal' to mean something similar to "the common good", though I feel commonweal communicates something slightly different. Since 'weal' is an oldish word for wellbeing, wellness, prosperity, or good fortune (as the traditional opposite to 'woe'), I use commonweal here to mean the general wellness/health of the social order: public wellbeing, the stability and health of our social bonds, the general ability of our social order to enable wellness in its citizens.
"... expressed fears that German democracy would 'suffer massive damage' if the Union parties cooperated with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party..." [...] "... parties that question the fundamental values of our social coexistence and our democracy are gaining popularity..." [...] "If you can only realize your plans with the help of enemies of democracy and humanity, then perhaps your plans are simply anti-democratic and anti-human." [...] "... the right-wing populists are getting closer to their goal of driving the democratic parties into a corner and against each other"...
... wait for it...
"... she said, calling for the Jan. 31 vote to be postponed."
😂 You can't make this stuff up.
(*cough* Romania 12/6 *cough*)
When certain people talk about "democracy," what they really mean is "the outcomes we want." Thus, when they don't get their way, the only possible explanation for them is that the democratic process has been thwarted.
Now, this is most plain on the progressive left that has dominated the US for so long. Yet Trump pulled the same garbage on J6, so no one's hands are clean, unfortunately.
Regardless, the AGV comes off much better in their statements. "Diversity and discussion"! Yay! 🥳
Yeah I think democracy is becoming one of those buzzwords people use without thinking about what they actually mean. It seems that a lot of people have been so conditioned to think "democracy = good" that anything bad or unwanted happens it must not be democracy.
The upper classes tend to forget that democracy is the dictatorship of the proletariat, who have the majority of the votes. Our American founders tried to set up a system that would minimize the problems that might cause. When it works properly we are blessed.
The Germans sure do know how to make some of the best words and acronyms
Oh no, not Our Democracy!
I think people are getting really tired of being told they are far right Nazi's for wanting reasonable restrictions on immigration. Much like with the Democrats in the US, it seems the condescending virtue signaling is no longer a winning strategy in the polls in Europe.
Yeah, I feel like a fundamental mistake across the board committed by "the left" (I hate the false simplicity of the left-right spectrum as a image but I digress) in the last half century is taking a very real and actual evil that occurred in history among the ranks of "the right"(espoused by such groups as the Nazis, racial supremacists, etc.), and conflating other beliefs and characteristics of "the right" that are patently not-evil (such as border enforcement, pro-life beliefs, traditional marriage, non-absolute church-state separation, small government, self-defense laws, etc.) as being inextricably bound to the historical evils. This has had two negative effects: 1) it has alienated, ostracized, and damaged the democratically valid presence of these beliefs as part of the dialogue, which damages the social order in and of itself, and 2) has pushed these reasonable beliefs to the fringes, allowing them at times to be infiltrated by the historical evils--a profound rarity and minority of cases, but which get a lot of media coverage, which reinforces the vicious cycle. The marginalization of the right as being allegedly "anti-democratic" (justly) enrages those who are subject to the accusation, which strains goodwill and commonweal--and then blames those angry folks for being angry. It's a lose-lose-lose situation for those that hold to "the right".
All this happens with a kind of myopia or blissful ignorance of very similar evils espoused historically by "the left" (such as those promulgated by the Communist states, eugenicists, and the like). This kind of willful blindness towards "the left"'s own vulnerabilities to incursions by evil really shows in the fact that eugenetic and abortive beliefs have managed to take a major hold in "the left" in a way that the coordinate racism, dehumanization, and religious persecution espoused by e.g. the Nazis has not taken hold in the mainstream "right". In other words, "the left" was so careful to police "the right" not to allow the historical evils of "the right" to take hold, but more or less ignored their own vulnerabilities and those evils have taken a mainstream hold.
I say this, to be clear, as someone who has both very strong "rightwing" and "leftwing" beliefs depending on the issue--historically I've identified a little more closely with "the left" even as I probably lean a tick to the conservative side (in a different era I may have been called a "blue dog Democrat" haha). I'm just calling as I see it from my limited perspective, and it really seems like the playing field has been tipped against "the right" for half a century or more.
We have to be able to separate historical evils and evil beliefs (such as explicit racism, or that fetuses are not persons) from acceptable and viable beliefs, and not associate them together. We must, must be vigilant against the evils: there is no room for eugenetic beliefs, racism, religious persecution, dehumanizing forms of government, and abortive beliefs. But if we cry wolf over reasonable beliefs like border control or (on the other side) energy reform, then the wolves are going to get in and get all the sheep.
Could you say more about what you mean by "commonweal"? I'm intrigued.
Absolutely! In this context I'm using 'commonweal' to mean something similar to "the common good", though I feel commonweal communicates something slightly different. Since 'weal' is an oldish word for wellbeing, wellness, prosperity, or good fortune (as the traditional opposite to 'woe'), I use commonweal here to mean the general wellness/health of the social order: public wellbeing, the stability and health of our social bonds, the general ability of our social order to enable wellness in its citizens.
Something along those lines!
Thank you for elaborating!
"... expressed fears that German democracy would 'suffer massive damage' if the Union parties cooperated with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party..." [...] "... parties that question the fundamental values of our social coexistence and our democracy are gaining popularity..." [...] "If you can only realize your plans with the help of enemies of democracy and humanity, then perhaps your plans are simply anti-democratic and anti-human." [...] "... the right-wing populists are getting closer to their goal of driving the democratic parties into a corner and against each other"...
... wait for it...
"... she said, calling for the Jan. 31 vote to be postponed."
😂 You can't make this stuff up.
(*cough* Romania 12/6 *cough*)
When certain people talk about "democracy," what they really mean is "the outcomes we want." Thus, when they don't get their way, the only possible explanation for them is that the democratic process has been thwarted.
Now, this is most plain on the progressive left that has dominated the US for so long. Yet Trump pulled the same garbage on J6, so no one's hands are clean, unfortunately.
Regardless, the AGV comes off much better in their statements. "Diversity and discussion"! Yay! 🥳
Yeah I think democracy is becoming one of those buzzwords people use without thinking about what they actually mean. It seems that a lot of people have been so conditioned to think "democracy = good" that anything bad or unwanted happens it must not be democracy.
The upper classes tend to forget that democracy is the dictatorship of the proletariat, who have the majority of the votes. Our American founders tried to set up a system that would minimize the problems that might cause. When it works properly we are blessed.