Writing in The Nation, Rebecca Solnit says that "The Right Is Lying About Left-Wing Violence." I think if you click that link to the title of her article you'll be able to read it, but I can't guarantee that a paywall won't prevent that. If a paywall does block you out, my apologies.
I am mentioning Solnit's article in The Nation because I have a brief comment. I think that Solnit is correct in denouncing the false story that "The Left" is the party of "violence," but I also think that the use of that "Left/Right" dichotomy, as a way to understand politics, is a fundamental error. That's my comment.
We are becoming habituated to thinking that "Right" and "Left" (or "Red" and "Blue") are the way we should understand politics. We are increasingly buying into the argument that choosing between our two major political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, is the way we should be making decisions about our future. In this way of understanding politics, our choices are pretty simple. We get to pick a "party," and there are only two options out there, as a practical matter. Or, we get to pick a "direction" - you know, "Left" or "Right." However, choosing between "Left" and "Right," and "Republican" and "Democrat," is not the way to forge the kind of future that we need - and want.
In fact, our "possibilities" are manifold, and we need to start focusing on those possibilities for change, and understand that "reality" is not a permanent press straitjacket. Our options - our "possibilities" - go way beyond those "Left/Right," "Democrat/Republican" choices with which we are so preoccupied.
Image Credit:
https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/left-wing-violence-myths-protest/
The difficulty of avoiding this side-that side thinking has a wrinkle. At 77+ M votes in 2024 & an 80%+ repub approval rating, plus some small amount of dem & independent approval, that very cautiouly leaves 50-60M [of voters] who still support Trump. These seem not likely to move to compromise, moderation, or "possibilities for change."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to this article. I read it on my Reader pane.
ReplyDeleteWhat is needed is beyond Left vs. Right, Socialism vs. Capitalism, anarchism vs. oppression, in other worlds the full spectrum of involvement in human governance, that includes the all of the Natural World as subjects rather than objects.