Extremists of Left and Right
It’s been said that the political spectrum isn’t really a straight line, with the most extreme right-winger standing out on one end and the most extreme left-winger out on the other end. In reality, it’s more like a line curved to form a circle, with the extremists of left and right standing shoulder to shoulder.
While the political positions of those on the far left and far right in America are different in terms of substance, the value of this analytical construct goes to attitudes and methods. Extremists of the far left and the far right share a certainty that the American political system is broken, and they’re convinced that those who disagree with them are not only completely wrong but determined to destroy the country.
Extremists see those they oppose as evil beyond redemption. They also share destructive agendas, often expressed in the view that the existing political order, or subsets of it, must be destroyed and re-built.
Extremists also believe in absurd conspiracy theories with a certainty that makes most of their fellow citizens uncomfortable. You don’t have to look far to find their favorite conspiracies — they’re in blogs, in chain e-mails, in the media, woven into movie and TV scripts, and propounded by often ill-informed advocates.
The strength of American politics is that there aren’t many people at the true political extremes. However, too many are too close to the extremes these days, keeping bad company with radicals and reactionaries who would prefer to destroy rather than to build. If it’s worse than in the past, the reason may be a surfeit of communication — fools with computers shoveling nonsense onto the internet and too many media outlets giving exposure to any idiot who might improve ratings.
In the coming years, as we struggle through wars, economic crisis, and potential financial collapse, we must reject extremist views of both the left and the right. It’s particularly important that liberals moderate the far left, while conservatives moderate the far right. We’ll never achieve the nirvana of bipartisanship that some politicians have promised, but we can certainly maintain civil discourse and work together on reasonable solutions to the problems that face all of us.
(This article was also published at Opinion Forum.)
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Thank you, that’s an excellent article. Glad I’m not the only one who holds this view.
Susannah Morgan says:
GOOD READ! What people who live outside the USA do not understand is that in a crisis, like 9/11 or the recent Fort Hood attack, members of all political parties stand shoulder to shoulder. They are all Americans first, Democrats, Republicans or Indpendents second.
Not just in America, Substitute UK and British. WW1-2 + Falklands + IRA, etc.
GOOD READ! What people who live outside the USA do not understand is that in a crisis, like 9/11 or the recent Fort Hood attack, members of all political parties stand shoulder to shoulder. They are all Americans first, Democrats, Republicans or Indpendents second.
.-= Susannah Morgan´s last blog ..Sergei, Charles, Snickers and The Big Kahuna =-.