Left vs Right and a few shades in between. Its been that simple for the casual observer forever but there's always been more complexity, always more devil in the detail.
In the US the progressives had latched onto images of women in a hijab (women choosing to wear the hijab) as an image portraying freedom of speech, religion, expression and even against intolerance & bigotry. It stands in stark contrast to women in Iran on this the first day of 2018 attending protests & taking off their head wear to protest against oppression as they view the hijab to be a symbol of oppression. Why? probably because the "progressives" aren't progressive, they twisted it to oppose everything they think s establishment. White & Christian in the USA.
Some of the US "progressives" fall deathly silent on Iran or claim its a sovereign matter for a foreign country. who knew the morality of women's rights are relative to national borders?
The irony is not lost on people of the right, people who usually take no interest in political matters and really not lost on those who genuinely are "progressives". Its part of the reason there are many progressives around the world who are leaving the left. If I was to have a wishful bet for 2018 I'd hope the Left has a proper ideological reformation and if not perhaps the right could so the real progressives in society have somewhere to actually go.
We're at a cross roads now & we've begun to see a small emerging trend, well I hope its a trend. I hope its a growing trend. I'm not exactly a total fan of Milo Y. but have to say when he first popped onto my own personal radar he'd been a big deal for a very long time in a lot of other places. I didn't know of him until 4 or 5 months prior to his 2017 visit to Australia. Interesting was the contradictions he brought to the front & centre of most people's viewing.
Labelled as an Anti-Semite, a homophobe and a racist. Turns out he didn't possess those facets of bigotry at all. We soon learnt he was gay married to a black man and was of Jewish descent. Turns out the intolerant nature he had was an intolerance for lack of facts or a deliberate depletion of facts when apparently self claiming "progressives" put forward an argument.
He was of course controversial and if you're on the talk circuit you need to be.
Not long after I stumbled upon Ben Shapiro. Ben is an American social commentator, has a show, is a very well educated, well credentialed graduate of Law. Seek him out on YouTube and his many area of controversy is..."facts don't care about feelings, stick with facts".
Neither he nor Milo will be 100% right on 100% of all things 100% of the time.
I am in Ben Shapiro's case having a hard time finding where he's tripped himself up yet.
In fact I haven't yet. Yes, he sticks close to the same areas and the same formula but these are areas which he's researched, grabbed the most centrally relevant facts and drops them as he finds them. They're not massaged, twist or where required omitted.
A full on argument with Ben Shapiro is not an argument with Ben Shaprio.
Its full on argument with facts where he happens to be the delivery guy.
Yes he puts a polished delivery on every nugget he drops but unlike Milo, its not grandiose showmanship to deliver the goods whilst spruiking the deliverer's brand.
Brand Milo is growing.
For 2 different reasons, two very different and at times differing people, Milo & Ben, may turn out to be two of the more influential people in 2018. Yes even though they're not kindred spirits they have commonalities.
They will be regard as being from the right, but because they're fact based genuine "progressives" who really are genuinely progressive will hear the penny drop from these to and leave the left.
Alt-Right, Hard left, Ultra Right, Leftist Progressives...all these shades of the two poles aren't helpful and hopefully we will see more people in Australia and see that the Liberal/Labor Duopoly of today & the last 20 years has been good & bad, but it hasn't been as good as it should be.
Labor Party is a funny outfit. It demonises the Liberals and anyone of the right for being more inclined to like things of an authoritarian nature. Union crushing, destroying anything non white Christian and corporate. Maybe some of that is true. But strangely the Labor party is a mini me of Socialist Russia long gone. In the Labor Party you can argue, but only behind closed doors and even then you better be very sparingly inclined to rock the boat or you'll be replaced. Cross the floor in parliament? Yep you will be expelled from the party & replaced by an approved and anointed devout follower from the coven.
Liberals not so? Well yes, but its less overt. Cross the floor is allowed but you know its career threatening. Not one MP from WA has ever really fought for GST reform in parliament, let alone even mentioned it in the House of Reps or the Senate.
Maybe so in 2018.
But be aware, a growing number of people are sick of political awareness that suppresses facts to protect feelings. Its a threat to both the left and the right.
This growing sentiment has the potential to bring some real reformation to both the left & the right...so it'll have an enormous amount of resistance.
I'm not pro Trump. He's been a buffoon and a clot with alarming regularity. He's created as much fake news & alternative facts as he's complained about. The weirdest thing is, under his watch, the real progressives who have chased facts over feelings have flourished. Its not a credit to him directly nor intentionally. Maybe its coincidental but it could never have happened under Bush, Clinton Obama or here under Turnbull, Abbott, Rudd or Gillard.
Maybe things under all these people just wore things down to where we are now, where people have stopped and looked for facts and they're winning.
Its only day one of the year and if this is a return to a properly real era of progressive thinking, well its day one also. You can expect massive push back from both Left & Right regressives.
Yes here's the oddity, it may not be a fight between Left & Right that is the most important, maybe the most dominant but not the most important.
The real important struggle will most likely be between the Progressives and Regressives.
Where I see personal attacks, comments on corruption without proof, claims of intolerance or being offended I know they're alternatives to facts and tell tale clues we're listening to a regressive.
Feminism, unionism are not dirty words, they good for society. So too is religion, faith & capitalism.
Race relations, feminism, capitalism, religion...all have been hijacked but intellectually bankrupt people and left their causes angered, bitter and hate fuelled in some circles. Good orators have the power to rouse fools to slaughter.
A good statesman however will be a fact based progressive who can lead through good times & dark times. Its been a while since we've seen great statesmen (and I used that term as gender neutral lest anyone be "offended").
The politician who devoutly follows the party dogma is a cult member ministering to the sinners he/she is wishing to convert or rule authority over if they cannot be converted.
Politics in WA & Australia as well as many other countries has Political cults with cult followers.
I'm hoping here on Day 1 of 2018 we may see more true & real Progressives progressive by name, nature & deeds to come to the fore. Real tolerance follows and an intolerance to ideals that are not of our own.
Happy 2018. Lets hope.
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