The ‘Moderate Left’ is Dead. The Radical Left IS The Left.

In an era where political correctness runs rampant, it is easy for otherwise well intentioned conservative, libertarian and or center-right politicos to talk about the silent, “moderates” that exist.  Said individuals like to convince the public, and themselves, that the moderate leftists must be sought after for political comradery. If the moderate left could just speak up and change the tide of the current trajectory of the DNC, surely we can restore a semblance of philosophical rational and sanity within the national dialogue.  This idea would be a viable one if not for one, hard truth. The moderate left, on a politically, representative level, is no longer a reality. To pretend otherwise is both an illusion and a detrimental, societal assumption. How did this happen and what can be done going forward? Well, let’s get into it.

         The first thoughts that may come to mind upon reading the title and subsequent introduction to this article are as such.  “Hussein, are you saying that all leftists are radicals? Are you asserting that there is no one who identifies with the left that is not a Black Bloc, Antifa, open borders, anti-American extremist?” The answer to those hypothetical inquiries is a resounding no.  I am simply making the case that, as it stands, what we call the modern left has no room in its ranks for anyone who does not toe the relativist, hyper authoritarian and anti-western line. Absolutely. Let us begin with how I believe we arrived at this point in American politics.  I will say, approximately, between the late-80s and 90s is when the problem began to unfold. 

In the face of the rise of various white power movements, fundamentalist Christian advocates as well as anti-free speech proponents who were obsessed with censoring controversial and or aggressive music; the modern right began to embrace more of a libertarian public image.  The idea of being “socially liberal and fiscally conservative” started to become a rather popular moniker. Specifically during and after the Bush administration, social conservatism began to lose its appeal. Conservatives wanted to abandon the red blooded, gun loving, brash, American cow boy archetype.  They wanted to be viewed as cultured, trendy, inclusive individuals who were only concerned with free markets and constitutional purity. Legislation and financial issues became the paramount, conservative focus. Even though this shift in sociopolitical priorities laid the ground work for some of the positive, Trump era, wave of conservatism; it inadvertently enabled some horrible side effects.

The left mistook the rights attempt to adapt as political weakness.  In a methodological perspective, they were not entirely wrong. The left had a mission to restructure the culture while offering half baked, utopian economic policies.  The Republican Party focused its collective efforts on corporate autonomy, foreign affairs and maximizing financial malleability. Don’t get me wrong, such issues are important.  With that said, all of the money, luxury and economic flourishment in the world cannot substitute a culture and ideological resilience. The right wing abandoned the cultural fight.  The left never did. This explains why the modern left has no issue with denigrating the legacy of our nation while simultaneously pushing for open borders and more immigration. They claim to advocate for women’s rights while also asserting that gender is a social construct, subsequently putting biological women in harm’s way with predatory biological men.  They will profess that the children are our future but promulgate the sexualizing of young boys as well as the casual termination of an unborn infant. The modern left, like their revolutionary predecessors, fundamentally hate the western world. It seems that they have no problem burning it to the ground, so long as they can virtue signal on the international stage.

Meanwhile, conservatives have reacted with an attempt to uphold coherent, steadfast constitutionalism.  They have tried to maintain an academic reserve, focus on the issues and avoid socially conservative talking points; in fear of alienating new, ideological converts.  Even in the era of Trump, mainstream conservatives struggle with putting fourth viscerally traditionalist messaging. They want to rely on a libertarian undergird while insinuating the benefits of or suggesting traditional lifestyles.  This is all done in the hopes to gain the support of the supposed moderate leftists and or liberals. In order to embrace moderate leftists, on a national level, the left must acknowledge them as a part of their political network. They do not.

Neo liberals and leftists, who find themselves questioning the orthodoxy of their respective, political colleagues are forced to either renounce their political affiliations or stay quiet.  This is the impetus of the Walk Away movement. This can be seen quite succinctly when one observes the vitriol that Tulsi Gabbard has received from her fellow Democrats. She is not terribly right wing or even libertarian for that matter. However, when she chooses to focus on non-interventionism, free speech, revitalizing the working class and expresses a minutia of love for nation, she defies the left. Her political beliefs spit in the face of the globalist, anti-American elites that have all but consumed the DNC.  Not to mention her decision to call out the hypocrisy of some of Democratic, presidential candidates with regards to their former political platforms and their current ones. She is no longer a friend of the establishment left.

This is not a call for Democratic defectors to become fervent, Republican ideologues.  Although I believe that the Republican Party can be a worthwhile conduit for pushing useful policies in the interim, I believe the resolve is much deeper than that.  There needs to be a national acknowledgement of the state of the modern left. The modern left despises the individual. They loath the very civilization that has produced them. They view any all individuals who disagree with them as far right, blood thirsty, Eurocentric authoritarians.  They do not believe in compromise or common ground. They believe in political victory. Anyone who does not share these world views, is not a part of the modern left.

Furthermore, anyone who is afraid to call out the left, who considers themselves to be on the left, you are cowards. If you are concerned with civil liberties, social equality and fighting racism, I have news for you.  You exist in one the most egalitarian civilizations in the history of the species. All of the important civil rights movements started in the western world. Our culture has put forth a plethora of culturally superior ideologies and philosophical presuppositions. Freedom of speech, the right to own property, the right to vote, merit based hierarchies, all developed within our culture.  There is a stark differences between addressing the various injustices that individuals experience and scoffing, arrogantly at the grand lineage of the most sophisticated civilizations that our species has ever stumbled upon. 

How do we address this?  Well, here are few ideas.  We must revere, honor and learn from our heritage.  We need to realize that there are social norms and societal outliers. We have to understand that a lot of those social norms have amazing benefits.  We need to come to terms with and respect the cultural positives of our Christian, national origins. We have to embrace the reality of biology and the inevitable, hierarchical structures within our society.  We have to humble ourselves in face of the world’s troubles and know that we can never establish utopia on earth. We need to never, ever be ashamed of who and what we are as westerners. We need to promote healthy, nuclear families and monogamous relationships.  Hyper individualism and militant tribalism are broken, political absolutes. Healthy, functioning communities that acknowledge the autonomy of its individual citizens, must become paramount ethos within the minds of all Americans. A base of traditionalism with a culturally libertarian zeitgeist seems to be the only viable, non-utopian approach going forward. Conservatives can no longer apologize for being conservative.  Conservatives cannot abandon socially conservative beliefs in order to win votes. Neo liberals must understand that their ideological camp has been in decline ever since the 1960s. Neo liberals have to comprehend that the madness that is manifesting itself in today’s political discourse is merely the extrapolation of the academic premises of the radicals of old.

The left does not just disagree with many Americans. The modern left hates America and the western world as a whole.  There is no compromise to be had with those who seek to usher in your demise. The sooner we realize this, the better off we will be.