It’s been my theory that Minnesota “progressives” – especially here in the Metro area – are incapable of debating conservatives on a level deeper than ad-homina and strawmen because they never learn what it’s like to deal with dissent. They grow up in “progressive” families, sure – and then go on to 12 years of public education run by and for the left. Then 4-8 years at a U of M or a Saint Olaf or a Macalester, where conservatism is treated as a villain in a melodrama, all but twisting its mustache in sadistic glee, and where no realistic debate is tolerated. Then they go on to careers in academia, public education, non-profits, or public sector unions, where people marinade in unquestioned “progressivism” for decades without a break.
In other words, for Minnesota “progressives”, their entire life is a “safe space”.
Robert Tracinski at The Federalist thinks that’s a bad sign for progressivism – that it will lead, eventually, to “Peak Leftism”. In fact…
At the beginning of the year, I speculated that we may have reached “Peak Leftism,” the point at which the left has achieved such uniform control of the commanding heights of the culture that they have no place to go but down. Their mania for soft ideological conformity suggests a mechanism for this decline. They are growing so accustomed to living in an ideological “safe space” that they will no longer understand what it means to debate their positions, much less how to win the debate.
And this is bad for “progressive”ism because… (emphasis added):
The most powerful historical precedent for this is the totalitarian creed of the Soviet Union—a dogma imposed, not just by campus censors or a Twitter mob, but by gulags and secret police. Yet one of the lessons of the Soviet collapse is that the ideological uniformity of a dictatorship seems totally solid and impenetrable—right up to the moment it cracks apart. The imposition of dogma succeeds in getting everyone to mouth the right slogans, even as fewer and fewer of them understand or believe the ideology behind it.
Go ahead. Talk some some Sanders supporters for a while. Tracinski’s thesis doesn’t seem so far out.
Merg, you are underestimating the power of the fifth estate to carry progressivism forward and the amount of brainwashed to the point of being braindead eTASS-type commissars.
Although they always come up with a new cause. The gay thing is old news now. So now the loony left has become obsessed with drag queens.
But you are correct about echo chambers. That may be why much of the Democrat party is made up of anti-Christian bigots. These are people who virtually never come in contact with a traditional Biblical Christian.
Related…and the irony…..there was a protest at Rutgers this week. Some lefties tried to prevent a speaker from appearing on campus. The money quote…..”we value diversity and inclusion at Rutgers, so this man must not be allowed to speak”.
That may be why much of the Democrat party is made up of anti-Christian bigots.
While I know a few atheists whose principles I respect (albeit disagree with), modern “progressive” atheism has become dominated by bitchy anti-
religous-Christian zealots who seem to be dominated by lapsed Catholics/Fundies with huge daddy issues.“In other words, for Minnesota “progressives”, their entire life is a “safe space”.
This is why I come here. That might be the most profound thing you’ve written all year. Seriously – it makes perfect sense and explains so much about what bugs me about people in this state.
The imposition of dogma succeeds in getting everyone to mouth the right slogans, even as fewer and fewer of them understand or believe the ideology behind it.
That can take a very, very long time.
See also: Europe & Christianity.
Looking at crime rates in the Twin Cities, I’d have to differ with the idea that progressives live in a safe place. Just sayin’.
See also: Europe & Christianity.
Good point, and illustration, Nerd.
Bikebubba – there really is no such thing as a physical or metaphysical “safe place”. Eventually reality is going to hit you over the head and go through your pockets. The “safe” thing after that is having the ability to cope after it happens; something that is being left out of too many things these days.
You will know that you have reached peak leftism by the mass graves. That happens when the regime is killing so many people, so fast, that they don’t have the means to properly bury them all.
@BG – unfortunately, that’s not so. The Bolsheviks were quite able to bury ’em as fast as Vasily Blokhin could kill ’em. And we have WAY better technology now.
Can I claim to be the first to talk about Sanders as ‘President Max Bialystock’?