Problem on the Left: Kneejerk 'Liberals' and Fanatic 'Progressives': ". . .I found the same problem when I tried to participate with individuals on the 'left' in meetings, seminars, efforts to organize a platform, and the like. The participants were so occupied with tearing each other to pieces that they could not agree on a united front for social reform. Today that remains one major reason, though not the only reason, why people on the so-called 'left' (however that term may be defined) have limited influence on national and international affairs.
To be a 'liberal' means that you believe in freedom of expression and the right to disagree on issues. To be a 'progressive' means that you believe in the need to do whatever may be possible to advance the well being of humanity. No matter how you may define 'liberal' or 'progressive,' you cannot be one if you are an unyielding fanatic who develops dogmatic positions from which there can be no disagreement. This is not to say that there are no moral imperatives to be adopted. Of course there are. They relate to civil and constitutional rights, compassion, peaceful cooperation, and above all the recognition that being brothers and sisters caught in the same trap - born to live for what is no more than a snap of the fingers in geological time . . ."
No comments:
Post a Comment