Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Why Progressives Will Always Fail
As I was working on another post, I had the realization that the Progressives will never be successful in transforming our country into a Leftist state. Their goals are to create a perfect country run by perfect people to create a perfect future. What they never seem to understand is how deeply flawed their aspirations—and they—are.
First, they are the most naïve people among us. No matter how intelligent they are, they have no wisdom. No matter how educated they are, they don’t understand human nature. Regardless of their passion for changing the country and everyone else, they are the ones who are incapable of learning deeply and understanding (as James Madison did) the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of human beings.
They think by offering a flawless world that we will all line up behind them. But we only need to look at them to realize the impossibility of their goals. These are people who need to feed off others’ accomplishments, steal the results of others’ successes, and are prepared to try to destroy the very elements of human nature that allow us to thrive and grow. It is our diversity, which they celebrate, that forecasts the failure of their dreams.
We have had too much success as a country and as a people for them to enlist or coerce us. We are a country born in freedom with more wealth and opportunity than any country in the world. Why would we give that up?
Most Americans (who aren’t Progressives) at some level realize the bounties they have realized. They can pursue any job they might desire. They can live anywhere in the country. They can have families of any size. They can travel wherever they choose. They can worship however they wish, in any community they choose, and can change their allegiance at any time.
Progressivism doesn’t take into account that Americans, of all the peoples in the world, are incredibly blessed. They don’t need to steal from others or give up any of the prospects for their futures. We speak the language of gratitude, opportunity, creativity, possibility, and fulfillment.
Progressives don’t have a chance.
Published in Culture
The only qualification Buttigieg has is being Constitutionally old enough.
Or they desert places like Detroit, go somewhere else, and begin causing the same problems there.
I wholeheartedly agree! If I could get every conservative to listen to me, I’d suggest relaxing. We’re winning, and keeping our cool will help us to continue to do so. Since our side is satisfiable, we don’t have to win, we’re just unwilling to lose, and, right now, we ought to rejoice in that we’re not losing.
I mean, right now the Left is realizing that they might have to nominate Mike Bloomberg. Even they are beginning to appreciate how insane they’ve become.
It’s time to relax, have a few laughs, and, as a result, be in the best position to make a few conversations with the many who feel displaced by the madness of the first two decades of the 21st Century.
Susan: …”.their goals are to create a perfect country run by perfect people to create a perfect future. What they never seem to understand is how deeply flawed their aspirations—and they—are.
First, they are the most naïve people among us. No matter how intelligent they are, they have no wisdom. No matter how educated they are, they don’t understand human nature”
I agree that they are most naive people among us. I agree that they seem to not understand human nature. But you need to ask why.
From my point of view they have been brainwashed. They have conditioned psychologically by our school system to react violently and negatively to ideas that do not reinforce the “narrative” of Leftist thought. When normal people bring up ideas that are outside the politically correct narrative many of these Leftist Zombies are violently triggered to become very threatening to anyone who disagrees them. This is not normal behavior.
If you are around a great many teenagers and/or twenty somethings ( I have a very popular twenty something daughter and know a lot of her friends) you will find there are ” enforcers” in their social friend groups who will harshly criticize relentlessly anyone who dares to defy acceptable “woke” thought, so most of this age group who has rarely been exposed to other thought cower in these “enforcers” presence and fall into submission.
Common sensical ideas like “Men and Women are different” are considered a terrible taboo yet the “Men are toxic”meme which logically is contradictory statement to the first meme is acceptable. These are people who have not been taught rational thought in any way. They have been taught not to think certain politically incorrect thoughts. “Questioning Authority” which used to be a Leftist meme of the 60’s is now verboten when questioning any Leftist Authority. Our children for generations have been taught not to think but to parrot the Politically Correct Narrative without questioning it. It is almost like they have a massive void in their thinking system where certain ideas cannot be considered and if they are considered our young have been conditioned to know they will be punished.
Sounds like they’ve become the small c conservatives, so what would that make you guys?
But actually: a society completely dominated by conservatives becomes stagnant and declines; a society completely dominated by progressives becomes unstable and falls apart; any society needs both in order to thrive and be healthy.
Hmmm……..
Red states are thriving and in the black. Blue states Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Now, Kevin: it is impolite to laugh at the progs because reality fails to obey the dictates of their preconceived notions. All kinds of fun, but impolite.
Let’s hope we’ve made it next to impossible for them.
I am also banking on the unexpected, unforeseeable and prayers. There is no harm in doing that, while I work at condemning the Left at every opportunity. That’s just where I am, although I so appreciate how realistically and practically many of you have looked at our current situation.
I wish I could share your optimism Susan, but I can’t. Just look over the last eighty years and you will see some incredible progressive gains and project to get more. Did people think a hundred years ago there would be a government run retirement system (Social Security) and government run healthcare for the aged (Medicare)? Of course in time they will get their government run healthcare. At one time in the last century it would have been unheard of to have legalized killing of the unborn, even up to the day of birth. And yet they have it. Did you realize that when Ronald Reagan took office the tax rate was at over 70%? It wasn’t that high in 1920. The progressives go it high. Now that has receded, but has been steadily climbing back and as the Federal rate has come down, the state rates have skyrocketed. It wasn’t too long ago where gay marriage would have been laughed at, and yet here we are. There was a time when divorce was looked at askance, and yet today we have a good segment of the population who changes spouses like buying a new automobile, and others just living together in sin and not caring that their children are born out of wedlock. Today we’re even allowing men who have surgically removed signs of their manhood to compete against women in sports. And the progressives are supporting it and pushing for drag queens to read to our children. Next up in the progressive agenda is a new cultural experiment of throuples, per my recent post. How many years of illegal immigration did they allow and even unrestricted legal immigration where you allow one person in and you get cousins and grandparents and the like? And through the environment issues they are passing on all sorts of restrictions and mandates.
What is disheartening is that billionaires and CEOs are no longer conservative but mainstream Democrats. That is a telling sign for the future. Donald Trump has been a huge blessing, but he is a stop gap. Eventually the left will get its way in time.
So what are all of you planning to do when we become a totalitarian state? Put up with it? Move to another planet? Live in a cave? I hear all the prophecies of doom, that we are in a hopeless situation, so what will you do when the takeover is complete? I’m very serious. And I’m angry that everyone seems to be giving up.
I’m not giving up!! Unfortunately they seem to win more than we do. Of course the dynamics might change and traditional values may come back, but right now they have changed the mind set of the culture, especially college graduates. They knew the right place to begin their conquest, the school systems. The only way I can imagine we turn this around is with school choice and over time perhaps we bring back traditional values. But I can’t say I’m optimistic.
By the way, I don’t believe we’ll be a totalitarian state. They would have to change the constitution to do that. What they have done is alter the very values of today’s Americans so that through elections and the courts they have gradually pushed through a good deal of their progressive agenda,
Ah, but there’s always an updated understanding of the Constitution. Don’t be surprised if they try . . .
I notice that most of the people who suggest that the end is nigh have made a lot of money doing so. I think we’ll be fine. The worst of what we see is millennials, but I can confidently say that those kids aren’t well liked – even amongst each other. Pulling young people from their madness will not be very difficult.
Gosh, Samuel, I so hope you’re right!
This is a fair question and, as usual, I have only thoughts, not answers. I understand and share your anger, even as I become more convinced that we are passed the point of no return. If we take up the metaphor of America as an experiment, at some point the experiment becomes so contaminated that it is beyond salvage. My response has been to shift my focus away from saving the country and more toward protecting and insulating my family and loved ones as best I can for as long as I am able. Even that seems a daunting task.
Not to dwell on the gloom and doom, in my better(?) moments, I do imagine some cracks where a few mustard seeds might take purchase. (Look at the agnostic borrowing biblical metaphors!)
Education: I believe government schools are beyond salvage. But I’m heartened by the increasing push for school choice, especially in minority communities, and also that we are seeing “parents unions” beginning to form across the country to advocate for their kids. It’s possible that a showdown between parents and teachers unions is over the horizon, and that might lead to a mass exodus from government schools (or something no one has yet thought of).
Churches: A religious revival is always a possibility. It’s happened before. I don’t have any insights into how or when this might take place, but it’s something I “pray” for.
Media: Fox News has faltered, in my opinion. But it, and talk radio, have demonstrated that a centrist or right-leaning outlet is viable as a counter to the strong Leftist current. That trust in media is at an all time low is a good sign.
Government: Here too, trust has waned. And the heart of the small-government impulse lies in a healthy mistrust of government in general.
The Left: They have reliably overplayed their hand on a number of fronts in recent years, and there is little indication that they are learning from their mistakes. That can only help in bringing any of the above to fruition.
As I said, human nature being what it is, I don’t see how this ends well. But I find some comfort in reminding myself: What the hell do I know?
Full disclosure: I don’t really have a choice but to believe so. But like Rob Long (of all people!) is wont to say, despair is a sin.
That is true. Hey, you’re now as pessimistic as I am…lol.
What a rich and thoughtful comment, @freeven! You’ve given me a lot to contemplate. Thanks!
I’m old enough that I won’t live that long. My kids are part of the problem so they’re welcome to the world they’ve created.
That is what the federal government is for. To fix little problems as that.
I can’t share your enthusiasm or optimism. The Right has been losing ground for a hundred years. Only recently has it been losing at a quicker pace. I suspect that after Trump is out of office that will be the last GOP POTUS in my lifetime, maybe ever. We are so close to total one party rule it is not even funny. The rule of law has become a joke. The federal government is effectively a Democrat ran entity, that rapidly advances the progressive causes when a Democrat is in charge and slowly advances them when the GOP is in charge while trying to shake the GOP bosses off and jail their associates.
And complaining that the people who move there aren’t Conservative.
:-(
The people who move need the red state business environment. The red states need the people who move’s skills. ??
No the GOP will get elected again. But they will have become what Democrats were. Just like FoxNews has become what CNN was.
That’s where I’m at as well. I have only one friend who is a conservative. My entire family who are, for the most part, intelligent and successful are lost souls. My niece poses with her children every year in matching Planned Parenthood t-shirts on whatever day it is that they honor Moloch. I’m not speaking of young people, I’m speaking of people who are at least 45 years old, most much older.
What makes me so pessimistic is that all my friends and family were raised very conservatively and, in turn, raised their children the same way. Some are practicing Roman Catholics. But try pointing out that they seem to be conservative and get ready to take shelter before the backlash. The progressives have been wildly successful in branding the word conservative as the ultimate evil insult. So almost everybody I know identifies as liberal, votes liberal, lives relatively conservatively without any deeper thought or understanding. I find very few people self-examine their political philosophy; they just get up in the morning and think the world will continue on exactly as it has in the past.
They weren’t just taught that in college. Because “caring is sharing.” And Howard Zinn. And mainly by the destruction wrought by our destructive generation. Because
Why? Because the “Greatest Generation” opened the door to the Marxists and Marxians who educated the Boomers, and who, together with their children, divided the country:
The Vietnam war:
Sex:
Race: Specifically, the Civil Rights Movement.
Continued below.
Race: Says Christopher Caldwell, while
And:
And:
Bloomberg may manage to install Hillary via a brokered convention. But he is driving Sanders’ agenda anyway (of course, so is Hillary. Or Michelle O.) How to get from Trump to Total Transformation?
Progressives may always fail. But when they gain power their failure hurts a lot of people.
By the time Roosevelt died, eight out of nine members of the Supreme Court were his nominees. His attempt at packing the Court will be repeated the next time the Democrats have both houses of Congress and the White House. I don’t think there will be as many Democrats opposed as there were in the ‘3os.
I read the Caldwell article in Imprimis, too. I hadn’t heard his take on the Civil Rights movement, although I knew it was destructive. And now we must live with the results. There’s no going back. Thanks, @ontheleftcoast. I just hate to give up.
Bless you, @freeven. No one really knows.
I especially liked your comments on education. I have some thoughts in this area myself which I’m exploring. Hillsdale College is doing some great work. Some families are getting wise to the school propaganda and are home-schooling. But making inroads in this area could be very powerful–especially getting them at a young age.
Ironically the Left could fail just as you say. What they don’t realize if they are “successful” in their own eyes. And they will have destroyed the country. Their leaders may be planning just that, but the everyday folk will wonder, “how did this happen”?