The Left’s shifting themes

LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson

With Trump seated, the opposition has begun consolidating its political themes, old and new, as it looks to its austere future.

Liberals love political themes through which they can separate themselves from right-wing rabble. The practice is as decrepit as their ideology and as rigid as an I-beam.

Understand within the culture of ideas anything on the right is negotiable while everything on the left is not. If you don’t believe that is true, talk to a liberal if you can. Be aware if you apply conflicting logic, colorful descriptions may be directed at you. I’ve read some dandies lately.

The left runs like a Lexus on emotion and the absolute certainty it is correct in all things. When there is only point of view presented, you have uncovered a theme incubator.

Indeed, nothing distresses the left more than a challenge. Trump dared confront the Obama/Clinton coalition and now the disdain directed toward the prez is belly deep. Detesting Trump is a theme being busily promoted by big media and the politically offended.

Theme thumping doesn’t always work because it is so annoying. As a result, the electorate sometimes kicks the liberals’ butt as happened in November. Part of the recent election was about finding relief from the left’s endless lecturing about how awful America is.

Political themes are designed to unify like-thinking troops around the political campfire. Themes produce placards for the latest demonstration. They can whip up anger and send freshmen off to the ramparts to fix an imperfect world so made by everyone else.

An enduring theme amongst liberals is all are racist except them. This has been in play since the Democratic party discovered minorities 50 years ago and recognized voter potential. Today, the left collects a majority of the minority vote which inspires the need for more minorities within the land. Legal residency is irrelevant. Election profit may come 20 years from now.

A heavily charged theme is the rich man/poor man notion so old it is Dickensian. Class warfare, a trigger in the Russian revolution a century ago, is designed to pit the many in the lower economic classes against the wealthy few. The belief is those who accumulate money in modern America could only have done so at the expense of those resembling the serfs of yore.

That is what had Bernie Sanders trembling with indignation and why Hillary was constantly barking about the well-to-do paying their fair share of taxes as if they don‘t. It is also tied to the redistribution of other people’s wealth, another theme, as though that’s fair.

The left seeks to punish prosperous people but don’t talk about the good done by the wealthy. For instance, could private universities flourish without the generosity of those who create wealth through risk?

From where does uber-liberal, ultra-wealthy Harvard’s $36 billion endowment come?

Much surely arrives from Wall Street weasels. None is refused due to origin.

New themes have sprung up recently. A favorite of mine is “white privilege” linked by lefties to white supremacy in its clumsy attempt to conjoin the right to fascism. Hence, the laughable comparisons of Trump to Hitler by a few on the left who, in their next breath, claim tolerance and understanding.

Within that preachment is white folks have it darned easy, and this came about by the economic beat-down of everyone else.

If one knows American history, then you surely understand the road to prosperity has been a rugged one for every race, class and generation.

America, however, invented “self made.”

What has helped is an open, free marketplace where mobile workers are able to improve their lot in life via work and determination. America is the most opportune country on Earth, but that doesn’t fit with the theme, does it?

A spanking new theme is those who voted against Clinton, Obama’s heir apparent, aren’t very bright or very well educated. As such, voters were easy victims of Trump’s populism.

This is an elitist attitude, of course, put forward by those who believe they occupy the intellectual high ground but based also on their peculiar sense of self, their moral superiority, and their grasp of so many things we deplorables couldn’t hope to understand.

Well, I do understand why Hillary Clinton isn’t in the White House which is more than the left itself seems capable of grasping.

Not bad for a well-educated bumpkin clinging to rifle and Bible, that being a brief theme since expunged due to failure.