A Thread for Left Leaning Folks

[Ernie]

This is a thread for those who lean Left, politically.

In this thread, you can talk about all the things you like about the Left and Left leaning politicians, pundits, and their family members. You can also use this thread to talk about all the things you don't like about the Right and Right leaning politicians and pundits.

Please post your Left leaning thoughts on this thread rather than bringing them in on other threads where a Right leaning / Left leaning debate or agenda is not welcomed.

[RZehr]

It is a common misconception that NASCAR leans right. But they actually lean hard to the left, and the faster they progress, the further left they lean.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won so many races, that he now leans left, even off the track.

[steve-in-kville]

As quoted from google:

In the US, people often use left as a shorthand for the Democratic Party and right as a shorthand for the Republican Party. But keep in mind that politics is always far more complicated than the labels we give to it—and each other.

[temporal1]

A related thread:

RZehr / “Good Things About The Biden Presidency” / 5 pages
viewtopic.php?t=3638

Please remember the purpose of this thread. If you can not think of any, then please do not post. Start another about the bad things.

[JimFoxvog]

A related thread:

RZehr / “Good Things About The Biden Presidency” / 5 pages
viewtopic.php?t=3638

Thanks for the suggestion. There are a number of things I could contribute to that thread.

Someone who leans left would not think this was related, as leftists do not believe that Biden is left, but in the middle, a moderate. I agree with that.

I don't consider myself left or right. Both sides get some things right and some things wrong. I'd rather go with what the Bible teaches rather than some political faction. Biden does not find the balance the way I do.

[Praxis+Theodicy]

One thing I like about left-leaning political takes is that they tend to be very nuanced, and "radical" as in they take a topic and dissect it and consider it all the way down to its roots. This makes it easy for me to discern why someone would hold a certain position, and it makes it easier to find out where the Word of God speaks into the issue. A lot of leftist takes on homosexuality/transgenderism make it much easier for me to build my understanding of why people are that way, and use the same sort of language and ideas to display why God calls his disciples to something very different than the freedom of expression that the world is preaching to people.

Right wing political takes tend to be too simplistic, surface level. I'm left asking "why?" several times; leftist takes tend to keep answering those "why?" questions, getting to the root of the problem.

As an example of what I'm talking about, a common right-wing phrase is to say that "52% of all homicides in the USA are committed by 13% of the population." (13% referring to black people). This talking point is usually left no more explored than this surface-level statistic, hoping to suggest that black people themselves are "the problem" that needs some sort of Final Solution sort of policy in order to bring about a peaceful and functioning society. They are hoping that anyone who thinks about the "why?" of this statistic won't spend much time on that question, and will come to a conclusion like "black people are genetically predisposed to violence/crime/rebellion/etc." The leftist take will look into the underlying causes of a statistical predisposition to violence and draw conclusions about the overarching sociological effects of long term, ongoing systemic racism, and make conclusions about where we all, as a society, have allowed subtle but unconscionable systemic racism fester in public (government policies) and private (powerful individuals or people groups) spheres of influence.

One thing to warn about is that, because their diagnosis is more nuanced and explored problems down to their roots, it's easier to be persuaded to their proposed solutions, which, as Christians, shouldn't be taken without a great deal of reflection and Berean-style Bible study. A great strength for any individual or church is to accepts someone's well-thought diagnosis without jumping straight onto accepting their prescriptions.

[Bootstrap]

One thing I like about left-leaning political takes is that they tend to be very nuanced, and "radical" as in they take a topic and dissect it and consider it all the way down to its roots. This makes it easy for me to discern why someone would hold a certain position, and it makes it easier to find out where the Word of God speaks into the issue. A lot of leftist takes on homosexuality/transgenderism make it much easier for me to build my understanding of why people are that way, and use the same sort of language and ideas to display why God calls his disciples to something very different than the freedom of expression that the world is preaching to people.

Right wing political takes tend to be too simplistic, surface level. I'm left asking "why?" several times; leftist takes tend to keep answering those "why?" questions, getting to the root of the problem.

On MN and in many political areas, "left-leaning" seems to be a label applied to the vast majority of thought outside of a narrow political perspective. And that narrow political perspective seems to shift with the latest political winds, often measured by someone's opinion of Trump or whatever politician is most prominent at the time.

What you describe above is "critical thinking", and critical thinking skills were once considered really important in conservative circles. I don't consider that left-leaning at all. Asking "why" and "how would I know if that's true" and "what are the different positions on this topic, and why do people say they believe each view" are essential skills to understand things.

Often, the alternative to "critical thinking" is personality-driven politics. These days, political blowhards assure you that if you want to be smarter than those idiots over on the other side, all you have to do is believe what they say. You know which people are "on your side", you make lists of political good guys and believe them, you make lists of political bad buys and won't believe a word they say. One side is automatically guilty without proof, the other side can never be guilty, they are merely innocent victims of those political bad guys. And these days, if you reject that, you are clearly not part of that side's group-think, so you are labeled as an outsider. It's easier - any fifth grader can do it. It doesn't require any research or hard thought. You can always have great certainty as long as you know who your political heroes and political enemies are. And your favorite media will always tell you that you are right.

I don't think it's just right-wing political takes that are too simple. Politics requires us to avoid complicated messages that take time to think. Politicians want to use emotions to influence us, and negative emotions are the easiest to use in politics. And it's easy for politics to drown out critical thinking. Maybe that's the default.

[Grace]

On MN and in many political areas, "left-leaning" seems to be a label applied to the vast majority of thought outside of a narrow political perspective. And that narrow political perspective seems to shift with the latest political winds, often measured by someone's opinion of Trump or whatever politician is most prominent at the time.

What you describe above is "critical thinking", and critical thinking skills were once considered really important in conservative circles. I don't consider that left-leaning at all. Asking "why" and "how would I know if that's true" and "what are the different positions on this topic, and why do people say they believe each view" are essential skills to understand things.

Often, the alternative to "critical thinking" is personality-driven politics. These days, political blowhards assure you that if you want to be smarter than those idiots over on the other side, all you have to do is believe what they say. You know which people are "on your side", you make lists of political good guys and believe them, you make lists of political bad buys and won't believe a word they say. One side is automatically guilty without proof, the other side can never be guilty, they are merely innocent victims of those political bad guys. And these days, if you reject that, you are clearly not part of that side's group-think, so you are labeled as an outsider. It's easier - any fifth grader can do it. It doesn't require any research or hard thought. You can always have great certainty as long as you know who your political heroes and political enemies are. And your favorite media will always tell you that you are right.

I don't think it's just right-wing political takes that are too simple. Politics requires us to avoid complicated messages that take time to think. Politicians want to use emotions to influence us, and negative emotions are the easiest to use in politics. And it's easy for politics to drown out critical thinking. Maybe that's the default.

The very thing you are disparaging, seems to be happening in your post.

[Josh]

As a former leftist, I’d like to affirm Grace’s post. A lot of it boils down to accusing anyone whose opinions you don’t like of being ignorant, stupid, unable to engage in critical thinking etc… coming from the same people who say they cant define what a woman is.

[ohio jones]

Politics requires us to avoid complicated messages that take time to think.

It certainly seems to encourage that, but does it really require it? I'd like to think there is some politician, somewhere, who actually engages in critical thinking and encourages others in that direction. Can't think of any good examples offhand, though.