Friday, January 4, 2008
‘ What Does the Progressive Left Stand For?’
Progressivism piece by
Nancy Salvato
I’ve come to the conclusion that the United States is having a midlife crisis, an identity crisis. And this is a huge problem because if we don’t know who we are, what we stand for, or how we arrived here, how can we know how to navigate the 21st century while maintaining the freedom and standard of living we’ve come to take for granted?
US detractors (and there are many living within the boundaries of this country), it would seem, do not possess a very thorough understanding of our founding documents, the thinking from which they’re derived, or the importance of these ideas in maintaining the system of government which has served us so well over the past 200+ years. Much of the thinking on the Progressive Left echoes Socialist and Communist ideology, which historical records have shown to be enemies of freedom and creativity, two rights which I imagine if the Progressive Left were to be queried, they would admit are extremely important to them. The breakdown is that these people don’t have the surplus of information necessary to understand the repercussions of what they are seeking. How does the Progressive Left stack up?
China
In the politically repressive society of China, where there is no freedom of religion, the CPC endorses Confucianism, which “emphasizes obedience to authority, submission of the individual to government, the family, and elders, and unquestioning acceptance of tradition...Lu Xun attacked Confucianism as an oppressive and hypocritical morality thinly concealing and encouraging exploitation, injustice, inequality, passivity, and conformity.”
Russia
Time magazine has irresponsibly named Vladimir Putin, Man of the Year? As Garry Kasparov writes in the Wall Street Journal, “Time magazine, of course, took obvious pains to explain that its award to Mr. Putin is “not an endorsement” and that it goes to the person who made the most news “for better or for worse.” Nonetheless the article praises Mr. Putin for restoring his country to prominence in the international arena, dispelling “anarchy” and recovering national pride. The magazine does express concern about his “troubling” record on human rights. The same things could have been said about Adolf Hitler in 1938, when he took his turn as Time’s Man of the Year. “Fascism,” Time wrote then, “has discovered that freedom—of press, speech, assembly—is a potential danger to its own security.” Again these words apply equally well to this year’s winner.”
Venezuela
What is the appeal of Hugo Chavez to Hollwood stars such as Sean Penn, Danny Glover, Naomi Campbell, Kevin Spacey? According to Slate’s, Anne Applebaum, “...for the malcontents of Hollywood, academia, and the catwalks, Chávez is an ideal ally. Just as the sympathetic foreigners whom Lenin called “useful idiots” once supported Russia abroad, their modern equivalents provide the Venezuelan president with legitimacy, attention, and good photographs. He, in turn, helps them overcome the frustration John Reed once felt—the frustration of living in an annoyingly unrevolutionary country where people have to change things by law.” In fact, according to J. R. Nyquist, in his article Chavez, Castro and Robertson, these superstars lend legitimacy to a man who “championed the cause of Saddam Hussein and gave millions to finance the Taliban’s war effort” and who said of the United States that we are “most savage, cruel and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world.”
Cuba
Ahhh, Cuba. Jeff Jacoby writes:
“For decades, various American journalists and celebrities have rhapsodized about Castro’s supposed island paradise, resolutely ignoring the mountains of evidence that it is in reality a tropical dungeon. Intent on seeing Castro as a revolutionary hero and Cuba as Shangri-la, they avert their gaze from the island’s genuine heroes - the prisoners of conscience like Biscet, who pay a fearful price for their insistence on telling the truth.”
As a matter of fact, J. R. Nyquist explains:
“During the repressions of the 1960s, between 7,000 and 10,000 people were killed and 30,000 imprisoned for political reasons,” the Black Book noted. Castro formed neighborhood committees “for Defense of the Revolution” so that his followers could keep watch on “counterrevolutionary activities.” The result was tight social control in the totalitarian style. One may hear ignorant persons talk of Cuba’s vibrant economy and free population. But nonsense is nonsense, however colored by the false front of the regime.”
The United States
Russian communists believe that, “U.S. imperialism has become the most aggressive force of international imperialist reaction. It is marked by ferocious hatred of socialism and the revolutionary movement...”
Nyquist sets the record straight,
“If you imagine that this way of thinking no longer directs Moscow’s policy or Beijing’s policy, then you have misread the situation. The pretense of democracy, the trick of adopting capitalism (in China and Russia), is a long-term strategic maneuver. Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez have a role to play in this maneuver as they threaten to spread communism to Bolivia and Colombia. Take note of their theme: All terrorists who oppose America are justified in their terrorism. Stalin was justified in his terrorism, and Pol Pot and Mao and Kim Jong Il. All justified because America – they tell us – is the enemy of mankind. America is the true evil.”
Linda Kimball gives us a glance at the depth of the Progressive Lefts’ infiltration into the United States:
The ACLU
Established in 1920 by Roger Baldwin, a Stalinist who admitted he was for socialism, disarmament, and abolishing the state itself. “The ACLU is listed on the Communist Party USA website.”
The National Lawyers Guild
The (NLG) was founded in 1936 by the Communist Party USA. An affiliate of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, and a Soviet front group during the Cold War, its mission is: “unite lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers of America (to) function as an effective political and social force...to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.”
The Center for Constitutional Rights
The CCR was founded in 1966 by pro-Castro attorneys Morton Stavis, Ben Smith, Arthur Kinoy and William Kuntsler. This organization uses, “...litigation proactively to advance the law in a positive direction to guarantee the rights of those with the fewest protections.” Basically, they subvert America’s laws. They litigate on behalf of terrorist organizations, enemy combatants, and illegal immigrants and receive their funding from the Ford Foundation and George Soros Open Society Institute.
So, if Charlie Brown was to ask Linus, “What is America all about?” I believe Linus would answer, “Our country stands for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, rights guaranteed by the US Constitution and granted by the creator. That is why so many people want to live here, Charlie Brown. People forget this is why they can complain from now until the sun comes up and they won’t be thrown in jail for their opinions. Your vote counts in this country, Charlie Brown. You are free to be you. That’s what America is all about.”
HowardWasRight 
more...
more... 
