Whatever happened to “the left” in America?
When rounding up all the suspects who killed the “American Left” (or through inaction allowed it to die) you’d have to include American Christianity. This is from a piece at TPMCafe regarding the American Catholic Church, but it is true across denominations. American Christianity simply stopped being concerned with “the little guy” and started being about myopic self-righteousness or around January 20, 1981.
In less than two years, Pope Francis has changed the face of a two-thousand-year old institution. His emphasis on humility, mercy and social justice offer a vivid contrast to a vocal minority of U.S. Christian leaders who only see dark clouds and battles to fight. Think of it as the joy of the Gospel v. culture war Christianity fight. The latter is being kicked to the curb by a pope determined to rescue the church from self-righteous ideologues, princely clerics and conservative activists who think opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion are the only real litmus tests of authentic Catholicism.
When your party asks for $200-300 per person for a fundraiser, you do have to wonder what happened to the “working class little guy left” in this state.
A constant warfare state happened to the Left in America. I’m not arguing that it was completely monocausal, but since 1991 we’ve undergone a not-so-subtle restructuring of political dialogue in America that has (ironically) more focused our foreign policy, our economy, and our domestic dialogue on paranoia and preparedness for war.
“Support the troops” is the mantra that makes it difficult to discuss a militarized foreign policy or vote against increasingly overwhelming defense budgets. The passive acceptance of surveillance (and persecution) of non-violent protest, along with the steady move of both Democratic and Republican moderates toward the right on military issues has undercut the one of the foundations of the Left, the anti-war movement.
Human fear is a powerful thing. Al Qaeda, the fires of Hell, the welfare queen, the budget deficit, the gays, ISIL, Putin, pot!
It all tends to make people retract into their shells. Do you think a politician whose chief concern is being elected next term is going to attempt to persuade the quivering quacks assembled round their televisions and ravaged by irrational terror and scary myths to support helping a cashier at Burger King or a single mom without health insurance? They aren’t.
Hence everything has to be couched in such a way as to make it seems like not helping but helping. ACA got everyone insurance and it’s well under cost projections. The only way this happened is because Blue Cross, Cigna, Kaiser, &c., are getting rich off it. We don’t help fellow citizens because they are fellow citizens. This is America God Damnit!!
I was part of the “Catholic Left” movement in the 70’s. We organized, including a national group built around reforms coming out of Vatican II; at our peak we claimed 100,000 activist, dues paying members. It was innocuously called the National Association of Laity. I was proud to serve on the national board and worked hard with our very robust local group.
Our board vote and announcement of support for the principles of a woman’s right to her own decision per Roe v. Wade quickly disemboweled the organization and movement and it died as a new right wing Pope replaced our reformer Pope and many of us left the Church and the battle. The masses of Church faithful were largely indifferent to reform and allowed a very committed group of right wing clerics and faithful to purge our “folk masses” and open issues discussion until they forced most of us out and took over; the Santorum’s and Ryans pretty well exemplify the offspring of the rightists who raised their iron hammer.
Stan and I are in the “I didn’t leave the Church, the Church left me” club.
I don’t think its just about war footing.
On economic policy since the inception of the DLC in the 80’s the Democratic Party has been moving to the middle and abandoning working people slowly in favor of trickle down economics lite.
Idiotic trade agreements have done more damage to this country than defense spending or wars.
Third member of “the Church left me club.” Pope Francis has given a small ray of hope but, until major changes happen, I’m in the “spiritual but not religious” club.
SussexAnon makes a great point. NAFTA was a death sentence for decent middle class manufacturing jobs.