Does the Left Hate America?

 

On a superficial level, the question makes no sense.  Having sincere left-wing views should mean you want to make a better America, not disown it.  But looking deeper, it appears that many of the Left are hostile to our nation.

Wouldn’t you be too, if you believed that America is irredeemably racist and beyond redemption?  And since such animosity toward non-whites is evil, how do you avoid hating what is probably the land of your birth?

And, of course, anyone who disagrees with your assessment must be evil as well since such a person (of whatever color or race) is perpetuating systemic racism which is and always has been at the root of what is America.  It does not deserve to survive because it is hateful.

How can those who defend it be other than enemies?

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Does this analysis seem over-wrought?  Certainly not all of those on the Left share the attitudes recited.  But the numbers of those who do are growing.  The MSNBC cable network is an excellent barometer of far-left sentiments.  In recent years, its hosts and panelists have become increasingly strident in their denunciations of white racism, which is, of course, is termed “systemic” in America.

(As an aside, “systemic” as used by the Left is nonsense.  Yes, a system of racial discrimination used to be incorporated into law in many jurisdictions across the land.  But that was many decades ago.  Of course, racial  prejudices continue to exist among individuals – always have and, human nature being what it is, always will.) 

We hear seemingly reasonable voices on both left and right lamenting the existence of political polarization.  The Sensible Conservative, in fact, has expressed similar consternation.

Yet the increasing divide on politics did not merely spring forth on the scene by happenstance.  If the Left views the Right as occupied by enemies, not mere opponents, Conservatives will reciprocate the hostility.  And that is precisely what has happened.

Can the chasm be bridged?  Can respect for differing views replace contempt?  Can we abolish the use of racial epithets as a substitution for intelligent disagreement?  How do we as Americans begin?

But, are the pessimistic voices heard sometimes on the Right correct?  Has the divide become so wide that the deep divisions are indeed insurmountable?

It may indeed be wishful thinking to be optimistic.

An outside event, like a long-term 9/11, may be the only realistic option to unite the country on shared goals once again. 

Have we really come to that?