The Progressive Erosion of America

From time to time I visit The Huffington Post site. The HP is, of course, liberal and a strong supporter of the Democrats.

Many of the commenters, however, are unbelievable. I had no idea there were so many outright Marxists in America. Postings like "capitalism is based on greed, and nothing good ever comes from greed" or "all profits are evil" or "the U.S. government should take over the banking and medical industries" is often met with a round of applause.

Although leftist, Ariana Huffington is not an extremist. I wonder how she feels about so many radicals finding a home at the HP.

I'll be some Americans actually think the word "socialism" has something to do with being "sociable."

And boy, do they love saying "Hi" to total strangers, as you learn when you visit...

It's like the guys in Spinal Tap saying, "Wot's wrong with being sexy...??"

The best definition of Socialism came from Sir Winston Churchill: "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, it's inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery".

Gallup doesn't seem to be defining "moderate".
Is that the same thing as an "independent" or does that mean clueless, which from the last Presidential election seems indistinguishable from clueless?

It is strange that 58% of Americans have a negative view of socialism but that 52% of Americans voted a socialist into the White House.

Does this mean:
a) many Americans don't know the meaning of socialism

b) the Democrats committed voter fraud on a huge scale

c) the Democrats have been successful in distancing themselves from the image of being socialists

d) Americans vote with no idea about who the individual is they are voting for beyond appearance and style

They may well 'progress' off a cliff, but that doesn't mean I will follow them.

Cheers

Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief

1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North"

If anybody rails at me about ‘capitalism,' I immediately correct them to the ‘free market economy,' ie the sum of all individual transactions.

It's much like the tar sands/oil sands debate. I just remind them that the first debentures issued were for the Great Canadian Oil Sands and that it's oil that's extracted, not tar.

Corruption of language seems to me more prevalent among the utopians. It helps them live in their fantasy world by not dealing with real-world words. Apparently, changing the language somehow changes the delusion that a new reality is created.

Canada lags behind the US by ten years on most trends,fashions, etc, but we are years ahead of them living as socialists.

The Democrats led by Obama trail three decades behind socialist / communist Liberal Pierre Trudeau in leading the country into the swamp of socialism.

I blogged about this poll on the 6th on my site, but I will summarize here.

I basically maintain that the education system and its liberal teachings are the cause for this and that it is time to teach our children how to resist this type of constant indoctrination into the left. Without a liberal dominated higher education system there would not be a progressive left popularity that exists today with a favourable view of socialism. Sans this the Progressive on the far left would not maintain their numbers.

Aside from the obvious confusion of terminology by the polls (majority positive feelings for Capitalism and Socialism from the same groups?), American politics, as elsewhere, is influenced by many non-ideological factors. Consider what would have happened during the last election, if the same vacuous platitudes offered by Obama had been the slogans of an ugly white guy. No (poseur, sexually inspired female, PC, first black, etc.)vote for you!

Illiquid Assets

You are correct. This was not spontaneous but rather a deliberate initiative by the Kremlin.

sasquatch, would that be the former occupants of the Kremlin? I would suggest that the former Marxist occupants of the Kremlin put their people in place here after WW II to do their work. They succeeded remarkably, although it really only became apparent during the last two decades.

Joe and Susan Citizen are still not aware of the extent of the rot.

I am still trying to decide what the current ideology in the Kremlin is.

Corruption of language seems to me more prevalent among the utopians.
Posted by: set you free at February 12, 2010 12:48 PM

Indeed. I would even go so far as to argue it is a phenomenon nearly wholly dominated by left-wing Utopians.

To wit, some of the most notorious examples, to my mind, are the words moderate and progressive. The left has successfully defined itself by these two words. Conversely, you will invariably always see a conservative politician described not simply as 'right wing', but as 'extreme wright wing' or 'far right wing'.

To most folks who do not pay much attention to such matters, the reasonable instinct is to align oneself with the moderate.

~~~~~~~~~~

To Illiquid Assets' point, I wholeheartedly agree the dumbing-down of the government-run education system by liberal intelligentsia has been one of the leading causes of the progressive disease in western culture. It is one of the reasons, probably the main reason, why my children attend private school.

I harbour no illusions that concerns or complaints made to a publicly run system will be seriously heeded. However, those same complaints made to a school that relies upon direct funding by parents will most certainly be heard.

"I am still trying to decide what the current ideology in the Kremlin is."

Looting and plundering, just as it has been for the last 93 years.

Agreed Ill & SYF, this is about education/indoctrination.

It’s clear from the numbers in the polls that there is a large chunk of people that don't understand many of these terms, else you wouldn't have 60% of liberals approving of capitalism and 60% of liberals approving of socialism. If these numbers can be taken seriously it is a very damning statement about public education.

As I've said in many posts here, socialists must advance their agenda by stealth or else "progress" will come to a complete halt. I've spoken of the “emboldened left” and how individuals have swayed from their stealthy standard operating procedure(a small silver lining). One of the real challenges we have is that the educators(and social scientists)that have graduated since the 80’s were indoctrinated themselves; therefore, it’s what they know. These educators have no idea how uninformed they are; and, their income envy and elite mentality will not allow most to be flexible enough to learn anything new. After all, generally speaking, educators in the public system haven’t been required to actually learn anything since grade school. On top of that, an epiphany that you’ve likely spent thousands of dollars and hours learning and regurgitating bunk is a very tough pill to swallow.

Yes, I’m saying the skill and capacity for learning has been robbed from these educators through their indoctrination. Try to teach something to a liberal and instantly they’ll take up a defensive position. They hide behind status, and how much alphabet soup follows their names. They cannot debate, they haven’t the leaned skills, but they can ad hominem the fcuk out of you based on racial and social justice talking points. That is their expertise. That is what their educational focus has been.

How can this have happened you might ask? Simple, with both parents working, boomers generally didn’t have the time nor desire to know what their kids were learning. Instead of protecting their kids, they left them vulnerable and left them to fend academically for themselves.

It is a very sad state when so many people have absolutely no understanding of these concepts. I can only suggest and hope that Americans, Canadians and everyone else educate their children about the truth of socialism. Without it, your kids will be lead down the road of ignorance and will not have the ability to make good decisions regarding their education nor careers. Knowledge is power, and a lack there of is the surest path to the social sciences, an unproductive career, long-term misery and a victim’s mentality.

In truth the terms Socialism/Communism have been rendered meaningless by the melding of all such philosophies into Progressivism. A little Kant, a little Hegel, a little Nietzche,a little Marx a dash of Mao topped with a dollop of Enviro/Feminist Post Modernism and you one eugenics board away from social disaster. If we rid ourselves of our cranial rectal inversions we might recognize it for what it is. Unfortunately most Conservatives are conservative in name only preferring conservatism's pale reflection Libertarianism.

Perhaps these people need to be acquainted with the socialism of North Korea, China, or even this country. Yep, nothing cures a man of socialist tendencies like waiting ten hours in an emergency room.

Let us see now;

First thing that comes to mind: do those 36% of all Americans, aside from actual socialists know what socialism is?
Of the republicans, 17% are not republicans, they are RINO’s or lied that they were republicans.
Of the democrats, how many of the 53% make no living what so ever or make living from pushing paper for whatever level of government?
Of the conservatives, see of the republicans except 20%
Of the moderates, it would be good to know what the moderates are, its like whatever looks good at the moment or some such, one would think that for them it is not a real, serious decision.
Of liberals 61%, most are likely not working, belong to emigrant groups and work in positions like professors, teachers and such others that are actually living in a socialist system as applied to them. The difference is, they have been distributed the proceeds of those that actually produced the wealth, and have none of the hazards.

Kathy @ 11:59 says..

"" I'll be, some Americans actually think the word "socialism" has something to do with being "sociable." ""

Well it does sort of, in this sense..

Family leftist brothers chatting;..

'' We gotta get our sisters and cousins in on canvassing for uncle Don so he gets elected.''

'' Remembered how he promised us all good jobs once he gets into office?''

That's why today when you deal with any federal bureaucrat, you are likely to be dealing with a liberal.

Here at the Federal Office in Courtenay you stand in line while the receptionist takes forever to explain a form to an illiterate teen-age mom.

I thought receptionists were supposed to direct people to the proper wicket.

This goes on while the wickets,[where the teen should be referred to], all stand idle.

I never go there. In this town it is far quicker to deal with the feds via Canada Post.

PS:

They were not able to accept a tax payment at our local federal office... Wha?

Maybe that's fixed by now, but I will not gamble my time to find out. Ugh!

Indiana Homez at 2:16 PM

excellent post

Lev at 5:20 PM

yup, methodology and definitions need to be clarified, other wise the whole " survey" is garbage

a few years ago the UT (a leftist craphole) did a survey that showed 87% of university profs identified as leftist

2009 a survey showed that 85% of USA journalists identified as dems

I'v not seen a study on gov't employees (bureaucrats) but I suspect that those numbers would be rite up there with professors and junrnos, as statics would dictate such

"How can this have happened you might ask?"

I think a lot of it here has to do with the fact that Canada and the USA have never seen first hand what the Marxist are really like. It's all theory to them. When I grew up every household had someone who had first hand experience of the Nazi's or Communists. Your father or your friends fathers were living proof on the brutality of the Socialist empires. Try convincing the survivor of the gulags how wonderful socialism is.

I have no idea why the Euro's would embrace Socialism. To this day they are still finding unexploded bombs dropped by the Nazi's in downtown London. They are still finding Jewish bones in the countryside all through Europe. Most of the Ukraine starved to death. Millions of Russians froze to death. And still they keep trying to convince us that it a good system. And they are winning the war of hearts and minds.

I'm beginning to think that Joseph McCarthy might not have been all that wrong in the way he handled things.

It is real easy to blame the educators, journalists et al for the left leaning attitudes we are seeing. I blame it on laziness on the part of parents who fail to engage their children in conversation beyond "what did you do today". If you talk to your kidss about philosophy and politics they will understand the predjudices involved and question their teachers. The more the teachers are challenged the better. My own boys all turneed out with entrerenurial leanings and are very successful. Many of their peers ended up in government dead end jobs. They came from families that never had such conversations. Parents, it is your job to teach your kidas about life. School will teach them math and maybe english, but not a philosophy for life.

GerryM ... you are 100% right.

In fact it is largely my own generation of self important and smuggly self righteous boomers that are most to blame. We had teachers and parents who did make an effort to explain what it means to be self reliant in spirit and in intellect.
A lesson that (It seems) 90% of us never understood.

The real message of this poll is that America is getting stupider by the day.

And don't get all smug Canadians ... this applies to you too.

GerryM said " I blame it on laziness on the part of parents who fail to engage their children in conversation beyond "what did you do today"."

You are right to a degree. People don't engage their kids enough. School should be a safe place though. You shouldn't depend on schools to fully educate your kids but you shouldn't have to defend your kids from the teachers. They should have a stricter mandate.

It's interesting and reflective of the Orwellian torturing of language by the left that those states which most embraced the ideals of the "progressives" were or are anachronisms -- effectively time capsules of the era in which they were formed. North Korea is little changed from the peasant/agrarian economy of the early 1950s and Cuba a time capsule from 1959 right down to the cars on the street. The former communist nations are struggling to make up a fifty year deficit in infrastructure, plant and equipment and standard of living vis a vis the free market economies, brought about the implementation of "progressive" economics. "Progressive" social and economic policies, far from bringing about progress, kill growth and economic development resulting in an ossified, frozen and impoverished society.
If "progressive" policies are so progressive, why do they produce living time capsules?

gord@ 6:07 said "When I grew up every household had someone who had first hand experience of the Nazi's or Communists." and "Try convincing the survivor of the gulags how wonderful socialism is."

gord, some of us still have those relatives, or at least the children of, that experienced the gulags. A significant number of them never saw their children grow up, as their deaths were required to advance "the new socialist man".

You can read "progressive man" as a replacement for "the new socialist man".

This problem ultimately resides in philosophy: Plato, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Marcuse, and related "thinkers". Most if not all of it is pure speculation and fantasy, like Scientology without the e-meters: essentially a cult.

No doubt the Soviets infiltrated the west, and no doubt parents could do a better job raising their kids, but ultimately it goes back to the intellectuals who came up with false explanations for existence.

To fight it, you need a rational philosphy. Fortunately we have one formulated by Ayn Rand. There is literally no other solution.

Well, as I'm walking around the Southwest the last week or so, I'm hearing from people I meet (and -overhearing- in restaurants and stores etc.) that people are NOT F_ING HAPPY with Barry's clown circus in Washington.

They do NOT like the way the values of their homes has been manipulated, they do NOT trust the Democrats one tiny bit, and they are flatly scared to death of where the economy is going. There are stores shut and buildings for rent all over the place here in Phoenix. Not just marginal things, but big beautiful stores in primo locations are empty and for rent. People are freaking out.

Videos of Barry's Magnificent Victory which were selling everywhere in Dec. 2008/Jan. 2009 are right now residing in large numbers in the $2.99 delete bin at the supermarket. Next to copies of Footloose and Friday The Thirteenth #8, Jason Returns... Again.

The pendulum reached its PC multi-culti hopey-changey Marxist zenith with the election of The One, and the return swing is going to catch the DemocRats square in the privates. Scott Brown is only the harbinger of the doom coming for not just Federal liberal politicians, but right on down the line to dog catcher.

These people I'm seeing are TIRED of the farce, they hate their government and they want it gone, shriveled down to something they can tell to piss off when important matters are being decided. Like where to put the new nuclear power plant they should have built 20 years ago, or the new pipeline, or the new oil refinery, or if Baby Jesus can be in the Christmas pageant this year.

I love Arizona. :)

So as Kathy says, while its entirely possible 30% of Americans don't know what the word "socialism" means, I strongly doubt 30% think socialism is a good idea or will vote for it if its explained to them properly. Ignorant, not suicidal.

This problem ultimately resides in philosophy: Plato, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Marcuse, and related "thinkers". Most if not all of it is pure speculation and fantasy, like Scientology without the e-meters: essentially a cult.
Posted by: nv53 at February 12, 2010 11:29 PM

I appreciate the angle you take, nv53, but must disagree strenuously. I'm as conservative and rational as they come. I also honored in philosophy, attaining my B.A. (Hons.) from UBC in 1993. There is nothing wrong with studying the historical thinkers.

In fact, I pursued philosophical study for the very purpose of developing critical thinking skills. What better way than to study the arguments of history's greatest thinkers? Epistemology. Metaphysics. Logic. Ethics. Philosophy of mathematics, law, language, to name but a few. Worthy academic pursuits, all.

The problem is not the study of these disciplines. Learning from history, whatever the discipline, can never be a bad thing. I reject that notion entirely.

The problem, in my opinion, is those who reject rational thought, and promote ideology over reason -- a common trait of the modern liberal. They cling to ideology even when empirical evidence proves them wrong. AGW is a perfect example of this. These people could study Ayn Rand for years, and only an exceptional few might change their mind I would wager.

IMO.

I thought I should also clarify, my conservatism did not come to me late in life. I was a conservative coming out of university. I'd go so far as to say I went into post-secondary education thinking I was a small-c conservative. I came out knowing it.

Yo, me sain you be wit da slice! Mofos dissin be gettin cap assed, gnome sane?

_______
Corruption of language seems to me more prevalent among the utopians. It helps them live in their fantasy world by not dealing with real-world words. Apparently, changing the language somehow changes the delusion that a new reality is created.
Posted by: set you free at February 12, 2010 12:48 PM

There are stores shut and buildings for rent all over the place here in Phoenix. Not just marginal things, but big beautiful stores in primo locations are empty and for rent. People are freaking out.

Not just Phoenix, Mr. Phantom, all over the US. I live in Illinois, in a suburb of Chicago. There are strip malls and subdivisions where the builder just walked away leaving everything half finished. Forclosed homes are being auctioned for less than it took to build them.
I knew going into the election that Barrack was a cheap,corrupt, Chicago political hack, but the rest of the counry just thought it was about time to elect a handsome black man. Suckers.

Has anyone herd the term "creeping comunisium"?
If soviets were infiltrated to the west to slowly sneek in their brand of socicalism I ask how can we fight it.
If these people are so indoctrinated with socicalism at a young age and then live for years in a free market society and still believe in socicalism how do you alter that.
When this crap is pushed on kids from K forward how do you combat it.
The education industry will not cure itself.