A reader wrote in saying the attached photo is inconsistent with the article and should be removed.
The article was written because I came across this graphic. The point is that graphics like these don’t help with the solution of our problems but are part of the problem.
Boy, when people use labels in imprecise and partisan ways, it becomes so counterproductive.
Because Bernie Sanders supports universal medicare and free college tuition, he’s called a “socialist.”
“[Bernie] Sanders pushes a liberal socialist agenda that includes everything from Medicare for All to a $15 minimum wage to free college tuition.” (1)
In other places, he’s called a “communist.” Bernie is nothing of the sort.
His ideas aren’t “socialist.” In my opinion, they’re just good, sensible, and beneficial proposals which will be a feature of the new world. Nova Earth, we’re working for.
I live in a society (Canada) that has universal medicare. Where would I be without it? All my tests are free. All my visits to specialists. My surgery for prostate cancer was free (or else I’d have lost the ranch).
And free tuition? I remember us fighting decades ago for “universal accessibility.” Tuition shouldn’t depend on a person’s ability to pay. We need all the trained people we can get.
Nowadays we’re using the words “left” and “liberal” to tar and feather all progressive candidates and causes. Isn’t it time to stop ridiculing and stigmatizing folks and consider an idea on its merits?
I guess it serves the “left” right for calling conservatives “rednecks” for so long. But neither approach is useful.
Sen. Joseph McCarthy showed how many lives could be ruined when we create a meme like “left” or for that matter “conspiracy theorist” and then use it to imply that these people work for the devil (I’m exaggerating). The Hollywood Black List for instance crucified a large number of innocent and very creative people. With no recourse.
Can we stop the name-calling please and return to what we used to call “civil” discourse?
Footnotes
(1) Jay Greenberg, “Bernie Sanders Announces 2020 Presidential Election Run,” Neonnettle, Feb. 19, 2019, at httpss://neonnettle.com/news/6559-bernie-sanders-announces-2020-presidential-election-run.