Undoubtedly, had this been the behavior of a Republican administration, "the left's" big environmental organizations would be scheduling D.C. protests and calling for firings, if not criminal charges. Yet, somehow, there are no protests. Somehow, there have been almost no calls for the resignation of Salazar, who oversaw this disaster and who, before that, took $323,000 in campaign contributions from energy interests and backed more offshore drilling as a U.S. senator. Somehow, facing environmental apocalypse, there has been mostly silence from "the left." (David Sirota, “Laying bare the myth of the ‘left,’” Salon, 21 May 2010)
Be careful
When primitive civilizations used to feel guilty for excess and too good living, they devised sacrificial wars where all their best and brightest -- representatives of happiness, ambition -- could be offered up to placate the anger of their abandonment-suspecting gods.
What we're doing now is trying to entice our best and brightest -- those who cannot be stopped for fighting for a progressive, nurturing, fair society -- to clearly ID themselves by marching on to Washington. The rest of us liberals will wildly cheer them on, which they'll misinterpret as larger support -- "maybe we'll get some senators out of this!" But once they're pot-banging and out in the open, we'll withdraw and actually join the chorus in understanding now that what is actually substantially worse than a tea bagger who wants to limit support, is the ridiculous hippie who in an age of withdrawal and the circumscibed, just can't stop from demanding more and more.
Progressives, understand that Obama supporters are those who are looking for ways to show they're not in fact one of you -- that they'd spit on you, if they had the chance. Don't play into the public desire for the crazies on the LEFT, now, to come out and ID themselves.
Thanks for being you, David.
Link: Laying bare the myth of the left (Salon)
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