Why won’t America embrace the left?
In two centuries, the movement’s history in America is plagued by failure. An expert explains why
So emotes Salon, forgetting the huge and succesful labor battles of the early 20th century that led to the 40 hour week, safety regulations, employers helping to pay for health care, and other major wins. Then there was the civil rights movement, which transformed America and the Vietnam anti-war movemen, which certainly helped end that war. Yet Salon thinks this is all just dismal and pointless failure.
Liberals just love to get weepy about how tragic it all is, don’t they?
As for why more don’t embrace the left, one real good idea would be to stop your sobbing.
In addition to the labor wins, the Civil Rights win and the peace win, there’s Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the EPA, the liberation of women, the sexual revolution and the advancement of gay rights. Perhaps they dismiss the wins of the Left because they’re such powerful wins they’re now fixtures of the cultural landscape, taken for granted, no longer even noticed. The world used to be a heck of a lot worse. The Second Awakening and its Social Gospel started a wave of liberal reform, starting with abolition and greater respect for women and labor, that’s been washing over us ever since. There may be times when we slide backward a step, but the arc of history still has a trajectory toward justice.
I agree. Yet liberals weep here at how we’ve mad no progress or something like that. Makes no sense to me either.