The Fall of My Leftist House of Mirrors

FrontPage Magazine ^ | 9 SEPTEMBER 2005 | Michael Lopez-Calderon

[vannrox]

A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the existing of better men than himself.

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse - A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their own free choice - is often the means of their regeneration.

[pas]

"I am returning to my roots as a liberal skeptic in possession of a Weltanschauung deeply rooted in the Scottish-English-American Enlightenment. "

Doesn't sound like he is doing anything other than distancing himself from the far left. He still feels he can be a liberal and not be part of the far left.

[mvpel]

If he's not going to be mistaken for a blinkered, ivory-tower, dyed-in-the-wool leftist for the rest of his life, he's going to have to stop using pretentious words like weltanschauung.

[rdb3]

If he's not going to be mistaken for a blinkered, ivory-tower, dyed-in-the-wool leftist for the rest of his life, he's going to have to stop using pretentious words like weltanschauung.

Oh, I don't know. It appears that this gentleman has haphazardly come to a gestalt, which shattered his faith in dialectic materialism. The dieties of Marx and Engels failed him. For if the promises of leftism were to stand, the vision of Marx was the sine qua non of everything else.

Note: You all know I'm just B.S.ing here, right? I love playing with the minds of former co-workers who are dyed in the wool leftwing Nader lovers. So I spit out their verbiage right back at them.

If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!

[Old Student]

"...and wondering if we should welcome back the prodigal son, or berate him for taking so long."

He got there, so welcome him. Everyone has differing experiences, some of us take longer than others to make sense of them. Been there, done that, myself.

[popdonnelly]

I personally think these people are beneath contempt. Everyone cares about helping the hurricane victims. All these people care about is politics.

[The Phantom FReeper]

Oh, I don't know. It appears that this gentleman has haphazardly come to a gestalt, which shattered his faith in dialectic materialism. The dieties of Marx and Engels failed him. For if the promises of leftism were to stand, the vision of Marx was the sine qua non of everything else.

That was excellent. Up until I read your disclaimer, I thought you were being serious.

[rdb3]

That was excellent. Up until I read your disclaimer, I thought you were being serious.

Thank you. Thank you so much. I am happy to accept this Oscar for Best Supporting Actor on behalf of all FReepers, well, most of them anyway.

I'd like to thank mama, Pop, Pookie, Ray-Ray, Mrs. Edwards for her peach turnovers, the late and great Uncle Bubba, the 82d Airborne Division, and the St. Joseph High football team of '87-'90.

Made it ma'! Top of the world!

If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!

[F16Fighter]

Great read...Especially for Jerry ;-)

In a nutshell:

[T]here was one troubling, recurring weakness about the Left that kept reappearing like termites, eating away at my [former-liberal] wooden edifice of arguments and premises: The Left offered no solutions....

The Leftist critics of America and the West sit in the most comfortable seat known to all – the seat of the critical critic, the cynic who destroys all but from the rubble offers no constructive alternatives. The Left tears but never builds.

[hosepipe]

Dear Micheal;
Nice metaphor (house of mirrors).. but really you must learn to edit your Opus'es down to about two(a few) hundred words.. Only the left is dazzled by bull sperm... Your words resemble shards of glass, true.. But you get a pass on this one..

Suggestion: Join in with Horowitz and his entourage and start throwing rocks at "the LEFTS'" mirrored halls.. You are either part of the problem or part of the solution..

[qam1]

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.

Yes this Ping list is still active, it's just been slim pickings article wise for the last month or two

[Zechariah_8_13]

"The Left tears but never builds."

Bears repeating.

[GOP_1900AD]

That is some powerful writing. This guy needs to be promoted far and wide. Note in particular his personal experience with powerful Wahabbis. This is pure gold.

[GOP_1900AD]

I'll one up that. The Duke et al crowd are just as dangerous as any left wind revolutionary group - if they are not investigated and stopped, they'll be just like the Weather Underground.

[ChadGore]

Every proud Republican should read this. Thank you for the post.

[ChadGore]

I love this line:

Turkish proverb: “When the ax first appeared in the woods, the trees said to each other, ‘well, at least the handle is one of us.’”

[Popman]

Bro, Excellent read

Thanks rdb3

[Popman]

The totalitarian mindset is malleable, so long as the new form retains the old totalitarian properties

Interesting comment.

I wonder if his new "house of mirrors" has taken on what new form if the following was his old framework?

I am returning to my roots as a liberal skeptic in possession of a Weltanschauung deeply rooted in the Scottish-English-American Enlightenment. Constitutional government is my wellspring and no greater one exists than the Constitution of the United States of America.

Not underestimating his conversion, but leopards rarely change their spots.

[PRND21]

Bump

[reformedliberal]

Been out all day and catching up.

I think they are quite connected in printing, advertising and promotion. And maybe they have drawers full of things like armbands and SHAME signs they can just reuse for appropriate purposes.

I think they see everything as grist for the organizing mill.


Our local Women in Black disappeared until Camp Cindy, when they suddenly were visible again, but in small numbers. After Katrina, they were suddenly not only visible, but had increased their numbers, again. It may just be the ubiquitous phone tree, now morphed to mass emails. They operate in cells. It is difficult to think they have advance knowledge, but they are ever ready to take advantage, almost before anyone realizes it is a *cause*.
They are relentless.
Most seem to me to have no life outside of politics.