Sowell: The Left and the Masses: Part II

Creators Syndicate ^ | October 18, 2016 | Thomas Sowell

[jazusamo]

It is never easy to tell what people's motives are. But, when the political left proclaims their devotion to improving the lives of others in general, and of the poor in particular, we can at least get some clues from the way they go about it.

One of the first things the left does is take away the right of other people to make their own choices.

For example, under current California law, Hispanic school children cannot be taught in Spanish if their parents want them taught in English. Like parents in other immigrant groups before them, Hispanic parents tend to want their children to learn English, so that those children will have more opportunities when they become adults in an English-speaking country.

But the left in general, and Hispanic activists in particular, have fought against leaving Hispanic parents with that choice. At the heart of the left's vision of the world — and of themselves — is that they know better what is good for other people. This means that the left sees itself as having both a right and a duty to take away other people's options.

This issue was fought out 18 years ago, in a California referendum on so-called "bilingual education," which in practice meant largely teaching Hispanic school children in Spanish. All the forces of political correctness, including the media and the educational establishment, argued in favor of teaching those children in Spanish, even when their parents wanted them taught in English.

[Tax-chick]

Have we become so gullible that we are so easily manipulated and stampeded?

Yes.

We can see it on FR: people go into a tizzy over a headline, without even reading the excerpt, let alone reading the article, and heaven forbid considering what other information might be available. Whether to post a rude comment isn't an important decision, by any means, but it's symptomatic of a disposition to act quickly when a personal button is pushed.

I like to ask myself, "Who wants me to be upset about this, and what do they get out of it?"