The way I see it, liberals are no more friendly to liberty in sum than the red state fascist types. The only reason most leftists are so anti these days is not because of real principle, but because their perceived opposites are in power.
The question is not which brand of socialism is the right one, but whether or not the rights of the individual are paramount.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a hell of a lot of useful information and perspective to be gained by listening to and reading lefties, it’s just that in their eagerness to be the opposite of the Republicans (a respectable enough desire) they fall for the oldest trick in the book. Unlike the rightwingers who were pretty anti government in the 1990’s, beyond just Clinton hatred, most on the left seem to still be complaining about what government isn’t doing for them, and how they wish it was their way, instead of realizing that the problem is state power itself.
"Eh, what are you gonna do?" - Homer Simpson
Libertarians protest government abuses as they see them as an inherent part of government, democratic or not. Leftists protest government abuses as they see them as an aberration from the true nature of democracy. The libertarians are the realists in this debate.
But why would the majority ever hurt anyone?
I would be a little bit careful about painting all leftists with one broad brush. First of all, I used to be a Reaganite until I was offended by his War on Drugs. Since the Democrats were not quite as bad as the Republicans on this drug war stuff, I started voting Democratic. As I became more and more angry at the Reagan Administration, I flirted with all the tenants of your stereotypical left-winger.
However, I had quite an eye opening when I travelled to Nicaragua. I went to support the Sandinistas, but unlike most of the lefties that went to Central America, I caught on to the fact that one could have two notions in one head at the same time:
1. The Sandinistas were ruthless bastards with no desire for freedom and democracy
2. That being said, the US had no business creating a terrorist army to overthrow the Sandinistas
I started to fall out with the radical Left after that, because I could not and would not apologize for the Sandinistas. However, I have still voted Democrat ever since, because the Republicans are slightly more evil (I have, however, voted for Libertarians on the state level).
There are many folks out there who consider themselves “left” because they oppose war, don’t want the government spying on them, and would like checks and balances on the imperial presidency.
But when you ask them their views on other issues, they are surprisingly moderate or even conservative. They don’t want the government taking any more money out of their pocket.
but since any Third Party is always crushed by the Republicans and Democrats, they identify themselves with the “lesser of evils”. If there were a true alternative party, they would jump on board in a minute.
Yeah, I was being too hard on folks in that one. I live in Austin, TX, where just about everyone is a leftie. They’re good people, it’s just that I wish folks would quit wanting the government to help them, and just go away!
What is a domestic program but a war against your neighbors?