[lit-ideas] Re: The Decent and Indecent Left
- From: "Judith Evans" <judithevans1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 17:28:53 +0100
Interesting, Lawrence. The terminology, that is. The British
"decent
Left" have managed -- not deliberately, probably -- to mislead
some
decent US liberals into associating with them (for lack, perhaps,
of a sufficiently
strong social democratic presence in the US).
below, > of course denotes Prager
>During that period, it was wrong on the Cold War -- it
>devoted far more energy to fighting anti-communism
>than to fighting communism.
moot point. As of course you will know, many on the Left not
only did not support the USSR (particularly after 1956) but
excoriated
it. (Some, of course, never supported it.) Did some of us
support Cuba in
the face of the US's actions against it? Yes. Did some of us
note
that the US's actions were a major factor in the rise of
communism in Cuba
and Cuba's turning to the USSR, perforce? Yes.
>It was wrong on welfare.
yes well that's his opinion
>It was wrong in its demanding less morally and intellectually
> from black Americans than from all other Americans.
? I suppose his "intellectually" refers to affirmative action
of
the kind that put Condi Rice where she is today. "Morally"?
that makes no sense to me at all.
>It was wrong in advocating bilingual education for
> children of immigrants.
? I'm prepared to oppose a minority education that leaves US
citizens
unable to read/write/speak English, but am a bit puzzled re
opposition
to bilingual education, one point apart: minority children,
bilingually
educated, might then be disadvantaged as against monolingual
children
taught a second language not of their culture. But in practice,
I suppose,
Spanish -- I take it the beef is about Spanish -- is sufficiently
important for that not to be a major concern.
>It was wrong in generally holding American society rather
> than violent criminals responsible for violent crime
The Left objected to imprisonment of offenders? Sounds unlikely
to
me -- the US is the place where some who call themselves liberals
support capital punishment.
>It was wrong in imposing its view on abortion on America
> through the courts rather than through the democratic process.
I take it Prager knows nothing about the political system of the
US.
sorry, I just can't go on; the man is too silly. I will though
note an example of US Left wishful thinking
>It was wrong in arguing that America is not based on
>Judeo-Christian values, but on secular ones like Western Europe.
you should be so lucky!
Judy Evans, Cardiff, UK
----- Original Message -----
From: Lawrence Helm
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 3:35 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] The Decent and Indecent Left
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