A Progressive's Wet Dream

There are tons of political pundits with decades of knowledge. I am not one of them, but I have an opinion, and my age gives me some credibility.

It may seem like a rambling piece but i’d like to think of it as a work in progress.

There were days when liberals fought for things like affordable housing, school lunches, integration, equal opportunity, and other social programs. SOCIAL, not socialist. It was also a time when conservatives thought these were decent initiatives and were concerned about how we would pay for them; but they found a middle ground, and these succeeded, with bumps along the way.

Socialism has reared its ugly head, and the Democratic Party is now filled with socialists and so-called progressives who have a different idea on how to govern, and the future looks bleak.

Wanting to do the right thing is a good start, but by giving away the farm and penalizing people who make money, have money, or have built a home and career, the idea of taxing them to ridiculous limits is one of the worst ideas to come out of socialism in years.

My parents were liberals. They supported social programs, marched against the war, and worked for equal rights. They also worked hard, kept their money, and weren’t made to feel selfish.

Conservative friends of my parents (yes, they had some) supported some of these ideals. They just thought of a different way to ensure them.

Now let’s be honest.

While supporting civil rights, white flight was also prevalent. Once white people in the boroughs made money, they moved out of the neighborhoods to the suburbs, to communities with people like them. People of color built their own communities: Hempstead, Roosevelt, Uniondale, Freeport, Westbury, Sag Harbor Hills, Nineveh, Inwood, Elmont, and several others. But these were liberal communities with hard-working families. Ideals were shared, though they were hardly integrated.

We had two people of color in my graduating class out of 476.

Socialism is different from liberalism. “Liberalism is a political and economic philosophy centered on individual liberty, private property, and free-market capitalism. Socialism, conversely, advocates for collective or governmental ownership and democratic control of the economy to achieve strict social and economic equality.”

Progressives? “While the terms “liberal” and “progressive” are often used interchangeably in American politics, they stem from distinct political philosophies. In general, liberals focus on individual rights, equality of opportunity, and reforming existing institutions, while progressives prioritize systemic change, economic equality, and challenging concentrated corporate power.”

While the Civil Rights Act mandated equality, mandating socialism is taking us in the wrong direction.

Now, let’s talk about Jews. In the recent NY elections, socialists and progressives have clearly adopted an anti-Israel stance. Israeli citizens are comprised of 79% Jews and 21% Arabs or Palestinians. They confused the government with the citizens; 37% of Israelis support Bibi while 62% do not. Zionism’s definition is about the support of a homeland where Jews can be free of persecution and hate, and Arab Israeli citizens enjoy the same rights.

I won’t get into the GenX issue of total ignorance on the current issues at hand, but they were the ones who turned out, as they support the message of Mamdami, and the other elected candidates across the nation. Mamdami has said he supports the state of Israel but not a Jewish state, and that is where I have the problem.

The Democratic Party has not spoken to me for years. Schumer and Pelosi acted like Republicans in the sense that they have held on to power and meted it out to favorites.

I’m 73, but it’s my America for maybe another 15 or 20 years. We need new blood. Younger blood and more practical. Democratic socialists are not the answer.

Social programs are important, but the train to achieve those has gone off the rails with the recent elections.

What to do?

I’m thinking about it.Stay tuned.

There will certainly be a Part II to this missive.