Arianna Huffington rightly discerned the central message of President Obama's inaugural address: a call for us all to grow up. Maturity is in the eye of the beholder though. I'll bet you that right wing Americans translated President Obama's call to put away "childish things" as a call for left wing Americans shape up their sexual "immorality." I'll bet you that left wing Americans heard the call as a chastisement of right wing laissez-faire banking regulations and greed. I heard something else: a call for all Americans to forgo thinking that people on the "other side" of our ideological divides are the sole initiators of all our national problems.
In other words it's a time to take a look at ourselves and stop worrying about the other guy. That is maturity. Does the left have the moral fiber to do that? I'm not sure it does.
Anyone who has read my pieces here and in various newspapers or has read my memoir Crazy For God, knows that I'm amongst the Religious Right's and the Republican's harshest critics. As a former Republican and right winger I bring a special insider's clarity to understanding just how destructive the right has been. That said...
Now that we of the progressive persuasion have won, there are some indicators that the left doesn't know how to handle victory. For instance, the incredible ideologically holier-than-thou parsing of almost all of President Obama's Cabinet appointments by the incurably panties-bunched-up-left did not bode well.
Given the resounding defeat of the Republicans, the burden is on the American left to show that it will follow our new President and adopt a new level of maturity that we haven't seen in 40 years of American politics. For instance, will the left grow up enough to stop doing things such as bitching like babies when someone such as a Rick Warren is invited to pray or otherwise participate as he was at the inauguration?
Here's the point: can the American left actually look at things as insiders instead of perpetual outsiders? Will the anarchic spirit of the 1960s re-infect this genuinely new start and once again lead to the same dead ends, as special interests and American tribalism kick in? (As in: "We thought black people were good people until they voted for Prop 8! Now, Oh my God, we don't know!)
We do know that the forces of mental dullness, led by the village idiots inclusive of Fox News, Coulter, Limbaugh etc. etc. are beyond help or hope. But the real test is going to be the Churchillian test of showing magnanimity in victory. The progressive movement has begun badly.
First President Obama wasn't "black enough" for the black left. Then he was "too centrist" in his appointments for the white left. Then he wasn't gay friendly enough.
Now Obama is President Obama, will the African-American chattering classes, the gay community, the progressive ideological-litmus-test-watch-dogs et al see themselves as part of the American community first, and everything else second?
Will Democrats be able to climb down and forgo some of their programs to more justly and equitably redistribute wealth and instead live with an economic program grounded in the reality that about 46% of the American people voted against the new President and that he needs to work with Republicans? Or would we rather be pure and lose the one-time historic chance to progress?
And here are a few other little "canaries" in the national mine that may indicate something about the left's willingness to actually jump on board. For instance; will we see ROTC enthusiastically reestablished in places like Columbia and Harvard this year? President Obama called on Columbia to do just that while he spoke on campus and the president of Columbia wrote an open letter repudiating Obama's call. So much for progressive support! We have a black, progressive commander in chief now. He wants to end the war in Iraq and shut Gitmo. Is the left on board with our military -- as of today?
There's more of course, but you get the idea. Is the left willing to abandon its well-honed, knee-jerk politics of opposition and show the maturity of embracing a politics of genuinely inclusive governance? The word "inclusive" takes on new meaning when your side is in charge! Now its up to us to do the including of people you don't like, may even hate. Have we got it in us?
And last but not least the progressive movement has one thing in common with the right wing: the left just like the right, is absolutely addicted by a dumb celebrity "culture," entertainment that distracts us from any high purpose. It will be interesting to see if -- on the web sites of the left -- from now on we'll see less celebrity-oriented nonsense of all kinds, and a little more serious grown up discussion.
We said we wanted change. Do we? The change President Obama is calling for is in us, not in someone else. Are we ready? Are we willing to say goodbye to some of our fondest pet projects and addictions and sacrifice them for the national good? If not, take off that "Change" T-shirt.
Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back. Now in paperback.
And speaking of childish behavior, the way Bush was treated by the democrats on inauguration day was shameful. As little as Republicans thought of Clinton, they did not boo him when the shoe was on the other foot. Shame. You want Obama to be treated with respect? He will be treated at least as respectfully as democrats have treated Bush, but unfortunately, that is a very low bar.
Amen, Mr. Schaeffer.
* Ramp up the military
* Escalate in Afghanistan without an exit strategy
* "Fix" health care at the margins but leave the present system in place
* Recapitalize the financial system at taxpayer expense
* Make the unions pay for corporate "reform"
* Waffle on constitutional issues
This is a progressive agenda?
* elimanate entitlements
* destroy the military
* indefinate commitments in Afghanistan AND Iraq with no exit strategy
* "ignore" the for profit health care industry and further privatize it
* recapitalize the financial system and further deregulate it
* destroy unions
* Civil rights are a quaint and out dated notion in this time of national emergency and fear
Compared to the last eight years, yours IS a progressive agenda.
First do no (more) harm.
Why should progressives be jumping for joy and waving Obama through, then? Quite to the contrary, progressives ought to be voicing our concerns.
We may be dealing with the lesser of two evils, but it's not exactly Camelot yet, is it? There's still a lot of work to do.
For instance: it's been 20 years. The trickle down, tax giveaways to the rich have been PROVEN not to work. Yet, we're still supposed to discuss this BS like it's an option. Really?
After all these years of corporations complaining about costs, we really are supposed to act like the argument against nationalized healthcare is legitimate. Do you know how much that would help small business and enable them to compete with the larger ones? We're supposed to act like big corporations DON'T do everything to kill off competition when there's evidence of it EVERY YEAR.
How crazy are people supposed to be?
Reaganomics and nothing remotely like it works.
But then, you go on to make what is generally characterized as a leftist critique of Reaganomics.
History shows that your argument is correct.
So, should we be so quick to say that left, right, and center are entirely irrelevant? I don't think so.
Growing up is all about responsibility, facing the consequences and being honest.
Our nation has without doubt been involved in torture and war crimes. To be lectured about responsibility by the new President, while he fence sits on whether or not to even bother investigating these crimes is...........not good.
If Pres Obama does the right thing and encourages a thorough honest investigation into torture and war crimes, his call for national service will be shown to be genuine and powerful. If he does not show responsibility and instead ignores the obvious crimes, his words are meaningless.
As to the question posed by the author...
"Here's the point: can the American left actually look at things as insiders instead of perpetual outsiders?
Well as the parade of right wingers or "centrists" and Clintonites to the Obama White House so far does not include one legitimate progressive, the short answer is no.
Ask again when Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, Michael Moore, Ralph Nader or Cynthia McKinney
get a job on the inside. This group isn't any more to the left of center than many Obama appointees are to the right.
Here's what goes on the right side ...Limbaugh - "I wan't him to fail" Bauchman - "We need an expose," - Baglady - "I heard he was an Arab."
However, Mr. Schaeffers points are still valid. I don't know why many progressives / liberals feel this president needs to display his progressive credentials at every instance to satisfy our comfort level. "Snuffleupagus," does have it right however when he suggests that it is wise looking into some of excesses (understated indeed) of the prior administration - but this is not a liberal/progressive point - it should be something that all American's should jump at.
Mr. Obama, gifted as he is, is a politician. You can't please everyone. He is - and I am glad he is a PRAGMATISTS. (IMHO) As much as he is a pragmatist (or seems to be) he may be a little bit of an incrementalist as well. Someone that is steady, and governs - center left and is not afraid of being challenged in his positions shows an maturity vs. a Cowboy who is a rightwinger who has to be spoon feed his positions and is afraid of honest debate.
No baby bathwater needed analogy here.
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Part of the problem is that after the last 8 years, this is NOT something that all American's will jump at. At this point in time, it IS a liberal/progressive point.
You say "it should be", is an idealistic worldview that we do NOT live in.
As for your assertion that honest rigorous investigation of torture is NOT a progressive or liberal point................. c'mon man, who you trying to kid?
It sure as sugar ain't a Republican point.
Last week Obama made very clear his reluctance to investigate, and just today his nominee for intel, refused to say that water boarding is torture. So I guess the Democrats can't rightly lay claim to this point either can they.
But I will be thrilled, jump up and down and praise Obama the day he announces a serious honest well funded investigation into torture.
If progressives don't own the torture point, nobody does.
Thank you very much, this has been my point as well.
When progressives ask for legitimate roles and representatives in policy making, we are chastised as if we were petulant children who are demanding EVERYTHING. That is false. We want to SHARE power -- in proportion to our numbers, with appropriate bonuses for our commitment to the cause which happened to win at the polls this year. We matter at least as much as Republicans who crossed party lines.
But who was getting courted by Obama at Cabinet selection time? Convservative Democrats, and the GOP. Let's start by asking -- what has the Democratic Party ever given progressives? Name ONE thing. Besides empty, pre-election vote-garnering promises, that is...
I agree with you and Mr. Schaeffer. You know its the people on the far left and the far right that are sooooo bad for this country! They both suffer from myopia and as said, there just really is no hope for them!! You can talk to these two groups until you're cross-eyed and they still wouldn't get it.
I consider myself to be progressive and find it so sad that people on the far left don't recognize that they are the equivalent of the Rush Limbaugh's and the Sean Hannity's of the right.
And yet, it NEVER means compromising with progressives. Not on one single issue.
Look, you can have it that way if you want. But if you do so, you cannot dare to lecture Green Party voters about "spoiling" "your" elections. You don't want our input? You can't blame us for shopping somewhere else.
Who is doing that? Are you arguing against real people, or against straw men?
Many commentators have written (and I agree) that Obama will be a great disappointment to the left.
He lied to them in the primary campaign, convincing them that he was a progressive when in fact it appears he is not. Immediatly after securing the nomination, he abandoned the progressive left and dropped most of thier important issues like a hot potato(e):)
He has put together a cabinet that looks very similiar to Bill Clinton's, and I imagine his governance will reflect that.
"Dissent is not allowed" is a horrible mis-characterization of a group of people who simply want to be INCLUDED -- to the same extent that the Republicans who voted against Obama are being included.
And, let's not forget, pressure = money. One dollar, one vote.