@bluetoe
And just to prove I'm not a complete partisan, I'd like to list a few things that I despise about far left progressives and/or Democrats.
1. Tankies. These people, who operate under the same political philosophy as Noam Chomsky (another self hating American), are a scourge. America is not perfect. America has made mistakes. America has committed crimes. America is also a hell of a lot better place to live than 98% of the world. We've stood for ideals that did not exist (or did not exist in political affairs of other countries) when they were first recognized in our Constitution. People still come here because they believe in the promises and the opportunities we can give. I love our country. I believe in our country. I would fight for my country. It is not an inherently tainted land of slave owners as those people believe.
2. Democrats suck at exercising power. Plain and simple. I think Obama was a classic example of that. He wasn't the bogeyman the far right liked to paint him as. But he was arrogant, aloof, and believed in the superiority of his own arguments and that it sufficed as President. Biden may be 'Sleepy Joe' to some, however he's at least delivered in some areas. But this is a pattern that's repeated itself with Dems since the Carter administration. They don't have a cohesive message much of the time.
3. There is an increasing amount of cultural authoritarianism on the left. Not political authoritarianism, which is a separate entity, but it's maddening all the same. This is where cancel culture comes from and those on the mainstream left and progressive left who deny it are fools. 'Anti-racism', 'white privilege', 'patriarchy', these are all buzz words and terms invented in left wing academia that have entered the vocabulary of corporations and celebrities. They are purity tests, ideological absolutism that requires you to believe or say certain language on the pain of being ostracized from broader society. It's bullshit and I refuse to bow to such idiocy.
4. A hyperfocus on identity politics as a means of achieving power. And this is something the right has embraced too. But it's worse on the left. Everything must be put into an 'oppression hierarchy' with white men being the controlling villains at the top and black queer women at the bottom. It's enabling a degree of victimhood which becomes narcissistic and vain. It reduces politics to a solely selfish concept where only your skin color, sexuality, gender, and religion matter in looking at a particular issue. And you must only view it through that lens. It eliminates nuance and critical thinking.
5. East and west coast universities have become conceited echo chambers. Optics have become more important than education. Enough said. It's less prevalent away from these bastions on either side of the country. But it's everywhere.
6. Lack of fortitude, especially people my age. I think we have a lot of good ideas and are eager to move away from a society dominated by the baby boomers. But there is a heavy tendency among young progressives to completely miss the mark on
how to achieve something as opposed to just talking about it or yelling about it.
Anyway, just my two cents.
