Opinion
I have often advised others that if you have time to listen to one podcast, it should be historian Heather Cox Richardson.
Yesterday, she pointed out a pet peeve of hers, which is a pet peeve of mine. It is the way in which we define, re-define, amplify, identify, criticize and otherwise inaccurately use words such as communist, socialist, progressive, democratic socialist, liberal, fascism and the like. She zeroed in on the mis-use of these terms.
Policies promoted by self identified democratic socialists are those which were enacted by our presidents since World War II, including Republican presidents. They are called The New Deal and The Great Society, which the radical right has been effective in destroying since the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
President Joe Biden passed more progressive legislation than any president since Lyndon Johnson, which was passed in Congress by leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
Yet, the American people rejected that progress, which breaks all of our hearts.
Democrats who worked to pass health care legislation, for example, include Ted Kennedy (who worked with Richard Nixon) Bill and Hillary Clinton, and of course, Barack Obama who did get the Affordable Care Act passed (with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid), but lost 60 seats in Congress over the backlash. And yet passing health care legislation is called “socialist” and the so-called “left” side of the Democratic Party claim to be the ones “for the people” on this and other issues, and those who don’t call themselves “socialist” are not.
This is not socialism — which is what Heather Cox Richardson will explain to you.
I refuse to fall into the trap of being labeled anything — and have often said to others, I’m fine with leftist, progressive New Deal, Great Society policies — quit attacking me or labeling me as something I am not, just because I won’t identify with a “label” such as “socialist.”
The media is creating a false narrative that the Democrats on the left and in the center are at war with each other. We cannot fall into the trap of that narrative because it isn’t true.
We all want to improve the lives of the American people through our government and we are opposed to the radical right oligarchy authoritarian policies of this regime.
Do not let them divide and conquer us. Listen to Heather Cox Richardson. She will explain it all to you.