the 'left'... 10/25/2017 0 Comments   by E.L. Christianson Jr. The left side of the political spectrum supports social equality.  It concerns itself with those in society who are disadvantaged relative to others in the society.  The belief system on the left sees unjustified inequalities in the society and works to reduce and/or abolished those inequalities. History is important and is always interesting.  The political terms "Left" and "Right" were coined during the French Revolution which sparked the American Revolution and followed it by only a few years (1789–1799). It identified the seating arrangement in the Estates General in France.  Those who sat on the left were in opposition to the French monarchy and supported revolution.  Those on the right were supportive of the traditional institutions of the Old Regime.  All of that sounds familiar when one examines the political systems of the United States.  With some shifting of positions over the decades, we have modern day Republicans and Democrats - right and left.    Except that today, both parties, Democrats and Republicans have come to support the traditional institutions of Wealth & Power, as did the 'founding fathers'.  Today, there are no substantial differences between the Democratic party and the Repubican party.  Their position on any issue, whether foreign or domestic, is essentially the same. People apparently still remember previous claims about differences between the parties.  Although those claims are more myth than fact, people still respond as if the pretended concepts were facts - they are not.  It has been a long decline. That decline can be attributed mostly to the 'left' losing in the propaganda battles as the American public has become brainwashed concerning what things are 'good for the country'. Actually, the 'left' was always 'right' leaning and rejecting of 'social equality'.  One clear example is that the Democrats, before world war 2, discriminated against African Americans in the Social Security Act of 1935.  It was designed in such a way that it would exclude farmworkers and domestic workers - jobs that were heavily occupied by African Americans.  The 'law', signed by Roosevelt excluded 65 percent of African Americans in this entire country and a much higher percentage were ineligible in the 'south'.  Social Security was supposed to benefit people who were in poverty - as long as they weren't African American. And in continuation, Democrats after world war 2 were dominated by 'Dixiecrats' who stood against extending civil rights.  The theoretical concept of social equality has always been too far to the left of the 'left'. The 'union movement' is another example of the 'left' falling along the wayside.  Today's ​workforce represents unionization at the lowest point in a century.  Just over 10% of workers now belong to a union, and the largest share of those are in the public sector.  In the private sector, unionization is just over 5% compared to 35% during the 1950s when America actually was great - at least in industrial and economic terms. The truth is that when unions are stronger the economy does better.   Unions create economic demand by raising wages for both members and non-members, thereby putting more purchasing power to work which creates more jobs.  When unions are weak, the opposite takes place.  In the past, these were points of contention in congressional debates.  But, as unions have been 'busted', the debates are unnecessary.  The 'right' won that argument. Nowhere are the propaganda wars more evident than the successful brainwashing of the American people against the concept of 'socialism' - in the American culture, the very word conjures up thoughts of 'evil'.  Americans have been duped into thinking that anything that opposes free enterprise is automatically in opposition to liberty, equality, and personal freedoms. ​ Quite to the contrary, we have the benefits of socialism throughout our country - police, fire, courts, libraries, and other municipal services that enables our country to function are all 'socialized'.  Additionally, we have roads, bridges, air ports, the post office, schools and other examples of collectively supporting those items that benefit us all. In actual fact, it is 'free enterprise' that threatens our freedoms.  Private schools, private mail service and private toll roads are a small sampling of our immediate future.  As more and more of our resources fall prey to free enterprise, we witness a more unequal distribution of everything in this country. Those who are interested in the common good and living in a society that benefits the masses of people need to understand the confusion that has overtaken our politics.  "Socialism" is not a bad word. The 'right wing' has become so dominate, so obsessed with greed and selfishness that they have largely given up on pretense.  Currently, the 'right' has openly sought to dismantle every aspect of our society that operates for the common good.  The 2 biggest items 'in the news' right now are eliminating public healthcare and giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy.  The 'right' is in control and is pushing hard against the public good with these 2 issues. On the positive side (if there is a positive side) the average voter can now easily see what's coming.  The eyes of the public are being slowly opened to the truth as the 'right' brutally oversteps all bounds of decency.  There will be a backlash as there was in France. Democrats are still, at this moment, on the 'right wing' of American culture.  At a recent meeting in Las Vegas, the Democratic establishment showed that it remains committed to wealth and power.  At that meeting, those to the 'left' within the party were pushed aside.  Specifically, the party moved to make sure that the “Sanders wing” of the Party and Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison were 'under control' of the establishment. As the Democrats are failing and as the people have few if any choices that benefit the populace as a whole, things will change.  Universal healthcare looks to be much closer now that Republicans have focused on destruction of public healthcare in total.  The people will rise up in their own self defense. People must rise up, otherwise, the 'left' has no political standing in this country, and that's the truth !!!