Some time ago, I suggested that liberals have, by in large, lost their minds. This is based mostly on their denial of reality and their freakish hypersensitivity when confronted with criticism or ideas that differ from their own. They appear to be coming apart at the seams with nothing concrete to ground them, but I ended the article with the idea that perhaps they aren’t crazy and are merely suffering the ill effects of years of brainwashing. The indoctrination received by our friends on the left begins, for the most part, in the public school system where the chief virtues taught to children — the favorite target of cults and authoritarian governments — are obedience and conformity to and dependence on the state.
Even outside of the education system there is no shortage of reinforcement from government and various institutions for the indoctrination provided by the state at its failing schools. Our entertainment media bolsters statist messaging with jingoistic appeals to our emotions and the mainstream news is awash in propaganda meant to convey a sense that bizarre cultural evolution is inevitable. This constant stream of misinformation permeates every facet of our society and has indeed left a massive mark on our culture.
The traditional family unit is now looked upon with scorn by a growing number of young people who don’t see it for what it has always been: the foundational building block of civilization. Modesty, industriousness, a solid work ethic, etc., have all be replaced by a tawdry self-aggrandizement, a hatred of work, and a misguided notion to follow our passions instead of seeking out productive employment. Conventional gender roles that have served our planet well for thousands of years are being assaulted by anti-scientific ideas about a diverse multiplicity of new sexes and identifications. Free speech is buckling under the weight of progressive intolerance, as is the entire U.S. Constitution. Defunct and dangerous ideas such as socialism are becoming more and more popular as youths eat up fictions sold to them by a snake-oil salesman dressed as a kindly old man from Vermont. Calls for the elimination of males and whites from the human race have been injected into our political discussions.
How do we fight back against so much violent hogwash on so many different fronts? Can these people be deprogrammed? I’d like to think there’s hope even for the most vehement leftist despite their foaming-at-the-mouth rage against everything that made America great in the first place. The question isn’t whether not there’s hope for these folks, the question is how do we help them?
We start by showing them the grace they refuse to show us. We must listen patiently and wait for moments to interject without mirroring their rabid aggressiveness. When you get a chance to talk to one of these folks, fight the urge to call them names, even if the shoe fits. How we talk about them among ourselves is one thing, but if you have an opportunity to speak with one in person, honor their dignity and lend them your ear, at least for a little while, but always know when to walk away. Some people are simply not capable of reason and decorum.
More important than good manners when dealing with a brainwashed leftist is this: keep them grounded in the real world. Remember, conservatives craft policy based on the world as it is, liberals craft policy based on how they feel the world should be. By their very nature, liberals operate in a fantasy world and if you indulge their day-dreaming they will always win the debate because they can just fly away to whatever make-believe, pie-in-the-sky kingdom they want to rule over. You’ll be the dour conservative who hates poor people and minorities because you can’t imagine a world as grand as the left can. Always keep them in the real world.
When talking about specific policies you don’t always have to go right for the jugular. You might be tempted to begin right away with the minimum wage, but instead of discussing the unavoidable negative consequences of artificial wage floors, take a more indirect path. You could start by asking your liberal friend how he or she feels about tax increases on sugar products such as candy or cereal or soda. Ask them if they feel the taxes need to be increased and what the point of the increases might be. Once you get them to admit the higher price will discourage consumption of these products, you’ve got them right where you want them. When the discussion moves on to the minimum wage, remind them they admitted higher prices discourage consumption, remind them this is true whether we’re talking about Honey Pops, Sprite, or unskilled labor.
When your liberal friend says single-payer would be the most efficient and equitable system for dispersing health insurance, be quick to take their head out of the clouds. Tell your friend that the government tasked with administering this massive new program is the same government that has driven us twenty trillion dollars in debt, the same government that is pushing our current array of entitlements into insolvency. It sounds like a nice theory, but in the real world it would be a disaster.
If your liberal friend praises the theoretical merits of socialism, ask them where it has ever been successful. If they point to Scandinavia be sure to tell them those nations have robust market economies and though they have generous welfare programs, they don’t qualify at all as socialist. Remind your liberal friends of socialism’s vast catastrophic history, the hundreds of millions dead, the irreplaceable collateral damage, and how it is currently failing in places like Venezuela. No doubt their protests will be that those nations didn’t practice true socialism and they’ll get it right next time. They may claim that democratic socialism is preferable to any other flavor of socialism. If you can remember the quote, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn’s words may do the trick:
“Socialism of any type leads to a total destruction of the human spirit and to a leveling of mankind into death.”
These are only three examples of how to keep your liberals friends grounded when they’re tempted to float away into their collective fantasy world of an infeasible and unachievable utopia. Never forget, liberalism is a blind-faith religion which entails hope in the unseen as much as it does denial of what can be seen. When presented with an opportunity to converse with our liberal friends we must constantly be on the lookout for chances to subtly prompt them to come face to face with those things which even they cannot deny. It may not always work but it’s worth the effort to undo at least some of the damage done to them over their many years of brainwashing. If it works, they might come out better than they were before their minds were warped by progressive programming.
Good luck and happy hunting.
