The orkings of a progressive mind

Vincent J. Curtis

18 Apr 2019

The recent article by John Kneeland shows the strange operation of the progressive mind. [Hamilton Spectator 17 Apr 2019]

For reasons I’ll get into, he has decided that the Democratic party should be represented by a woman.  The leading progressive candidates for the nomination who happen to be men are blasted for their deviations from the progressive line in the course of their lengthy political careers.  Joe Biden, an old white male, is dismissed on account of his handling of the 1991 Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings in which Anita Hill was not treated according to today’s standards of deference to a woman complainant.  Bernie Sanders, another old white male, is dismissed on account of his voting against gun control; never mind that he represents Vermont, and his constituents strongly oppose gun control on account of the state's hunting culture.  Sanders is also a hypocrite on account of his having a small investment in “Wall Street.”

Women, such as Hillary Clinton,   Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, and Kirsten Gillibrand, are all victims inasmuch as “people are looking to attack” these political figures.  (The poor, soft, weak things!) He holds out little hope for their success because “polls show most Democrat voters are older and noncollege educated.”

The argument here is that the Democratic voter is too old and too uneducated to make the right choice.  Never mind that in a democracy every voter has as much right to his opinion as the young and educated.  Though after watching the antics of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as an example of the young and college educated, you have to wonder at that qualification of superior judgement - indeed of the worth of that modern college education.

Kneeland wants a “diverse” nominee.  (Don't ask how a one can be "diverse") At the heart of diversity is a theory of race and sex, holding that different races and different sexes reach different conclusions on account of their race or sex.  Larry Summers was driven from his post as president of Harvard University for proposing such a thing and inviting the faculty to investigate this possibility.  The progressive mind is at its heart self-contradictory.  It reaches a conclusion and then looks for arguments to justify that conclusion today, never mind what was said yesterday.  The resolution of the paradox is that the progressive simply wants to sow chaos and disorder for the joy of it.  Racism, sexism, etc. are mere epithets to be hurled at opponents even as it engages in them itself.
-30-