“Left” and “Right” Confusion

We keep hearing the terms “left” and “right”. I doubt most people even know where those terms came from when applied to political ideology. The terms “left” and “right” wing are based on the seating arrangements in the French National Assembly, which directly preceded the French Revolution. Some believe those terms represent certain beliefs, and they did in the beginning. The aristocracy sat on the right side of the Speaker, which was traditionally the seat of honor, and the commoners sat on the left. This gave birth to the terms “right-wing” and “left-wing” politics. The left had been called “the party of movement” and the right, “the party of order.”

However, in modern days, as capitalist economies developed and the aristocracy became less relevant, and mostly replaced by capitalist representatives, the terms have been redefined depending on the country. For example, in American political speak the word “left” refers to liberalism and identified with the Democratic Party, whereas in a country such as France, these positions would be regarded as relatively more right-wing, and “left” is more likely to refer to socialist positions rather than liberal ones. The last sentence is why I am writing this piece. This is really what confuses people when they start talking about “left” and “right” positions.

Throughout history we have seen the “left” and “right” act like fascist. We have to look no father than the Democratic Party's history. It was the Democratic Party that fought to maintain slavery in the USA. There can be no greater act of fascism than slavery. While the Democratic Party was hanging slaves, they were also hanging gay people.

Democrats of today will tell you how their party changed, as did the Republican Party. Democrats tell us they made a dramatic shift in the 60's to provide civil rights to black Americans. We must ask, would they have had to fight for those rights had they not been taken from them in the first place? When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was voted on, a higher percentage of Republicans voted yes.

Some Democrats will tell you the Republican Party has changed and is now a group of white nationalists. This is as wrong as wrong can be. The Republican party has always been for equal rights. The appearance of being white nationalists came because democrats moved, as they usually do, to the extreme position. The Democratic Party was suddenly not for equal rights, but special rights in order to buy votes. Marxists within the Democratic Party cling to identity politics because more votes means more power. For the left, power is all that matters. I won't say that most democrats don't care about the varied identity groups, but you will find that when any member of a group dares speak independently, they are tossed aside. If you truly care for an identity group, you support them no matter their political views.

Many white nationalists did start voting for Republicans because they saw that as a better alternative than voting for the party they saw as giving people of color advantages. That doesn't mean white nationalists became republicans, because many of them still support socialism and don't like the Republican's defense of Israel.

It is clear, “left” and “right” have defined meanings, especially in the United States. But as you can see, throughout history we have seen differences in how the "left” and “right” act. Both parties have their problems, but one thing is for sure, republicans aren't fascists, but there are fascists in both ideologies, “left” and “right”. If you aren't sure about Democratic Party fascists, all we have to do is look at AntiFascist groups. They violently attack anyone they label a fascist. To them a fascist is anyone who disagrees.

Today, Democrats have started labeling white nationalist as the far-right. That is also a misconception and a dangerous weapon. I see people I know who are obviously not racists who are often labeled far-right. Some of those supposed racists are married to people of color. Identity politics is dangerous and we can see the division it creates. The Democratic Party thrives on division. Unfortunately, it's working for them so we won't see an end to it anytime soon.

I ask only a couple of things, Don't judge people based on the ideology they follow and don't let an ideology rule your thinking.