I’ve seen a few comments here deriding “centrists”, “liberals”, “conservatives” and other ideological groups. To be frank, I think this kind of rhetoric is counterproductive. We should be willing to welcome anybody who wants to fight for democracy, the Constitution and rule of law (within reason, of course). That means it would be unwise to imply that these mainstream, widely-held ideologies have no positive aspects to them, and even more unwise to suggest that everyone who adheres to these ideologies should not be worked with. At a bare minimum, we need better reasons to criticize people than them simply not being as left-wing as some of us would like. Moreover, it’s important to remember that very few people perfectly fit a particular ideological mold. Ultraconservative cartoonist Al Capp was a supporter of gay rights in the 1970s, while Bernie Sanders has repeatedly gone on record opposing open borders. We shouldn’t be demanding ideological conformity, we should be actively recruiting anybody who thinks the Trump II administration is hurting democracy and wants to correct course. Now is not the time for purity tests. What it is time for is teamwork.
Originally Posted By u/NoAnt6694 At 2025-04-02 07:22:26 PM | Source
I agree we need to welcome everyone, with a caveat - those who helped this happen (voted for Trump, didn’t vote, or did the moron 3rd party vote) need to be 10x as vocal and willing to put THEIR asses on the line to fix it. Those of us that had more than 2 functioning brain cells and saw what was coming shouldn’t have to shoulder their burden. If they’re willing to do that, welcome them (cautiously) with open arms.
I don’t disagree that I want them to be even more vocal than those of us who saw this coming, but I think the idea that they must do more is off putting to people who are finally seeing what many of us saw coming. Allies are allies, and expecting even more than the revelation they are having isn’t always going to be realistic.