What's 'Left' in America?: The Moral Apathy of Liberal Optimism
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- In this video essay I discuss liberal optimism in the wake of the 2024 U.S. Democratic National Convention.
Liberal Optimism is the main rhetorical device of the Democratic party, as opposed to Republican declinism or doomsday-ism.
Instead of Make America Great Again, which implies the U.S. isn’t where it should be, Harris and Walz have ‘when we fight we win’, and pride themselves on this belief that the U.S. is worth fighting for, and that we can make this country work for everyone.
And though liberal optimism is good to have in theory, as optimism is just as good a motivator as conservative fear mongering, it’s hard to really get behind that under a two party system, where your enemy can undo everything you worked to accomplish every four years.
How can we have hope in progressing our country, when people who have the exact opposite beliefs can ruin it?
How can we support a party and politicians like Kamala Harris, who say they’re on the left and the opposite of Trump, when they’re just as militaristic and nationalistic as he is?
How have we reached a point in political history where both parties are centering their platforms and hinging their campaigns on this one freaking guy instead of real issues?
In the end, two party politics will lead us nowhere, and neither will liberals and their optimism or republicans and their declinism.
Without more parties being able to flesh out the ideologies of a nation, and as long as the republicans keep pushing further right with the liberals riding happily along with them, there just isn’t anything ‘left’ in America.
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Timestamps:
Intro 0:00
Part 1: Republican Declinism, Liberals vs. Leftists, and The Liberal Mind
Part 2: Liberal Optimism
Conclusion
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Patreon: / cheyennelin
I do believe this is a random quote from twitter but it summizes modern liberals perfectly: "A liberal is someone who opposes every war except the current war and supports all civil rights movements except the one that’s going on right now."
A liberal is someone who has that “love is love! Protect the earth! We believe in science! No human is illegal!” sign in their front yard while they call the police because an unhoused person is digging in their bins for food and still plan to vote for Harris even though her border policy is very Trumpian
damn, that hits.
Genuinely, a great description.
Perfect
👍 Every moderate liberal is a conservative who's decent at virtue signalling to the margenalized. They've been doing variations on this theatre since ancient Greece.
“If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress….” - Malcom X
Yes . . . there is.
Leftists: I hate racism but will cheer on a black supermacist whose only goal in life was creating a black ethnostate because he was just that much of a racist bigot.
@@EnlightenedMinarchist The full quote is: "If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there's no progress. If you pull it all the way out that's not progress. *Progress is healing the wound that the blow made.* And they haven't even pulled the knife out, much less heal the wound. They won't even admit that the knife is there."
@@grandempressvicky6387 very apt quote.
Is he going to run? I would vote for him. It would be a lot of free advertising for Musk, though.
That reminds me of Martin Luther King Jr's quote about the white moderate. "I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the [African American's] greatest stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens' Council or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the [African American] to wait for a "more convenient season.""
Edit: I typed all this out on an iPhone keypad, so I made some spelling errors which I had to correct.
I wouldn't say Kamala Harris is worse than Donald Trump, but oh boy is she very disappointing.
@@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer I’ll say it, she’s worse
that's the rig of the game isn't it? make it a two party system and ask the ppl who do YOU want: the devil or a demon? so, no matter who gets in, it's always basically the same results. u kno, they say insanity is doin' the same thing over and over but, somehow, expecting a different result...
Letter from Birmingham Jail should be required in public schools
@@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer Not really. They are the same. Trump is even deeper in with the Israeli's- they even named a town stole from Palestinians after him for relocating the embassy-basically another in a long line of actions displaying US bias and enforcement of Israeli action. Kamala is SEEN as worse because she is publicly mocked but Trump has been far worse in and out of office.
My favorite quote in this (forgot who say it) is that the US is ruled by one party but because of its extravagant nature they have to have two of them
Julius Nyerere
Honestly, when I was a kid I always saw Democrats being indistinguishable from Republicans, and seeing a video of 2007 Biden with a US Flag behind him saying how he's gonna end the Iraq War is probably a reason.
@n.r.4579 did Julius outlive thomas sankara? I mean, thomas was relatively young when he passed, and I can never remember how much interaction they had.
There is a saying in China, "In China, you can change the Policies but you cannot change the Party; in America you can change the Party, but you cannot change the Policies"
Boom. Mic Drop
@@bevs9995 wow.
Well, I'm glad that some people are realizing that supporting abortion, LGBT rights and kind of opposing racism doesn't even make you a leftist lol.
Yup. It’s just being a decent person, without actually wanting change
It literally does though
Supporting it doesn't, but being against it makes you the opposite...
Supporting abortion makes you a fascist tho.
@@motiantonSupporting LGBT Makes you moral, Supporting abortion makes you a fascist.
downloaded and archived
"always willing to compromise with your enemy" is a very dangerous way of thinking, that is the perfect way to be repeatedly betrayed. There should never be "compromise" with a fascist. I don't even have to say what I think we should do with them, you know.
As long as you are able to do that thing to your own party as well then its fair. Issue is that democrats aren't honest about being all the things they say they don't like. Neoliberalism is what they are now.
Neoliberals: "if you're stuck in an abusive relationship with a narcissist, compromising is your best option ;)"
bang.
There's a difference between compromise and dialogue to uncover any legitimate underlying reasons for their behaviour. Be careful with boxing people in with labels a priori - it could lead you to become like that which you criticise. Sometimes some people are seriously morally deficient, but other times they are psychologically manipulated and may yet have a conscience we can work with. But agree the less privileged should not bear the burden of fixing problems. Those with privilege also has greater responsibility.
Are the fascists in the room with us right now jennifer?
love the Baldwin clip. he was right.
He always was.
Just to clarify for those who are confused: JAMES Baldwin is the one being referred to, not Asshead (Alec) Baldwin.
@@user-tw3rh9po4t Genuinely helpful 😂 was incredibly confused for a second icl
it’s really depressing how many people i know (including self-identified ‘leftists’) have gone from Biden haters to Kamala stans, despite their actual political programs being more-or-less identical. Pure vibes-based politics
Emotion-based voting
Seriously, it really is just as bad
Nah these are all neoliberals. Leftists would go to Marriane Williamson the only non corporate candidate. I was never pro Biden, I am very much in the "free Palestine, universal healthcare, throw in all the war criminals to prison incuding Obama AND Biden" camp
Nah these are all neoliberals. Leftists would go to Marriane Williamson the only non corporate candidate. I was never pro Biden, I am very much in the "free Palestine, universal healthcare, throw in all the war criminals to prison incuding Obama AND Biden" camp
With all due respect, have you actually asked them why exactly they’re Harris stans now, or are you just assuming they are going purely off vibes?
In fairness to them, if both Biden and Harris have effectively the same platform like you said, why wouldn’t they be happy that, for once, a politician did something that may actually be slightly to everyone’s benefit (Biden stepping down due to his…increasing incoherence so someone who is coherent can take the lead)? Yeah, it would be reasonable to be happy given that Harris has a better chance of beating Trump than Biden ever did. It would be reasonable to celebrate the chance of Project 2025 coming to fruition dropping at least a little bit. It’s reasonable to celebrate our friends and family’s lives being slightly less directly threatened for at least 2 years. Especially given that there are very few, if any, candidates that could both win and retract all support for Israel in the midst of the ongoing genocide.
Fuck the democrats for making a candidate like Harris in any way, shape, or form seem like a positive. Fuck the democrats, and the entire US war machine, for all but actively engaging in a genocide. Fuck the democrats for ever allowing the country to fall into a position where something like Project 2025 is possible. But good god man, I don’t know how hard your friends are stanning, but it’s not wholly unreasonable to be slightly optimistic about things given that we have a better chance of avoiding another trump presidency. Hold Harris’ feet to the fire, not your colleagues.
Unless they’re actually buying into that blue MAGA bs, then maybe have a conversation with them.
To quote the late David Bowie: "I'm Afraid of Americans."
To also quote him "Adolf Hitler was one of the first rock stars."
@@apollo9632 That doesn't really apply to this situation, but okay!
@@user-pc3we6gf6jwhy?
@@memysurname7521 Still does not apply to this situation.
@@user-pc3we6gf6j yeah it is
For any nerds here, look up Hotelling's Law. It's an economic thing, but it applies to political parties as well. Since there are only two parties that most people view as viable, the parties will tend to mimic each other's policies as much as possible to try to secure close to 50% of the vote. So as the Republicans drive the Overton window to the right, the Democrats will also race to the right to meet them. It doesn't matter if people on the left stop voting because Dems will just try to appeal to "moderates" on the right instead. If we push third parties as actual viable options, then we can at least signal that there are still a significant number of votes on the left that Dems should compete for.
@@sentientsnail0123 except the democrats are more left than they’ve been in the past 40 years. This woman is a talkie so it will never be left enough.
Except, it is the Rep party that has moved to the Left and become the people's party.
It's frustrating because trump isn't even right wing anymore😮💨
@@kevinstreeter6943wtf are the both of y'all saying, trump is a fascist, most of the party is, the left hasn't been mainstream since idk forever in the US?
@@Kornilovungreatthey dont know what leftism is, if they knew then they wouldnt say that a turbo capitalist is a leftie lol
As someone who switches being registered between Green and no Party my entire voting life (over 20 years since 18 years old.), I hope there is change. Sadly, the change will be when I'm too young or dead. The best thing we can do is spread the world.
My family moved out of the country (fear of fascism), so all that's left is my sister (who is in the Navy) and me who never served.
Insane to think they’d think fascism would be anywhere in the US as I don’t even think people know the definition. Blackrock and ESG scores mirror the fusion of corporate and government better than any Republican and that’s supported by the democrats.
I was 18 years old back in 2008. I felt a lot of optimism about Obama and was very excited to cast his name as my first ever vote for president. Even when things weren’t going well I still spent the eight years of his presidency giving him the benefit of the doubt. He motivated me to get involved in politics. I spent the Obama years active within the Democratic Party. I worked on numerous campaigns, mostly focused on local and state politics in California. I got involved with the young democrats and even spent the latter part of Obama’s term in office traveling around the country going to conventions and conferences for the national young democrats.
It was disappointing seeing Trump win in 2016. But what I couldn’t believe was how the people within the Democratic Party decided to put the blame on voters (either those who voted for Jill Stein or just didn’t vote at all) as the reason why Hillary lost. Instead of trying to hear out people’s concerns. It turned me off to say the least.
In 2015, while I was still involved in politics, I decided that I wanted to live abroad. I decided on Germany. I spent a month visiting there before deciding to move there. So in 2017 I moved there and was there for almost a year and a half. I would have stayed, but financially I had to return. But spending time away from the US was something I needed to do. It’s very weird seeing the country from the outside looking in. We’re told growing up going to school how dangerous the rest of the world is. But I felt much safer than ever being outside of America.
It also got me to see politics there up close. Because when I was there Germany had their federal election. But politics there is centered around actual issues that matter and affect people’s everyday lives. As they should. American politics is made to appear like some sort of sporting event. When the election was approaching in Germany, people were speculating about which parties would form government. In America, because there’s no real competition, debates are never centered around issues that people want to hear. America’s political system just looks very dysfunctional.
I’ve come to realize that the Democratic Party doesn’t care about the issues they always claim to care about. Two years ago I decided when I changed addresses to simply not be registered with any party. Their only focus is to make people fearful in order to win over votes. But while I’ll still vote, I’m doubtful how much my vote matters.
I do believe that we need to change the electoral system so that more parties can win seats. There are different variations of proportional representation out there. But sometimes I wonder if America needs a different political system. I don’t believe that pressuring the Democratic Party to become more left will work. As someone who cares about human rights, it’s just appalling to see the same democratic politicians on “the left” who say that they’re champions of human rights while staying silent on the atrocities we have seen since October.
It's not that military contracts are a large part of the economy, it's that they "make other nations safe climates for investment", in other words they take away all options that residents of those countries have other than working for US firms in low-wage sweat shops. Every country that tries to manage its own affairs independent of the US-based corporate system is a victim of violence from either US troops or US arms.
Yup!!💯💯💯
It's a big ass mafia state.
Or political/economic sabotage
Thank you, Cheyenne, for pitching in , where and how you can.
They always have been. People act like they haven't. MLK and Malcolm X both spoke about the pseudo-liberal and the white moderate but people don't actually listen to Black Men lbs
Hillary was arguably more Right Wing than Biden or Harris. Just so you know. This isn’t a new post-Trump problem; it’s been a problem post-Reagan.
Yeah, I considered Harris in the light of Clinton and… she’s marginally less awful.
🎯
No, Briden and Hillary are cut from the same cloth, although the latter was reportedly harsher on Israpel than the former, who undercut her and Obama to prevent Bibi from facing any consequences.
Yep, same issue in the UK with the Labour Party, post-Thatcher (RIPiss).
No, she was not; both Hillary and 46 are cut from the same cloth. Plus to her credit, the former was willing to be harsher on Israpel, but the latter stopped her from doing so.
If I had to explain all of America in a few phrases, I'd use this line from "Meet The Grahams" by Kendrick Lamar. "Why believe you? You never gave us nothin' to believe in."
Corny
Corny as hell
@@UA-camyes4217Corny, but intentionally sad.
Are we Drake? Number one but without any substance.
@@user-tw3rh9po4t I feel like the whole comment is weird. Like it’s not a niche quote or particularly creative, plus it is being said about drake.
"Politicians are the entertainment division of the military industrial complex" -Frank Zappa
I have a very different view of the trajectory of the Democratic Party. I do not quite understand how Democrats were in any serious way to the left of the current version of the party. The Obama and Clinton eras were both far more conservative and conciliatory, on the whole, than the Biden administration or Harris’s campaign. I think we agree about the problems with where the party is now, but I disagree completely that things were better before. And Democrats in many states, especially midwestern states, at the state level are much to the left of national Democrats. This is also a trend that matters.
I also think some points are going unacknowledged which are trending in a more left direction, in spite of rhetoric on immigration and foreign policy. The Democrats have not embraced the labor movement like this ever. That is not something that should be dismissed. Especially given that labor is by far the most organized block of the country that could push Democrats into taking new positions, and especially now that Democrats are relying on labor for so many wins in key states. That is a structural advantage that the left has which is new and growing, in spite of other trends happening right now.
I also just don’t think it’s politicians who will ever or have ever actually changed the trajectory of this country. Women’s rights, immigrant rights, disabled rights, black rights, labor rights, gay rights: all these things happened because millions of ordinary people organized to force the government into doing them, not because one of the parties decided these were good ideas. The parties on these points follow the people and often have to be forced to change. I’ve always been less concerned with Democrats and what they say and do than I am with how organized various blocks of the public are under movements with new left ideas.
Yeah Obama’s and Clinton’s times in office had a much more moderate/centrist right to the rest of presidencies of the 21st century
@@mcwildstyle9106 Nope! Clinton was a New Democrat. The only policy on which he would be thought of as moderate was his don't ask/don't tell policy for gays in the military.
I hope this doesn't come off as patronizing, but this video reminds me a lot of how I felt about the Democrats post-Obama. I was really, really disillusioned because he had kinda fallen so short of expectation. The next few years for me were a painful process of falling out of... I hesitate to say "love", but of any real sense that the Democrats had any real capacity for change in them as an institution. The systemic inability to imagine anything greater for the future is a feature, not a bug. I think it really is the case that liberalism is just beyond the historical juncture where it is able to generate progress and we need a new, radically egalitarian worldview to be what liberalism was in the 1700s, but for our new conditions. The Democrats will never give us that.
The 1700s were definitely not egalitarian 😂
We have to stop rewriting history, ret-conning "the birth of democracy" as a thing that was ever real. We literally even now still do not have the power to "vote" our views into higher office. No matter what, blackrock, statestreet, Boeing , haliburton, raetheon, Carlyle etc etc. run not only our country but the entire globe.
Gen X thought Clinton was the mainstreaming of left wing politics, the same way millennials thought about Obama. It literally never ends, this is the ROLE liberals play in the system.
We already have a radical egalitarian ideology, it's called leftism.
You have a point about how Liberalism without economic Progressivism is just weak. Democratic administrations find themselves losing, despite always having overall much more desirable policies and personnel than their Conservative opponents, because Dem admin after Dem admin fail time and again to deliver enough on their promise to deliver change, palpable positive economic change for most of the population. To be fair, I believe there are extremely powerful forces making that an extremely difficult thing to do without being assassinated. No lie. But failure to deliver on the promise of change is a big part of what creates space for fascism to grow, and gain a foothold.
Lol u think Obama jus fell short, he wasthe worse thing to happen to humanity, number one deporter, drone program master, bank lover
This isn’t patronizing, but rather spot on, and you actually raise the central issue of discourse on the Democrats: it’s not that they don’t want progress (though for many this is certainly the case). It’s that structurally speaking, they literally cannot give any meaningful amount of progress even if they actually get vaguely progressive people within their ranks.
The failures of the Squad and Bernie’s campaign highlight these issues, and the recent DNC confirms it.
I appreciate the criticism and the pointing out of the problems, but I don't think I can continue to support the fear and apathy this line of reasoning inspires in me. It feels self-defeating. I guess you can say just being aware of faults and criticising online is a form of doing something but what am I really working towards? I see that this kind of activism is kinda miserable. I'm going to stop and go help my local community to bring change.
Same this shit IS miserable
You're completely right
Just a simple question to American liberals who think there is a possibility for optimism to be found in activism within the political system, how is there this continued conviction that the Democratic Party will deliver a better quality of life for people? If they democrats delivered any kind of material change, why would people buy into the rhetoric of Donald Trump? He utilizes racism, transphobia and misogyny in order to appeal to a disenfranchised and downtrodden public.
Liberal democracy is just a facade, and these elections are theatre. The only cure for your fear is organizing against capitalism.
I think the biggest hindrance to me calling myself left wing again is when people tell me "declinism" is just fear me mongering when I live in the rust belt. Oh, sure the falling apart homes and rusted factories are just my lying eyes.
Facts. I grew up in the rust belt and it’s 100% true. It isn’t an illusion, it isn’t an exaggeration, America is very much an empire in a slow decline
right? this youtuber is confident that decline is superstition and myth. Rome decline was slow death, I almost said excruciatingly slow but, spread out over a few centuries, the majority of its citizens would have had mixed reactions about whether it was indeed happening.
to some of us, decline has been obvious and apparent our whole lives and the thriving content United States is the mythical one.
Or when you tell them about the conditions of working in the factories left behind, and people act like you are just exaggerating or a shitty worker covering for your faults. The literal abuse and declining conditions can't possibly be real.
Thank you for making this. My stepfather just last night said “I have yet to hear a subject you aren’t mad about.” You laid out so many roots of the issues and it hit home.
Also, I honestly thought of you and your romanticism of decline video when I heard Harris’ line about “lethal force” at the dnc.
In the short term, we really need to fight for Ranked Choice Voting in order to shake up the two party system. Not sure what else we can do but you’re right, it’s worth fighting for something better. ❤
For me the thing is, I agree with your points, but also, in the end, we need people to actually vote for those ideas, which means we need people to believe in them. And one of the major issues here is that it seems people are taught they don't deserve basic rights like Universal healthcare. So even if we had a Left candidate, would people vote for them? We can argue as much as we want on what the democrats are doing, their messaging, etc, but if we want a different society, I think it starts with discussing with other people and getting down to what's keeping them stuck believing they don't deserve help, and that their lives are owed to anyone.
This is a huge reason. Americans are taught that the poor wanting anything is just them being greedy, but the wealthy wanting more is somehow good for everyone.
I agree. I think Americans lack imagination when it comes to building, because as a nation we’ve undergone many decades of programming created to make us believe that the only alternative to predatory, late-stage Capitalism is Stalin’s USSR. Then whenever more egalitarian systems such as some in Europe are brought up, it’s immediately dismissed as impossible to do in the US, just because the US is bigger or more diverse. Liberalism without economic progressivism, will always leave room for fascism to take over . People will inevitably get disillusioned about how Liberal administrations fail to live up to their promise, and so that’s how Liberals, despite having overall much better policies, ideas, and personnel than Conservatives, still find themselves losing, and the Overton Window gets pushed further right.
You are completely correct, if you believe in leftist ideals its your job to help them be more popular, complaining to the democrats will do nothing because they are not supposed to be "leftists" and in fact the far left keeps alienating the democrats even more by antagonizing them
@@docjoe86Thank you. The classism permeates throughout society. Any attempt to allow the government to help people financially is shamed as “socialism” and “free rides” when they literally save lives.
Create the consciousness for a left candidate to be viable. Historically, such changes have occurred, but only through organised political activism outside the electoral sphere
Part of the problem is that when it comes to social issues, like systemic racism, the Israel/Palestine conflicts, etc, is that most Americans have no to a superficial understanding of the issue. For example, most people either support Israel, feel both sides are equally to blame, or are ambivalent. Most people don’t go to college, and if you do, you might never take a course that teaches about the conflict in depth. In high school, if it is ever mentioned, they dig no deeper than a headline. To most Americans, this is some kind of ancient conflict, and who started the current outbreak of violence is whatever the last violent thing a Palestinian did. To a person with that perspective, calling for a ceasefire and cutting aid to Israel off seems radical, because what they see is a democracy defending itself. This country desperately needs a better K-12 education. I volunteered for a non- profit that aimed to reduce arms spending and met with elected officials. They’d tell me they agreed with me, but there’s no way they could explain it to their constituents. They think we’re dumb. They’re kind of right.
The solution is ending the ethnostate. Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in peace for hundreds of years under the Ottoman administration because they had self-determination and equal representation in government. Then after WWI the imperialistic Western powers mucked it up
By not being informed do you mean not agreeing with you? Systemic racism was an idea invented by an academic who was removed from academia for falsifying his data. Post civil rights 1964 it’s a non issue and yes I’ve been to college. It sounds like you want to brainwash people not care about facts and let people come to their own conclusions.
Your timing is impeccable. I was just talking to a friend about this. I love the commentary it saved him 8 minutes on a voice note 😂 and you said it far more eloquently than I could. Thank you 😊
"So you want Trump to win then huh" -Random Liberal
More like: "are you that hell bent on having it ALL your way that you're willing to take that chance, as opposed to take your victories where you can and work further from there?"
@@jlcii too much nuance for a liberal dude
@@jlciithese people are simply not serious, they would love it if trump won and they got to virtue signal for 4 more years instead of voting for the actual material difference
@@hecatedraws Nobody here is telling you not to vote for your favourite "imperialism in rainbow colours" spineless centrist who will create fertile grounds for emergence of far-right, like they always do. Many of the people agreeing with the video will actually vote for that kind of politician at their next election. You can do that and still recognise the long-term dead-end of liberal non-politics. Human brain can accommodate more than one thing at a time.
@@jlcii”take your victories where you can and work further from there” until the electoral college says screw the popular vote, puts any fascist freak in the Oval Office to undo all the “further work” that was done. Every 4-8 years. That’s when people’s rights are up for grabs. Every 4-8 years. And even when the dems are in office, they do absolutely nothing with their power. They take no steps to better the lives of anyone but their old/rich friends and do nothing to protect our rights or our freedoms. If that’s the world you’re okay with living in, keep using the “b-but the other guy!” Argument 🙄
All I know anymore is I wish I was never born 😐
I really get annoyed with the call for more than 2 parties. There are already more than 2 parties. The reason there will always be 2 who are dominant is because of the way we count votes. The winner takes all voting system has always and will always result in a power struggle between 2. Good luck changing how we count votes.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Free Winona.
Free Palestine From Hamas
@@robertjazz3613 free palestine from isra el. Stop acting care palestine by twist it to 'free it from ha mas', pro idf celebrate ra pe, and str1p of men& boy (*nyt said many wrong target, burqa women given privacy but boy been parade and photos, to the ha mas 1- how if ccp ra ped back female pe d0?)
@@robertjazz3613 Stop acting care palesti- pro idf celebrate the ha rassment men& boy get by idf
@@robertjazz3613 it like when ccp b0mb america, ccp said 'free it from usa govn'
I appreciate this optimistic yet real take on how the U.S. has this nationalistic control that clouds peoples judgement. There’s nothing sensible about how this country is run and that pushes me to want better because I refuse to believe this is the only way things can be. When I say we I mean everyone impacted by this empires thirst for blood. Nothing normal about what we see happening at home and abroad.
I feel like if more Americans actually looked at what we do to the people we throw away and deem undesirable they’d see they’re not too far from that becoming their own lived experience.
What’s really upsetting about all of this to me is that I’m seeing people get upset at the Palestinian people for being angry and disappointed with American people, and American Democrats and Liberals responding very selfishly and hostile. Even more bizarrely, the same TikTokers who were making fun of Kamala Harris from 2020-23, a lot of them Black or of color, are now defending Harris vehemently in their despair and anxiety about American rights and society they forget that an entire country of people’s futures are also dependent on our politics as well. Saying things like “We’ve got to worry about us right now” and “We can’t help you if we’re in fascism” Things like that, total cognitive dissonance to make themselves feel better about defending Zionism. As if we haven’t lived under imperialism for hundreds of years. It’s really scary to watch all of this in real time and as a 22 year old it makes me feel hopeless for the future of the world as a whole. These systems are making us apathetic and they feel too big to dissolve now.
But Zionism was always prevalent. It’s not anyone’s fault you chose to acknowledge fully in 2023. And peoples rights in America are being threatened. Even more so now, regardless of who’s in power the Palestinians will still suffer. Trump will only speed run their destruction as well as take away women’s rights, trans rights, civil rights etc. How do you expect people to fight for the Palestinians freedom when they wouldn’t even have the right of free speech anymore?
@shaec8342 it hurts my heart that a 22-year-old is in the position you and your peers are in. I'm a couple of years older than Ivanka. The trumps have blown so much smoke that investors all over the world understand how dangerous they are. My people have spent lifetimes fighting fascism. I knew what the word fascism meant before I knew the us had 50 states. The first time I saw a picture of benito mussolini strung up by his heels was after a private screening of investigation of a citizen above suspicion. I had yet to turn five. All my highly atypical formal education took place on American soil. All this to say, I know from decades of experience fighting against fascism that the only way for the bastards to win is for us to let them get us down for the count. The most dangerous choice right now is to succumb wholly to despair. You will survive this. You have friends you have yet to meet, there are teams you have yet to lead, and who will be happy to share leadership with you. There will be losses, but I promise you this, those losses will not break you. You will know joy, and freedom, and fear will not be a constant percussion of your stride. It is not just a question of dissolving unwieldy, overwhelming and toxic systems. It is, just as importantly, a question of making those systems permanently irrelevant. And that is something that you and your friends have already begun to accomplish. Do not lose faith in yourself and your team. You have more friends than you know. Never let the bastards get you down.
do you really know anything about the middle east? tell me then, who are and for hundreds of years were the most persecuted group in the arab world? exactly, the jews… and zionism being nothing more than the wish of a reestablishment of a jewish state. with the jewish population in most arab states becoming more or less extinct due to pogromes and massive persecution the least these people deserve is their own state. this conflict goes back a bit further than 1948 ;)
one more thing. what usually happens to the loosing party of any armed conflict or war? they loose the authority over that area/land. case closed.
I mean how is that cognitive dissonance? If there's fascism they will never get help, if Kamala wins and massive protest are done in the country, something can be done at least. We're in such a disadvantaged position on the left here that getting crumbles is better than any thing we had before. Because yes Barack and Clinton were much worse than Joe and Harris
"An over-indulged sense of entitlement is all it takes for a man's soul to become irreversibly corrupt."
I liked the way you explained this because "leftist" has been too ssociated with liberals. NOT the same.
To me, the GOP has shifted so far-right, and they have become extreme and borderline f@¢1$t that many of the GOP’s policies have alienated many Republican voters causing them to shift towards the Democratic Party, which at this point now resembles the Republican Party of the mid-20th century.
Overall, our current political system doesn’t give me too much optimism. Sure, I am optimistic for the defeat of Trump and Project 2025, but I am not too optimistic on many of the Democratic Party’s policies. I think we should prioritize defeating Trump first this year, and then pushing hard for massive change in the way the system is run. But the question is, how exactly should we push for this change?
Step 1) Release right wing plan.
Step 2) Left wins by opposing plan.
Step 3) Left initiates plan while their constituents aren't looking.
Sorry, but how are you going to push them? Thousands of Protesters under a blue govt got pushed aside and ignored, charged, beaten and smeared. How honestly are you going to push the create "the most lethal force in the world"?
Trump the actor was controlled by Hillary's talent agency. Biden used Trump's central park five execution New York times advertising to promote his and Clinton's 94 crime Bill. See the movie franchise
Human centipede. Don't. It's disgusting. Like just shooting that movie is kinda horrible. Like Washington DC. @@Solscapes.
You don't hold the political system after the fact. That's exactly what the Dems are hoping you will do. If they can keep getting your vote by scaring you with a guy like Trump, then they have you right where they want you.
its the short term chess move vs the long game
Brazilian here. Other than to say that this was a great video, I wanted to point out my delight at the "propaganda" of Guaraná Antártica - a delicious soda, by the way - out of nowhere 😂
Adoro quando a Cheyenne menciona coisas daqui
The DP has been a right-wing party for a long time.
Well, as we are so oftentimes reminded by conservative pedants, the party started off as pro-slavery, so...
I sympathize with your perspective. It's heartbreaking. I've been saying this kind of thing for decades, and all I see now is bad news for ten-year-olds. And it's not every four years; it's absurd performative voting every two years.
You voted for Hillary, but kamala is too much for you? 😂
. The reason that you see a lot of common themes between Harris and Trump's ads is that they're targeting the same group of voters. Right now they are trying to pick up swing states and moderates. I belive that the Dem's focus also on getting disenfranchised Republicans who don't like Trump and that would explain a lot of the America First flag waving. Also Harris isn't trying to use her race or gender to get votes either because that could hurt her ability to pull those moderate votes.
I agree with you that the two-party system is a big source of the US's problems, but we can't get away from it so long as we have first past the post voting. Until we can get the country as a whole to move to approval voting / ranked choice / IRV / something, we will never see a meaningful third party.
Zio controls both parties. All the videos make the same mistake by avoiding the elephant in the room. The US is controlled by an ethno religious group with help from evangelicals on the rep party and bought and paid for sycophants in the dem.
Neither side is above criticism. Whether you're left right, Democrats, Republican, whatever no one's perfect and there are justifiable criticisms. Never let them tell you otherwise.
This is a vacuous statement that equates bloodthirsty imperialists with people who want affordable healthcare and a solution to climate change.
The Dems surely need to be held accountable when they are in office, for sure. But I’d rather have them in office than their counterparts. At least the Dems can be pushed to enact progressive policies from time to time, though it seems it’s always baby steps that can be easily erased by the opposition. Left with no actual viable choice on the left we are forced to vote for the ‘not as fascist as Nazis but still conservatives’ party.
@@russellharrell2747 Why don't you go help build a viable left party? I don't understand why people say there isn't a viable one, when there's plenty of up and coming socialist parties that could use more organizers and people getting involved. You are not forced to vote for the lesser evil
@@HandyDandy6 realistically those parties can form a coalition party then. I’m certainly not the shining knight that will unite the left, I’m just a working stiff trying to help one patient at a time in my ambulance.
@russellharrell2747 Yeah I mean that could happen, though I think it would help if people got over this hump thinking the dems are the only way forward. And thanks for what ya do
The concerns I had as a unemployed college student in 2008 are not my priorities as an employee, homeowner, wife and hopefully a future mother.
Frankly, the DNC's only message since 2016 has been "we are not Trump". They have been in power 12 of past 16 years and are in power now. You can't fear monger and say you are the party of joy.
The democratic establishment hates the common folk. Back in 2022, they were funding MAGA candidates in competitive races to earn easy victories.
They are still conservative, and capitalist. They just don’t have a platform of active hate for minorities, immigrants and women.
Define "in power." The right has lots of power to stymie any liberal agenda. It's not like the Dems have some magical trifecta and are just sitting on it.
Thank you for eloquently relaying how I currently feel about the current political atmosphere.
As somebody who lives in europe where leftist parties actually exist... leftist parties don't automatically have better foreign policy. Like you get a mixture of good politics like more housing, better workplace conditions and focus on social welfare but when it comes to foreign policy a weird cozyiness with russian aggression towards its neighbours, anti-eu campaigns and support for a select group of authoritarian regimes. I do hope you get a more leftist party, but often leftists parties here seem ideologically inconsistent when it comes to authoritarian or imperialist actions from their favourite countries
And I find your criticism of the electoral college that maybe "the powers that be want it to be like that" doesn't make sense, when most democratic states already signed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, but other than that the electoral college would need a constitutional amendment and democrats won't be able to do that
European social democrats are not leftists. At the end of the day they still exploit their colonies just like any other reactionary would
I guess they are right about Ukraine...It's not Russia's fault.
Eliminating the electoral college would disenfranchise farmers and rural America, anyone living outside of major cities and smaller states would just be ignored in future elections.
@@onlyahuman493 Funny how every eastern block country would disagree with you
@@notinterested7911 because they are part of the problem , all of them.
7 minutes in and I agree with most of what is being said, but the biggest difference hasn’t been mentioned. The key difference between leftists and liberals is economics.
Economics and support for decolonization the world over.
Babe wake up cheyenne dropped a vid
We keep voting thinking we can change something when we all know both parties have conflicting motives and interests and everyone is too busy disagreeing on anything and everything. Instead of voting, go protesting
In addition to, not instead of. The Right is doing all the voter suppression, so surely voting must mean something, even if it ain't much.
@@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer fair enough.
@@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer
Right! Voting and democratic elections are extremely important, or they would be, if the two party system didn’t exist. The red vs blue war has kept us at the will of politicians and not the other way around for decades. That’s not true democracy.
@@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomerYOU CAN VOTE AND PROTEST
I’m going to do an “all of the above” honestly. Contacting reps and petitioning are useful but can be stolen away from the people and that’s the point when even more drastic action needs to be done
Damn.......the USA needs to become a Socialist Democracy with ideally multi-party rated voting/a welfare state or multiparty proportional ranked-choice voting 🗳 + land value taxation real quick.......sigh....
Why can't the Left think of something as simple as mandatory accounting in the schools? Then they have the nerve to talk about economics.
It makes perfect sense for Capitalists to not want everyone to know accounting. Marx used the word 'depreciation' 35 times in the first two volumes of his major work. Marx was no dummy.
I know four people who learned personal finance in secondary education: me, my niece, my high school best friend, and someone I went to college with. Four out of thousands. My niece said she was being made fun of together with the other nine kids in her class. The college classmate and I learned it from a parent. My high school friend learned it because he was trying to get through a program for accounting.
17:40 We need ranked choice voting!!!
Severely, it’s much more fair than what we’ve got
As a South East Asian looking from the outside in, it's hilarious to see people think that Liberalism is "Left-Wing" when it's literally the status quo ideology of the West and most of the world, with varying differences but at the core is the same. Just because you aren't racist or treat marginalized groups like subhumans doesn't necessarily make you "Left-Wing". While being culturally more open minded and progressive is a commonality amongst those circles, being against Capitalism is a central tenant to what makes someone 'Left-Wing'.
I blame the intense America-centrism of the Internet and loud mouth conservatives for conflating Liberals with Marxists/Anarchists through culture war and identitarian issues divorced from class analysis at all. The liberation of marginalized groups can only be achieved when you combine it with class.
Annoying thing about establishment Liberals (Not just in America considering that this applies to any country running on Liberal Democracy) is that they are dependent on their progressive voter base because the conservative wing Liberals as of now are borderline-fascists but when shit hits the fan, would re-center themselves from their voterbase to work with them rather than inact progressive policies for their progressive voter base who got them their in the first place.
Liberals need Fascists more then they'd like to admit.
the entire world economy is intensely american-centric. It is not "the internet"
Exactly. Liberals and the right are perfectly in sync in their disapproval of ideas of actually democratising the society, and in their efforts to reinforce society as a structure that is managed by professional ruling classes like a business. The difference is in expressions of that same ideology - for the right, it's demonisation of marginalised groups, racism, etc, while for liberals it's the hyperindividualisation and hyperconsumerisation of the individual that is the means.
@@bevs9995 Most of the world, despite imperialist economic ties, is not American. Are you actually going to engage with what is being said?
@@CharlotteSWeb-oh7ou you clearly do not understand global finance
As i see it, the problem is incredibly complex. We have not had a truly liberal government since Reagan took power. The most liberal endeavor that we witnessed was the enacting of the ACA but nothing else even remotely close to it. The reason the left is a mockery of what leftism should be is, in my view, because neoliberalism still remains the most powerful economic ideology and the left just does not have much room for maneuver. Therefore, the strategy, it would seem, is to appropriate some right wing issues and put a human face on them. Hence why it would seem as though the same Presidents have occupied the office regardless of their party.
100+ years of capitalist fearmongering as well as some genuinely horrible things being done by self-described socialist states have left many Americans terrified of many of even the slightest criticism of capitalism. About 10 years ago, a conservative coworker of mine who had type II diabetes was complaining about the cost of insulin and when I suggested regulating the cost of insulin, she thought that would lead to Obama putting her in a gulag! She thought that Obama was responsible for the high cost of insulin because he put too many regulations on the drug companies.
@@docjoe86 i wouldn't say 100+ years, but definitely ww2 and post ww2 clean up. as a history buff, america's dominance on the global stage came about during ww1 where some of the biggest empires in history fell and America took advantage of them through loans and finance, but their real show of force occurred during ww2. however, with the rise of the USSR its dominance became threatened. So the cold war was basically 50 years of the U.S fighting the USSR over ideological and geopolitical dominance to show that "america is the best" but often hide the shadiness how that growth, placing a boogieman/scapegoat on communism. once the USSR fell, they needed a new boogieman, and what do you have? T E R R O R I S M.....
WELCOME TO THE PARTY 30 YEARS TOO LATE. You are literally making the same points I made decades ago. This is how the system works for longer than I have been living, I am 64
Well, yeah and people were having similar talking points long before you were born too. Unfortunately, we just don't have the ballsy radicals of the past that could really shift the country in a progressive direction because the US has gotten too good at dismantling those movements before they begin. Radical leaders get trapped or silenced before the ball gets rolling. The government has to decline in power and cohesivity to really have a chance of seeing movements like the labor rights or civil rights of the past again.
Damn I can't send a super thanks but I want to say Thank you AND I WISH THE BEST FOR YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR MENTAL ❤️❤️❤️ AND your spot on sis with everything you said
Solid, I would add Kamala didn't vote to pass the minimum wage.
Love this video, I think you make a ton of incredibly valid points on a topic that definitely needs more discussion in the country. That being said, I think it's important to note, having multiple parties isn't a silver bullet for the issues we're facing. I say this because there are many examples of other countries also facing similar circumstances with multiple parties. For example, in the most recent elections in Germany, and France, the far-right and centrist parties have been gaining more and more seats.
I feel like while it's true it would definitely help, ultimately the key part of the issue that needs to be resolved is just tackling the ways our elections are bought out. News organizations, tech giants, and massive pharma companies, etc, all effectively have massive leverage in our elections due to the power, money and influence they hold over people. Until we can fully-prevent all these different organizations from buying out our elected officials, or buying out elections via ads and propaganda, we're gonna keep trending in this direction; whether we have just 1 party or a plethora.
I say this because I feel like this comes up a lot as a suggestion to address issues in our political system. It's similar to those advocating for ranked choice voting. While it's true these things are improvements it doesn't fully fix things. For instance, ranked choice voting isn't perfect either, and has the issue of the center-squeeze phenomenon.
I feel like until we design a law(s) or system that removes the incentives for organizations to basically control our politics we're gonna continue to struggle with these issues. Starting with allowing for more parties, or ending the Citizens United decision, are good first steps though IMO
edit for typos/grammar
There are functional, common sense, reasons to vote third party. It’s how you build a movement for change and also it’s how you frighten the oligarchs to create change. Voting for the lessor evil empowers the assholes to keep being assholes. Currently we live in an oligarchy. The two major parties play the People off of each other, and nothing Progressive can ever get done. I’m voting for Jill and against genocide.
Beautifully put together. It's just the plain truth.
One of the strongest openings to any media I have ever experienced. And with the late great James Baldwin. Bravo ma’am
14:45 I 100% agree with this but the problem I’ve always had with it is “What voting system would we implement to create a multiparty system?” Because it’s very hard to pick the best voting system. I mean sure anything would be better than what we have now but if we were to change it I would like the change to be the best one.
Thanks for making this video. You're right, Dems are just less right wing than Reps. Vote for Jill Stein and the Green Party. The duopoly of Democrats and Republicans won't end if we keep voting for either.
another amazing video from you, cheyenne! this is my first time commenting on your videos and they teach me quite a lot as someone who is canadian.
The problem here is that the D party cannot be pressured by voters. They answer entirely to their internal ecosystem of large donors, bundlers, and campaign consultants. Meanwhile, the core D voters are a bunch of humiliation subs who thrive on living in fear of Pelosi stepping on them in heels. Sometimes, I actually think we have a better chance (long term) of taking over the Rs, where the party is afraid of its voting base.
i understand the perspective that leads to this line of thinking but this type of rhetoric is just so exhausting like i get that the system sucks ass but we're just doing our best with what we've got. optimism wins elections, and leftists have a far better chance at bringing about change under a centrist than a fascist.
Because of this comment I'm voting for Trump.
@@54032Zepol cool
Centrists always settle for the comfortable and non-exhausting. Meanwhile, the extreme right has spent decades steeping in an ever expanding media ecosystem of anger, disgust, outrage, cynicism, and rhetorical honing. Never relaxing.
They don't get exhausted. Quite the opposite; setbacks drive them to persist and keep working for what they want. They seek out and embrace opportunities to act. It's why gun control has backslid and is likely a moot fantasy these days, and why abortion rights are a state level matter, and so on.
If centrism actually did anything but lull people into a false sense of security, fascism in America would still be out on the lunatic fringe instead of gaining ground.
Yea her politics are hopelessness and giving up rather than voting and working to make a change
@@InfiniteNarwhal 'Fear Trump, vote blue no matter who!' is just liberalism throwing in the towel, though. No other goals, no bigger thought or strategy but hoping fear, disgust, and stale appeals to patriotism will continually win out and deliver...what, exactly?
conservatives calling liberals radical leftists is hilarious to me. just goes to show how far right we are as a country
Campaign ads like the separation of black women from black men commercials. I haven't seen a commercial with a all black family and all political positions is of black women with white guys. What message does that send
Try Dave buster ads
This is the first video of yours I've seen. I appreciated your presentation very much. Subscribed and looking forward to more.
Great video! I would love to see a video about your opinions on some of our current third party candidates. I know a lot of leftist are in disagreement about voting for Kamala vs someone like Jill Stein. Would love to hear your take on that!
Jill Stein is a Putin person, she met with him behind closed doors
@@peregrinecovington4138True. As a leftist myself, I’ve never seen that many adequate and decent leftist leaders out there in government besides a few politicians such as Bernie or AOC and all the like.
Of course, I do agree with most of Jill Stein’s political positions (most are actually quite common sense positions), but her meetings with Putin and pro-Russian ties similar to former President Trump’s meetings and ties with Putin just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s one thing to support the Palestinian people resisting imperialism and occupation from war criminal Israel, and it’s another thing to support war criminal Russia’s imperialistic actions against the Ukrainian people.
Personally, although I heavily disagree with some of Kamala’s positions, particularly on the Israel/Palestine issue, the only reason why I am considering (probably most likely) voting for her is to avoid Project 2025 and a second Trump presidency, which would be incredibly disastrous in all aspects. Voting for third-party could end up leading to a Trump victory rather than a third-party victory because of the spoiler effect in first-past-the-post voting systems. Then, after a Kamala victory, can we the people start pushing more harder for significant change in the system.
I wait for the day when we can see adequate electoral reform in the United States, and see the implementation of ranked-choice voting just so we can see the rise of more third-party candidates, and have a truly representative system that represents the interests of all Americans, rather than select groups of certain Americans. But for now, I just restrict my own voting for third-party candidates to the local and congressional district level.
Jill Stein isn't really the moral choice if you're rejecting Harris purely on moral grounds, she's just maybe a moral choice on this one issue, and even then, I question that. Think it was last week someone challenged her that they'd give her an interview or something if she pledged to attempt to leverage her donations to the Harris campaign in exchange for a promised arms embargo, and she flatly rejected it, which IMO, would have had more influence over peace than anything else the green party is currently doing. Kind of telling
jill stein could never win
@@eazydee5757 Jill Stein has never had a "meeting with Putin". 🙂 She attended a conference and dinner that he also attented in the interest of global peace. That was in 2015.
You sound brain-washed, frankly. Russiagate was debunked -- there was no conspiracy between Trump and Putin.... you understand that, right?
The whole Russia conspiracy theory is exactly like McCarthyism back in the 1950s.
Hillary Clinton also accused Tulsi Gabbard of being a Putin agent. I suppose you believe that as well?🙂
To be fair, US politics were always right wing to center-right. And its foreign politics were basicaly the same, America corporates interests first, it always were pro war and interventionists if it was to protect US interests. USA military and economic intervention against weaker nations is the norm since XIX century, doesn't matter if is a democrat or a republican president or legislative. Just do a quicky search in the wikipedia and anyone can see how much the US interveined against other nations, especially in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
I see a lot of comments talking about how bad the democratic party is which is mostly true but their are more progressive people running in the democratic party but most yall don’t don’t vote in the primaries which are the more important elections since a lot of yall register independent or 3rd party to feel better about yourself and accomplish nothing.
Attention to all non-voters: If your vote didn't matter, the right wouldn't try to steal it. Convincing you that you have no power is part of the plan.
@@PlatinumAltariathank you!
You mean the primary that Joe Biden was conveniently pressing his incumbent advantage and intent to seek re-election come hell or high water through, undermining any credible challenge to his candidacy? The primary that Kamala Harris didn't win this year, but is now somehow the Democratic presidential candidate despite that fact?
Yeah, don't hold your breath about the Democratic machine letting those token progressives get too close to the levers of power or having any significant influence.
You literally didn’t vote on primaries
@@Jaco059 what?
I felt the tears in your eyes at the end, & that sigh.
Thanks Cheyenne! Just keep doing what you're doing. :)
It wasn't always like this? Were you born yesterday? Which democratic president was different? Which Democratic president in the history of America hasn't built up the military and mobilized soldiers for war? If you want this facet of America to change, you'll need to do more than cast a ballot. During Vietnam, large quantities of Americans protested the war and that had a real impact. America hasn't done anything comparable since. If you want less bloodshed, you will have to get Americans to care. We are sending soldiers all over the world and most of the country is completely ignorant of it.
I really do hope that someday that American conservatism and nationalism will decline. If and when that does happen the better. Along with many other problems that hold this country back.
Exactly. The fantasy of American exceptionalism being something that the conservative movement has any idea how to achieve or what it was, is a problem. Pretending we don’t have problems or that the problems are our social progress, means that there’s no way to actually achieve anything greater.
Yes if it ended we’d not be 34 trillion in debt o wait that’s leftist policies
Why should your debt be forgiven when everyone else paid for theirs in the past, where’s my refund? I paid all my debt back.
Amazing commentary as always
The Democratic Party has been moving more to the right since Carter and Reagan. Carter was a centrist who they chose over the more progressive Ted Kennedy. Reagan pushed the party even more as they voted for his tax reform. Bill Clinton practically destroyed welfare as well.
You're arguing two different things. US foreign policy of building weapons is one of the most lucrative industries in America. Most Americans support a strong military and few politicians can get elected on a policy of weakening the military. Domestic policy is different. Harris has proposed a subsidy for first time home buyers, and she strongly supports pro choice, voting rights, and immigrant rights. Walz has a popular liberal stance in Minnesota and some of those policies should make it into Congress. She has proposed a tax increase on the wealthy but that is overly ambitious now. Even moderate stances like gun regulations could cost votes. The country took a sharp turn to the right under Trump and it'll take time to shift it back to the middle. Have patience, keep fighting as you are, but understand that the country doesn't shift that quickly.
Thanks for another great video, Cheyenne! Always refreshing and insightful to hear! Your passion and care for these topics are always needed! Even now more than ever! Keep up the great work! Thanks! 🙏🙏❤❤
Left-wing vs Right-wing started in the national assembly during the French Revolution, people were divided into 2 sides, the people on the left side wanted democracy(equality) while the people on the right side wanted to conserve the monarchy(inequality).
We can apply the same formula of left(equality) vs right(inequality) to everything in politics.
There are at least 4 different categories in politics:
1- Political: (equality of political systems)
- Left-wing = Democracy
- Right-wing = Monarchy, Dictatorship, Theocracy, Plutocracy, etc.
2- Social: (equality between people)
- Left-wing = Anti-racism, Pro-LGBT, Pro-gender equality, Pro-choice, etc.
- Right-wing = Pro-racism, Anti-LGBT, Anti-Gender equality, Anti-abortion, etc.
3- Economic: (equality of economic systems)
- Left-wing = Socialism, Communism.
- Right-wing = Capitalism, Feudalism, Slavery.
4- International: (equality between nations)
- Left-wing = Anti-colonialism/Anti-imperialism.
- Right-wing = Pro-colonialism/Pro-imperialism.
Things to consider:
- If someone wants more equality they're on the left, if someone wants less equality they're on the right. That's what left vs right in politics means.
- What's considered the left and what's considered the right doesn't change.
- Some people could be fully on the left or fully on the right in all categories, and some people can have mixed views on different categories.
- Kamala Harris is someone who is politically and socially left-wing while economically and internationally right-wing, just like Biden, Obama, and the usual liberal.
I can understand the historical context of some things but that is the most elementary school way of saying "left wing good, right wing evil". There's a lot more nuance than that in modern politics. Current left wing culture (not exactly policy) has been soaked in postmodernism and atheism resulting in deconstructionist sentiments.
@@EpsilonKnight2 The reality is that there's no "good" or "bad" in politics because it's very subjective, it depends on who you ask, that's why left-wing and right-wing exist to show the opposing views of each side, for example, if you ask someone on LGBTQ+ and they tell you it's good that puts them on the left while someone who thinks it's bad is on the right, same with everything else. If you think left-wing positions are considered "good" then that just means you're further to the left than you think.
@@2e1udnq No my point is that in your listing of values for either "left" or "right" wing you excluded that either of those sides could be pro/anti slavery, racist/anti racist, pro/anti dictator and pro/anti imperialist.
Actual more core modern "left" vs "right" ideologies are tied to economic theories and treatment of cultural values rather than what has more or less equality because only the farther extremes would want less equality in today's society.
@@EpsilonKnight2 I already mentioned that "some people can have mixed views", it doesn't change what's considered left or right, it only changes what each individual thinks is good or bad, if someone calls themselves "left-wing" and they support imperialism then that doesn't mean that imperialism is suddenly left-wing, it only means that this person thinks imperialism is good which puts them on the right-wing side of the international category.
I also already mentioned that this left vs right categorical spectrum is based on the origin not the modern.
It's not true that only the extremes want less equality, it's far more common.
Politically, the entire world is not a democracy, there are tons of dictatorships, monarchies, and theocracies.
Socially, there are tons of countries that are anti-LGBT and such.
Economically, almost the entire world is capitalist.
Internationally, the wealthiest and most powerful countries support colonialism and imperialism.
intro was like rewatching the slideshow in my head when I watched the DNC speech live
While it's nice to see a donation link to help out those in Gaza, I'm almost frustrated with how much attention is placed on the war in Gaza. No one will put as much effort into helping innocent civilians in other war zones like Sudan or Yemen. No one will protest the actions of the Ethiopian government during their recent civil war, or the human rights abuses being committed in Somalia. Why? Because those are conflicts that doesn't involve 'American/European imperialism', which somehow makes the lives of those innocent people less worthy of coverage. I'm willing to bet if Somalia was a nation full of white Westerners, there'd be much more sympathy being given to their current plight.
Donating to those in need is always a good cause, but it's almost unfair that certain groups in need are treated with significantly more care than others.
Yeup that's right! The western leftist and the liberals turn a blind eye to real genocide like that in China where they are ethnically cleansing their Muslim minorities
This will be across as an attack on this video's creator. It's not. But it's important to say:
I'm willing to bet if Israel was a non-white, Muslim nation like Palestine, and was backed by another country like Saudi Arabia instead of the USA, there would be no donation link on this video to help Palestine's children. Why? Again, we can look at Yemen, a non-white Muslim country caught in a proxy war between Iran and the Saudis, as evidence. I've seen no donation links from any UA-cam channel offering support to Yemeni children in need.
This is not to bash the creator for trying to help Palestinian children in need. Humanitarian aid is never wrong. This is just to point out a frustrating shortcomings I see regarding the war in Gaza, and a potential unconscious bias against non-white, non-Western conflicts.
Liberation and peace should be a global push, not focused on a single current issue. After Palestine there will be a dozen more wars and conflicts that all deserve equal attention.
@@joaquinvideo2959
1) You don't need to 'rage at the imperial core' to donate to charity organizations in areas outside of Palestine/Ukraine. Donations go a long way and having a solid meal to eat means a lot to those innocent people. The affairs of your government should have no impact on which lives you place more value on, because prioritizing certain human lives over others is inherently wrong. Saying that Palestine indirectly gets more donations because of the USA's involvement with Israel only *proves my point* that most people will not care about conflicts that don't involve white people/the West more generally.
2) Many disadvantaged individuals from war-torn countries (especially Africa) are frustrated by the lack of foreign media coverage regarding their region's problems. Simply talking about what's going on goes a long way and means a lot to them.
3) Only protesting Israel implies that the US's backing of Israel is the only worthy foreign policy-related thing to protest about, and disregards American involvement in many other places around the globe. (Metaphorically) Look at me and tell me that Israel is the only shitty government the US is currently backing. The US has supported many shitty governments around the world without much of a reaction from the public.
4) Your entire argument doesn't apply to anyone living outside of the US. You say Americans should prioritize Palestine because it's their government that's backing Israel. What about someone from another country? They can't make that same argument, and I'd have to imagine more than just Americans are in this comment section.
@@SentryWillok
I'm nervous about how much the US has a grip on my country
Facts!
reality doesn't care about facts
I've been feeling this way for a while. Thank you so much for making this video. I wish there were tangible ways to turn things around
The difference between liberalism and leftism will always fundamentally be that liberalism is about actual possible solutions, not pretty ones. While leftism is about an impossible pretty solution.
It's a little more complicated than that... Liberalism is about maximizing everyone's freedom to believe/behave how they want without messing things up for other people (separated from Libertarianism because they have no problem relying on a strong central government to enforce this). Illiberalism, as pushed by both the far left and far right is about forcing people to believe/behave in accordance with specific values/morals.
The reason why it seems most effective is because MOST people agree with it, e.g. the recent link-up between "Romney Republicans" and establishment Democrats, and therefore it wins more votes.
Exactly
Uber idealistic perfectionism will get nothing done.
I like the centrist right position of the liberals. As I am not a hard core republican nor am I in favor of the liberals. So for me, I will be voting for the liberals
As a leftist its frustrating. You get only two choices. Try and work with the system and try and eventually change it even as it castigates and hates you and forces you to short change what is required, or dont engage, and criticize others who engage from the sidelines as things just get worse?
A lot of those people who chose the secondary path after 2016 and 2020 are now fascist maga stand ins, and those who chose the first path are still waiting for the status quo to be upended politely even as time runs out. What is the solution to bring reaon leftism to America? I always felt it was something like justice democrats but consistent and independently funded. It would not stop after one or two elections and but continue on indefinitely until a significant amount of power was owned by them. Thats how other lobbying groups work
I think that’s the best option. Get leftist to run in as many primaries as possible and don’t let up.
@@docjoe86 i would Argue "the squad" was forced into compliance because there aren't enough leftists. They are a minority in Congress with little power. Which is where the strategy we are talking about would come in. Continue to gain power until they are a force that cannot be ignored. This is how AIPAC worked for decades until they became dictator of a huge section of US policy
After years of hearing people out, learning, and getting screwed Im back to “become Bruce Wayne” being my general aspiration as a political actor. Cheyenne dropping the same “sit on your ass-tWO PaRTieS is CoRRupt” and USA “lefties” unable to concede KH being an unfortunate but obviously better candidate feels like sitting back down at the theatre
@@jaybonny1954 most lefties will vote for Harris. But being castigated as a terrorist supporter for protesting support for a far right government like Israel's obviously doesn't endear anyone to being enthusiastic for our system
@@MrInuhanyou123Nah these are all neoliberals. Leftists would go to Marriane Williamson the only non corporate candidate. I was never pro Biden, I am very much in the "free Palestine, universal healthcare, throw in all the war criminals to prison incuding Obama AND Biden" camp
The democratic party wasn't always like this?... Yes, yes it absolutely was. Long before 2016. Watch the movie JFK by Oliver Stone if you want to understand why it all comes down to the military. It's so much worse than you think, I'm sorry to say.
It's always so weird to hear leftists talk about what they think liberal ideology is. There are all these statements like "liberals don't understand racism", "liberals capitulate to fascists", "liberals are smug and act morally superior", and "liberals don't care about making a real change" that amount to a mythos which has nothing to do with actual liberal ideology. In particular, the idea that liberals are the ones who only care about feeling morally superior while leftists care about making a real change is baseless, and oftentimes the opposite is true. The Democrat party's lack of commitment to positive change is extremely frustrating, but the liberal left is still much more politically effective than leftists in the US.
Also, what does it mean for a liberal to be racist if it "makes factual sense"? The example of doing a racist mockery of an accent does not make any "factual sense". Liberals don't understand that bigotry exists, amd they think racism is simply a disagreement on what's factually true? I don't know where these silly ideas come from.
Not the first video I’ve left a similar comment on, but do people in the US know that liberal doesn’t mean left in a lot of countries? Where I’m from the liberals are just RIGHT of center. And your version of liberalism is WAAAY further right than even that. I understand the perceived need to move towards the right in a country where your republicans are so popular. But it’s bizarre from my personal view. Republicans are basically a mix of 19th century conservatives and modern hyper capitalists compared to the spectrum I’m used to. So claiming to lean left and inching towards republican mindsets is very confusing.
I also wonder if that’s part of why so many people in the US seems to think anything, literally the tiniest bit, left leaning is terrifying and Soviet style communism…
So what you're essentially saying is rather than take our victories where we can, and try to push for a better tomorrow, and elect someone that while they may not be the ideal candidate, they are still better than the extremist who wants fascism, we should instead... Not vote?
Yeah, sorry, I don't agree with that. I mean not be pro Israel, and my heart definitely does go out to Palestine, but I don't believe the answer is to completely not get involved where I can, and at least for the candidate that doesn't believe in complete genocide of Palestinians. If you actually watched Kamala Harris's speech, you would know that while yes she is still in support of Israel where she is, she is however also mindful of the people of Gaza, and does want a ceasefire to take place. That's quite a different stance as compared to Trump and a lot of right-wing extremists. Yet and still, we have a bunch of left extremists that have been playing "either all the way our way, or no way!" I do believe it is better to take our victories where we can get them, and go from there as opposed to complete left extremism in the form of not voting at all, and just protesting in the streets while not actually getting any results beyond a point.
I didn't get the "no voting" thing, but I'm glad you pointed out how you interpreted it. For me, we would not have hierarchies nor need a voting system, because I believe we have the means to cooperate and be responsible for our own actions, but the system we built has us filled to the brim with distractions and worries. But I also think that not voting isn't gonna help us at the moment.
I'm voting for Trump! Good luck in the next four years
Agreed. Obviously all politicians are corrupt, and nobody running for the president of the US is going to be a moral person, but as it stands, I think Kamala is the best option. People didn't fight for the power to vote for nothing, voting can and does make a difference. It's not the only thing we should do, but I don't see how not voting at all helps anyone. We will be governed by someone regardless, someone is going to be the president of the US, and there's no way we can stop that in months.
Great video - I get a little unreasonably excited seeing women do political analysis on this platform! I will share this with my friends 🥰
I live for your videos!
Thank you. American political Liberals have been playing the same con as conservatives for at least 30 years now. Neither are leftists or even close.
hollering throughout the whole video
This corporate takeover began in the 70s and was completed with the recent 2010 disastrous citizens united ruling.
Thr Democratic party has been on this trajectory since Clinton, which is why at 42 years old, I'm done voting for the lesser of two evils. I'm not voting for the right wing party to prevent the alt right wing party from getting reelected.
So, who does that leave?
the rest of our candidates aren't exactly.. well, existent on the national stage.
And simply not voting still allows the rise of whoever you'd dislike more.
The trajectory started long before Clinton it’s because culturally America is a right wing nation you only have to look at how it was founded with the genocide of the indigenous people.
humanity has been on this trajectory since 77777777777 BCE
so you’re fine with trump winning
Trump winning helps the situation how exactly?
I don't have any hope that the entire system will change in my lifetime. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't push to change it. Especially since we want to leave the world in a better place for the next generation.