Too Liberal, Too Conservative, Too Much
By: Jaime Zepeda
Loony liberals and raging right-wingers are both equally irritating by themselves and to each other. This situation is older than sliced bread…actually, it is even older, but not as useful. The extremists and the narrow-minded simpletons on both sides of the spectrum create animosity and distortion. And nothing more. The problem with radical polarizing views are that they fail to acknowledge the world they inhabit, if only physically since their minds wander wildly and dangerously. Those possessing such views do not see the complex reality and misconstrue it for their own convenience.
This is not exclusive to politics, but extends to all society. Ideologues, fundamentalists, partisans and bigots all suffer this self-imposed ignorance. They all fail to accept their ever-changing surroundings filled with nuances. Some rely on theories, others on allegiances, while others rely on prejudices to support their “reality.” They never question their beliefs, for that is not what they are to them-they are truths. Because of their indoctrination, they see the rest of us in contempt, claiming we are tools, that we are in the wrong. In reality, however, they are tools to their own constricted point of view. Their mentality works with absolutes, and because of that it is obsolete. The true reality, the one we all accept, if only begrudgingly and if only partially, is anything but absolute.
The most depressing of these sorts are the supposed “learned” individuals, flaunting their credentials as a sign of rightness. From these, primarily hurting our existence are the vacuum theorists who postulate based on their textbooks and not on actuality. They claim that their brand of economic and political development is the only correct form, even if the masses are left in ruins. Claiming that an unrestricted free market is the true path to prosperity is a clear example of such detached mentality. If something they recommend fails, it is because of the practice, not their theory. Ironically, the vacuum theorists are overwhelmingly dictating the direction and decimation of the world. The world will soon become a vacuum because the only evident truth if we continue to follow these “learned” individuals, will be the absence of everything.
Only by becoming a judicious citizenry can we weed out these detrimental supposed radicals. Their poisonous rhetoric, postulations, and actions claim reason and tolerance as victim, thereby repealing the progress we have made. Let the fundamentalists, ideologues, partisans and bigots stay in their reality, as long as they do not interfere in ours.