My personal perspective is perhaps far left

[PurgedVoter]

By that I think I mean intelligently compassionate.
So when I see the oft repeated line such as "AOC is attacking democrats" it is easy for me to recognize this as an excuse covering an attack on members of the left.
If I were right wing, I might easily see this conversation I am making as an attack on right wingers and an irrational defense of AOC.

If we keep it friendly and realize that we need lively conversation and open minds to see all the sides of an issue, then we are good. What I see when I listen to AOC, for example, is a caring, brilliant, compassionate human who puts her heart right out there on her sleeve for all of us to see. I see a human who does not want to wait for progress to take five generations that should in an ideal world happen tomorrow.

I don't however feel this way on every single attack on the left wing. There are more than a few "Left Wingers," that scream left wing arguments without demonstrating intelligent compassion. I can forgive mistakes. I make a few. There is a difference between incorrect and outright wrong. Some "left wing" politicians are clearly as fake as the Green Party.

I am an old southern curmudgeon so bull was fed to me in my environment, and the liberal media was limited if not entirely suppressed in my area in my youth, so the occasional cringe worthy stupid, xenophobic and selfish thought, word or deed will show up, but I am happy to be shown the errors of my ways.

I vote for intelligent and compassionate people. So Joe and Jimmy are the best thing since sliced bread. I love them both. I am a Democrat not because I like waving a Democratic Party flag, but because the Democratic Party has compassionate and intelligent people.

I disagree with a lot of you. I love a lot of you even though I disagree with you. If you speak from the heart and your heart goes out to other people, I will always want the best for you. Even when I think you are making a mistake.

[abqtommy]

1. To my way of thinking the Far Right are Fascists and the Far Left are Communists and they

are indeed the strange bedfellows of the political spectrum. I believe in compassion but if we have compassion for the victims of today's Fascists then we'll attack the Fascists and never let up.

[Ferrets are Cool]

2. Communists???

Really?

[Javaman]

4. yeah, there is a whole cadre of people who believe that.

it's really amazing.

I had to explain to a "liberal" friend of mine what the difference between Liberal Left, Socialism and Communism was once.

I did it slowly and patiently.

in the end, he said, "huh, and here I though you were a commie. Fuck, you're just like anyone else".

I took the backhanded compliment. LOL

[dlk]

11. What's a communist?

That word gets thrown around a lot. What do you mean by it?

[rickyhall]

3. I think of myself as an FDR/LBJ leftist. I think repugs are calling that "far left".

Or anybody left of TFG.

[KPN]

12. +1

It seems some here fall for the “far left” moniker as well. There may be some really far left folks who frequent DU, but most simply prefer the party characteristic of 40 and 50 years ago. We are gradually moving back to the left from what I think of as center right relative to an earlier time period, at least economic policy-wise. It’s been a long and, at times, patience testing journey.

[NNadir]

5. I certainly am not on the deep left, and though I often disagree...

...with the so called Green New Deal rhetoric (mostly because on a purely technical level it will do nothing to address climate change), I am a big admirer of Rep. Ocasio Cortez. I expect great things from her, not because she's always right, but because she has both courage and intelligence and has come up from the real world.

[jaxexpat]

6. The average republican is listening to the worms in his(or her) head.

There is no safer conclusion to draw.

[Hortensis]

7. Better understanding comes from first looking at political orientations

in terms of personality. Aligning with political factions results from that.

Why not read about liberal and conservative personality and differences along the ranges of both from moderate through strong, and on to "far" and "very far"? They're very real.

Good news is a very large range of the personality spectrum, from conservative through liberal, can be intelligent and compassionate. Btw, altruism (very necessary to compassion) is a trait found among both liberals and conservatives, while true libertarians by personality tend to be deficient or even entirely lacking in it, and glorify it.

But the more toward radicalized or extreme (in the "far" direction) one becomes, left or right, the more the increasingly dominant traits of extremism interfere with both intelligence and compassion. Also with morality and altruism. The more extreme, the greater the dysfunctions and inability to see or accept truth-based reality.

[chia]

8. Thank you, great post. I like the way you think. :)

[hunter]

9. I'm a compassionate leftist and a very, very, very radical environmentalist.

Yet my politics are entirely practical.

The "Green Parties" worldwide have generally proven themselves to be innumerate outside their fundraising efforts.

Here in the U.S.A. I'm a hard core Biden Democrat.

[bluboid]

10. yup, it's always about the heart, first, last & foremost! it takes a long time to figure that out -

but when we do, things are much easier to understand because we're centered in the heart & everything pivots around the heart.

[KPN]

13. Nice post. Well said.

[MissMillie]

14. Well, it turns out

that many of the policies of what is described as the "far left" are quite popular, even across all political parties.

[Percy]

15. Everything you said is so very true and thoughtful and I agree with.

I enjoy DU and the discussions that evolve. But I'm often frustrated by the cadre who show up making assumptions about posters unless their posts are perfect, and then attacking them. It's so tiresome and kills any thought about the ideas put forth. Not to mention killing the conversation.

I suppose some of that is inevitable on a public forum, but it's still frustrating as there is way too much of it. Nothing, absolutely nothing is black and white. Taking those positions is an easy way out -- and counterproductive, and often just stupid. That's not discourse, it's just flinging opinions.

People often feign tolerance as they're themselves being intolerant. How do they not see that?

Thank you for taking the time to post what you said.