Breaking Down the False Left Right Paradigm At the root of the political circus of the western world, at the root of our dysfunctional and corrupt electoral system is a very clever little lie that prevents the people from regaining control over the government. Once you see that lie for what it is you will never be fooled again, and you may find yourself insulted by the audacity of the proponents and maintainers of this lie. I am of course referring to the paradigm of Left vs. Right, Liberal vs. Conservative, Republican vs. Democrat. The most effective lies have an element of truth. A little truth gives the lie a foothold in the mind and prevents the less vigilant from looking deeper. The false Left / Right Paradigm is no exception. The power elite of this country and the world over have capitalized on common points of contention among world views of the citizenry and have managed to polarize them into two political categories: Liberal and Conservative. This is not to say that these disagreements aren't real. It should be obvious that some people are fiercely for abortion while others are fiercely against it. However, what may not be so obvious is that these points of contention, these wedge issues are little more than distractions that prevent us from uniting. I know it's a bit inflammatory to refer to an issue like abortion as a distraction. Most people have strong feelings on the subject. I myself have strong feelings on the subject. However, the reality of the matter is that the politicians that use these kinds of issues to get us riled up in one direction or another are just manipulating us and turning us against each other. As long as they can successfully keep us fighting among ourselves over religious and moral controversies, and as long as they can maintain the illusion that the two parties are significantly different we won't pay attention to their collusion on economic and foreign policy and the rampant corruption endemic on both sides of the aisle. On the issues that will determine the course of history and the future survival of this nation the Republicans and the Democrats are perfectly synchronized in the march towards Armageddon. What it comes down to is the principle of divide and conquer. The people of the United States will never be converted to one religion, and will never come to an agreement on the best way to handle reproductive issues or homosexuality, which is why these issues are used over and over again. Those who pull the strings know that these issues will never be resolved, and they know that most people will / can be swayed to make a vote based purely on emotion. Knowing this gives us the secret to turning this country around. We must refrain from focusing on divisive wedge issues which will never be solved and we must unite under one cause: restore the Constitution of the United States. Without freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial, and the guarantee that our government will not torture or murder its citizens we have nothing. The protections provided under the Constitution have been eroded in this country by the Patriot Act and a slew of un-constitutional laws. This should anger you more than someone violating a precept of your particular belief system, because without the Constitution your right to believe what you believe and to speak your mind can and will be taken away. A cursory examination of history is enough to see where we may end up if we allow ourselves to be turned against each other.
R.I.P. Left-Right Paradigm (1789-2011) by Damon West on April 5, 2011 The left-right (liberal/conservative) political paradigm is a pervasive concept, but hopefully it is on its way out the door after more than 200 years of confusing and distracting people. This one-dimensional spectrum is nearly useless for capturing the vast complexities and variations of political thought, yet it is a very powerful tool to get people hopelessly distracted by unimportant problems as well as incorrect solutions to important problems. The left and right dimensions are false opposites, presented as two extreme positions that are the polar opposite of each other, when in fact the content of left-right thinking is nearly identical. This device also enables truly different ideas (= upsetting to the status quo) to be safely ignored and excluded from the conversation. In the United States, what is the opposite of a Democrat? Most people would say a Republican, but this is not correct. There is probably not even a correct answer, but the closest answer might be someone who is not political at all and does not seek to intrude into the lives of others. However, for the most part, the only acceptable political viewpoints are Left (Liberal), Right (Conservative), and possibly Moderate. In the next U.S presidential election, coming soon, we will be given a choice between two perceived opposites, when in reality both candidates will be nearly identical, hand-picked statist zombies. Excluded will be every other possible candidate with alternative ideologies, especially non-statist ideas. So let’s summarize a few effects of the left-right political divide: 1) ignites the political theater of the “left vs. right blame game”, creating false targets and enemies and dissipating potentially upsetting energies into harmless directions 2) distracts people with a relentless focus on trivial issues (i.e. gay marriage), to the complete exclusion of the critical issues (central banking, fiat money, etc) that silently ruin people’s lives 3) encourages people to believe that left-right are two extremes and no other ideas exist outside this spectrum, so alternative viewpoints are not represented (= a minimization of choice) 4) motivates people to favor political solutions for all problems, despite the fact that political solutions are by definition coercive in nature and thus only generate further discord and divisiveness 5) enables the divide-and-conquer technique to be utilized time after time (allow people to weaken themselves by fighting each other instead of fighting you with vigor) Be wary of the reductionist crowd that tries to squeeze every issue into the left-right spectrum – you are being played.
