Left and Right
A very brief philosophical comparison
So I saw a video during which it was said that a difference between the left and the right is that the more progressive among us want even those we politically oppose to obtain the help they need. That prompted me to pull this out from the archives.
It’s from 2011 but the original is from a letter to a friend the 1990s. So yeah, I have indeed said some version of this a few times but I do think it bears repeating occasionally.
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It's the right that says "I," the left that says "we." It's the right that says "gimme," the left that says "we'll give." It's the right that says "compete," the left that says "cooperate."
Where the left says "us together," the right says "me first." Where the left says "hope," the right says "fear." Where the left says "you can come for help," the right says "you can go to hell."
Time after time after time, the left argues for choices that primarily benefit the needy. Time after time after time, the right argues for choices that primarily benefit the needless.
Time after time after time, when folks on the left benefit from their proposals it's because they're part of a broader community. Time after time after time, when folks on the right benefit from their proposals it's because they're part of a narrow clique.
It is the left, not the right, that knows that the real answer to Cain's question is "Yes."