Fascism Posing as Progressivism
It is getting harder and harder to read some of the messages in my email.

There are basically two streams: Total inaccuracy of historical fact and the other, the spewing of prejudices and hatreds all over the lot.

All of this is punctuated with a growing incivility.

I trace back more than fifty years of participation in liberal activism.

Never before have I seen a willingness to trash each other as I see now.

It is reprehensible.

At the same time, I have never seen before such general ignorance of facts and willingness to pass along totally biased information and treat it as true and reflecting of a liberal perspective. Hogwash!.

This only sets us back.

What's more, it seems to run totally counter to what liberalism and progressivism stand for.

On one site that I used to participate in and know the manager and many of the members, I was told in no uncertain words that we did not have to discuss issues because we should know what our positions are.

All of my life, we were exposed to issues and thought it was a liberal and progressive requirement that we debate their pros and cons so that we could amplify and improve our decision making. Not so with this self-important group with literally hundreds of so-called "informed" members.

I dropped out immediately and nobody came to me or asked why.

But it was self-evident.

I never want to add my list to a group that discourages dissent or the ability to discuss positions.

This is not Nazi Germany.

And they call themselves progressive and they are involved politically.

It is a shame to think that such a group could survive and call itself progressive.

For the rest, I would suggest major introspection.

Because when you spout unproven prejudices and biases without justification, are you not more fascist and arbitrary than anything else? And if you cannot defend your logic with argument and rationality are you any better than the people you are trying to denounce?

It is sad to see that liberalism and progressivism wear such diverse faces that mask such hatreds and biases.

It almost seems unAmerican.

Les Aaron