Boris Bonanza and the Chimera of Liberals
Devastated. Perplexed. Unprecedented. Since 19xxs. How did it happen? That's whirling in some minds.
"Agh. Didn't you see the writing on 'the wall'?" Asks another.
For some its early Christmas. For others its Friday the 13th.
Boris Johnson has won an unprecedented majority in Britain. He will arguably be the most powerful conservative boss since Margaret Thatcher. Conservatives ate into Labor bastions in an unimaginable way. Liberals for one are devastated. But, here's the catch- the results were as predictable as another tariff tweet from Donald Trump!
Liberalism is hypocrisy
Please don't judge me from the sub-title. But, the electorate of Britain felt so. How do I know this sitting In India? Indians also feel the same. So, do Americans and Australians and Japanese. Liberalism is suffering a defeat similar to how communism faced after the cold war.
Tomes have been written talking about what is wrong in a right-wing government in a democracy. And there is a lot that is problematic in a right-wing government. But, is the left and liberalism all moon and rose? When the first wave of right surge happened beginning 2013-14, intelligentsia dismissed it as a blip in a changing social order. But another wave of the right surge is happening around the world, this time with even more votes, seats, and feats! India saw BJP emerge as the central pole of politics replacing the Congress party, while the Congress party became a fringe political outfit. Many Congress leaders, instead of reflecting on what went wrong, were tweeting and writing their versions of Ozymandias's declaration.
Boris Johnson has transformed himself and his party in almost the same way that Narendra Modi did with his party. Soon, Trump will get reelected and the liberal commentariat will whine again.
Thorns of Liberalism
While many people are liberal, the so-called torchbearers of liberalism torch the political philosophy with entitlement and arrogance. The so-called I-am-superior-than-thou attitude certainly irks people. Common citizenry no longer needs coaching in right and wrong. Common citizenry wishes to understand the reason and vote. For all the faults in conservatives, they give a reason. Liberals seem only to oppose the conservatives. They struggle to provide a non-confrontational argument independent of conservative thought.
Let's talk secularism
Secularism is a thorny issue for liberals. But, it is certainly an issue for conservatives and one of the voting parameters for common voters. The hypocrisy of liberals is stark on this front. Secularism is technically separation of state from religion. A more general interpretation is neutrality towards all faiths. But in order to defend the conservative onslaught, liberals far too often resort to appeasement. They sometimes go to the extent of criticizing everybody practicing the majoritarian faith and condoning problematic minority behaviors. If this is a nicely laid conservative trap, liberals around the world have fallen for it. Notably, at places where liberals have shown remarkable neutrality towards faith groups, they have seen continuing political support.
Ears to the ground?
The commentariat, mostly comprising of liberals, have lost touch with the ground. While post-2014 right surge, many have attempted course correction, but they are still far, far away. It is also important to provide voices to people who have voted to conservatives and are of conservative thought (not radicals, of course).
Globalization
Globalization led many to believe that borders will get wiped away. However, that definitely is not going to happen anytime soon. Large corporations' urge to maximize revenues and profits drove them to seek cheap labor. The global media essentially supported their ventures. But the common citizenry is not yet ready to accept a borderless world. For us humans, a nation is a stable zone. A nation provides security to govern, stability to work and opportunity to collaborate. While Globalization began as an essentially economic endeavor, liberals tried to jump on the bogey to profess for a border-free world, devoid of national identities. It seemed people's acceptance of pop, coke, and hope was an indication. But, nations are here to stay. Global brands definitely did not replace xenophobia.
Well, all in all, liberalism needs to evolve. Today people are more aware, updated and also vulnerable. If you are a liberal and I sounded like a conservative, you now know where is the problem. If you are a conservative and I sounded like a liberal lamenting for the liberal loss in London, perhaps I will write a similar diagnosis for conservatives a decade later.
Moral of the story- Grow Up. Adults today are fighting among themselves more brutally than five-year-old. Perhaps, kids are showing more maturity. Whatever you are, grow up.
"Agh. Didn't you see the writing on 'the wall'?" Asks another.
For some its early Christmas. For others its Friday the 13th.
Boris Johnson has won an unprecedented majority in Britain. He will arguably be the most powerful conservative boss since Margaret Thatcher. Conservatives ate into Labor bastions in an unimaginable way. Liberals for one are devastated. But, here's the catch- the results were as predictable as another tariff tweet from Donald Trump!
Liberalism is hypocrisy
Please don't judge me from the sub-title. But, the electorate of Britain felt so. How do I know this sitting In India? Indians also feel the same. So, do Americans and Australians and Japanese. Liberalism is suffering a defeat similar to how communism faced after the cold war.
Tomes have been written talking about what is wrong in a right-wing government in a democracy. And there is a lot that is problematic in a right-wing government. But, is the left and liberalism all moon and rose? When the first wave of right surge happened beginning 2013-14, intelligentsia dismissed it as a blip in a changing social order. But another wave of the right surge is happening around the world, this time with even more votes, seats, and feats! India saw BJP emerge as the central pole of politics replacing the Congress party, while the Congress party became a fringe political outfit. Many Congress leaders, instead of reflecting on what went wrong, were tweeting and writing their versions of Ozymandias's declaration.
Boris Johnson has transformed himself and his party in almost the same way that Narendra Modi did with his party. Soon, Trump will get reelected and the liberal commentariat will whine again.
Thorns of Liberalism
While many people are liberal, the so-called torchbearers of liberalism torch the political philosophy with entitlement and arrogance. The so-called I-am-superior-than-thou attitude certainly irks people. Common citizenry no longer needs coaching in right and wrong. Common citizenry wishes to understand the reason and vote. For all the faults in conservatives, they give a reason. Liberals seem only to oppose the conservatives. They struggle to provide a non-confrontational argument independent of conservative thought.
Let's talk secularism
Secularism is a thorny issue for liberals. But, it is certainly an issue for conservatives and one of the voting parameters for common voters. The hypocrisy of liberals is stark on this front. Secularism is technically separation of state from religion. A more general interpretation is neutrality towards all faiths. But in order to defend the conservative onslaught, liberals far too often resort to appeasement. They sometimes go to the extent of criticizing everybody practicing the majoritarian faith and condoning problematic minority behaviors. If this is a nicely laid conservative trap, liberals around the world have fallen for it. Notably, at places where liberals have shown remarkable neutrality towards faith groups, they have seen continuing political support.
Ears to the ground?
The commentariat, mostly comprising of liberals, have lost touch with the ground. While post-2014 right surge, many have attempted course correction, but they are still far, far away. It is also important to provide voices to people who have voted to conservatives and are of conservative thought (not radicals, of course).
Globalization
Globalization led many to believe that borders will get wiped away. However, that definitely is not going to happen anytime soon. Large corporations' urge to maximize revenues and profits drove them to seek cheap labor. The global media essentially supported their ventures. But the common citizenry is not yet ready to accept a borderless world. For us humans, a nation is a stable zone. A nation provides security to govern, stability to work and opportunity to collaborate. While Globalization began as an essentially economic endeavor, liberals tried to jump on the bogey to profess for a border-free world, devoid of national identities. It seemed people's acceptance of pop, coke, and hope was an indication. But, nations are here to stay. Global brands definitely did not replace xenophobia.
Well, all in all, liberalism needs to evolve. Today people are more aware, updated and also vulnerable. If you are a liberal and I sounded like a conservative, you now know where is the problem. If you are a conservative and I sounded like a liberal lamenting for the liberal loss in London, perhaps I will write a similar diagnosis for conservatives a decade later.
Moral of the story- Grow Up. Adults today are fighting among themselves more brutally than five-year-old. Perhaps, kids are showing more maturity. Whatever you are, grow up.
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