The Left-Right Divide Is Not Bridgeable

[Fishrrman]

https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2024/03/05/dennis-prager-n2636068

The Left-Right Divide Is Not Bridgeable
Townhall
3/05/2024
by Dennis Prager

Millions of Americans, depressed by the ideological divide in America, harbor a wish that something or someone can bridge this divide.

This wish is understandable. But it is fantasy. The divide is unbridgeable. One might as well wish that daily consumption of a hot fudge sundae will lead to weight loss.

To cite a few samples:

How are we to bridge the gap between those who believe men can become women and women can become men and those who don't believe this? Between those who believe men menstruate and those who believe only women menstruate?

How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe "colorblind" is a racist notion and those who believe "colorblind" is the antidote to racism?

How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe Israel is the villain and Hamas is the victim and those who believe Israel is the victim and Hamas, which openly states its dedication to annihilating Israel and its Jewish inhabitants, is the villain, morally indistinguishable from the Nazis?

How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe young children should be brought to drag queen shows and those who believe this sexualization -- and sexual confusion -- of children is morally detestable?

How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe reducing the number of police will reduce violent crime and those who believe reducing the number of police will increase violent crime?

How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe in suppressing free speech if they deem any given speech "hateful" or "misinformation" and those who believe in free speech?

Every one of these positions is mutually contradictory. And this is just a partial list.
[...]
If you still think the left-right divide is bridgeable, it is only because it is too painful to confront the tragic reality of contemporary American life: Today's left-right divide is at least as great as the North-South divide before and during the Civil War. The only thing that remains the same is that it was the Democratic Party that opposed freedom then, and it is the Democratic Party that opposes freedom today.

More at URL above...

[bigheadfred]

The Left-Right Divide Is Not Bridgeable

I don't think it is.

[Free Vulcan]

Leftism has become a faith based religion who's adherents are positively theocratic in the way they look at the world. They're not going to give it up till they're dead.

It will not be bridged except by attrition.

[berdie]

I at one time thought it could be bridged, but no longer. The two sides drift further and further apart.

And sadly, a house divided cannot stand.

[Bigun]

Leftism has become a faith based religion who's adherents are positively theocratic in the way they look at the world. They're not going to give it up till they're dead.

It will not be bridged except by attrition.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Leftism has become a faith based religion who's adherents are positively theocratic in the way they look at the world. They're not going to give it up till they're dead.

It will not be bridged except by attrition.

No, it's not even a religion.

It's a system of mass delusion fostering Mass Formation Psychosis by careful control of the information diet of those willing to believe.

[jmyrlefuller]

I at one time thought it could be bridged, but no longer. The two sides drift further and further apart.

And sadly, a house divided cannot stand.

And when the divide is most stark among men vs. women of reproductive age, we start collapsing quickly.

It will not be a national divorce, it will be a collapse.

[catfish1957]

Not fixable, and the sooner we realize it, and invoke the divorce the less painful and damaging it will be.

[Fishrrman]

Gee, folks.

I'm heartened by the replies in this thread.
Seems like every poster foresees some kind of "national divorce" in the future.

But... think back, 'way back, all the way to around 1775.
The Colonists were certainly upset (if not quite yet "rebellious") with the harsh conduct of Britain in their dealings with the colonies.

So... what did they do?
They DIDN'T just start the revolution.
Instead, they called a get-together with delegates from the colonies to address the problems.

I understand that, at first, they tried to explore a possible reconciliation with Britain. But that eventually changed, especially after incidents up in New England.

It was from this meeting -- the "Continental Congress", and the second one that followed -- that the pathway towards an entirely new country was first traveled.

We see what they accomplished in their time.
Could it be done again?

Is it time yet for that new "Heartland Continental Congress" ???

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I agree with everything Prager said except the part about left and right being different on the issue of hate speech.   Trump himself has called for members of the media to be prosecuted for treason because they have been unfair to him.  That's being no better than the Democrats on that issue.

But other than that comment, yes.  The differences between left and right are unbridgeable.

Of course, there are a lot of folks who are neither hard right nor hard left, are not all that politically active, and value stability over chaos.  They likely are the majority even if they lean one way or the other.  Those people aren't anywhere near wanting a national divorce.