Written by Philip Mauriello Jr., Managing Attorney of Arete Law A.P.C. and host of the California Underground Podcast
I am old enough to remember when the Left’s biggest gripe about Republicans and conservatives during the Bush years was their strict adherence to Evangelical values and lifestyles to the point where they believed everyone should live like that. Republicans back then were branded the “Religious Right” and were lambasted for pushing their religious views on them. Evangelicals did not want gay marriage, they opposed abortion, supported the nuclear family, and many other conservative values. The Left back then pushed back against the Bush administration and sold themselves as the Party of liberty and making your own choices and living your own life.
Time has completely reversed the roles whereby the Left now is as dogmatic and judgmental as strict Evangelicals of the Bush years.
Recently Sarah Silverman, a famous comedian, came out and decried the Democratic Party and said they were too “absolutist.” She said they have become too strict about adherence to a certain viewpoint and way of life, and if you did not follow it exactly, you were a sinner and should be denounced as such. She went as far to say she was going to distance herself from the Party and possibly just not be a part of it.
Bill Maher, host of the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, has been pounding the drum warning his viewers of the dangers of strict adherence to far Left ideologies. Bill Maher has spent most of his career championing free speech and bristles when the Left begins to curtail free speech from people they do not agree with. Recently, he had an entire monologue about how America has become a country of “silly people.” While some of his monologue was directed at conservatives, most of his ire was focused on the Left being a bunch of “silly people.” For example, he compared how China is not worried about banning Dr. Seuss books or who to rename a bridge after. Instead, they are building bridges and getting stuff done.
It is not surprising the Left has turned into the dogmatic group it has. While it spent the early 2000’s poking fun and mocking Evangelicals for their adherence to religious institutions, they have built many of their own.
I once wrote about the “Church of Climate Change” and how it became something so divine and holy to the Left that questioning it was illicit activity. To appease the Climate Change gods, we had to sacrifice our money and liberties at the altar. Anything less than complete obedience to the teachings of the Church of Climate Change branded you a heretic and thus should be cast out in society.
The latest church that has been created is the “Church of Gender Fluidity.” Trans gendered individuals were not part of the mainstream zeitgeist a couple of years ago. Today, questioning the science of giving puberty blockers to children immediately brands you a “transphobe.” If you are someone who says they are straight and would not date a trans person, you are now “transphobic.” There is no questioning or offending these new Leftist gods lest you want to be branded with the modern-day Scarlet Letter of some sort of “phobia.”
In this time though, more people have either left the Democratic Party and joined conservatives and libertarians. These two groups look to provide one thing, freedom for people to live how they want to live without some group forcing their beliefs down their throats.
The Evangelical wing of the Republican Party has become a smaller portion of the Party overall with President Trump transforming it into more of a big tent party. More and more conservatives and moderates have subscribed to the “leave me alone” ideology.
The Left has become the very thing they rallied against twenty years ago. They have become a dogmatic group who forces individuals to live up to their purity tests. They work tirelessly to push their beliefs on unwillingly citizens. They do all this through the force of the government. They would have never sat idly by and allowed an Evangelical Republican President like George Bush do such a thing, but today that is their modus operandi.
They have essentially become the enemy they rallied against. Sarah Silverman and Bill Maher are not the first Leftists to throw up their hands. More will follow. They will continue to push people away rather than welcome them in. Which is why holding onto governmental power is so important. Without it they become a fringe Party.
The Party of “let us live and be who we are” has become the Party of “live how we want you to live and be who we want you to be.”
Photo via Castle and Things
