Why The Left Calls Us Hate-Mongers

Driving back the San Jose airport this afternoon, I heard a somewhat confused 82 year-old caller accuse Michael Medved of "Hate, hate, hate! Everything you say is hate!"

I've listened to Medved for years and can't recall him ever spewing hate, but I wasn't confused one whit. I recall when my mother and I both read the same column by a Christian talk show host; I found it thoughtful and illuminating, she found it a repulsive screed of hate. Same words, same genes, different politics.

Part of the cause of this is the Left's reliance on emotions to fuel their thoughts, since secularism deprives most of them of a more solid inner compass. They hold their beliefs emotionally -- war is bad, giving the rich man's money to the poor is good -- so when their precepts are attacked, they respond emotionally.

Writer Andrew Klavan of The City lays out another reason:

This is leftism’s great strength: it’s all white lies. That’s its only advantage, as far as I can tell. None of its programs actually works, after all. From statism and income redistribution to liberalized criminal laws and multiculturalism, from its assault on religion to its redefinition of family, leftist policies have made the common life worse wherever they’re installed.

But because it depends on—indeed is defined by—describing the human condition inaccurately, leftism is nothing if not polite. With its tortuous attempts to rename unpleasant facts out of existence—he’s not crippled, dear, he’s handicapped; it’s not a slum, it’s an inner city; it’s not surrender, it’s redeployment—leftism has outlived its own failure by hiding itself within the most labyrinthine construct of social delicacy since Victoria was queen. ...

And because we’ve allowed leftists to define the language of political good manners—don’t say women are less scientific; don’t remark that black people bear the same responsibility for their actions as whites; don’t point out that the gunman was a Muslim, it’s not nice—the sort of person willing to speak the truth isn’t always the sort of person you want to be seen with.

I've certainly let untruths and mischaracterizations fly unchallenged at various social events with my family out of fear of disrupting the polite social equillibrium. The politician or talk radio host who beats down every leftist logic softball breaks the calm, and because breaking the calm is not loving (have you ever noticed how whisper-quiet leftists mellowly talk?), he who dares to challenge is seen as hateful.

Of course it's not hate; it's truth, and truth cannot be hate.

Caveat: None of this applies to the crazy Left, the faction that relishes opportunities to shout profanities and offend those who don't share their beliefs through their T-shirts, bumper stickers, puppets and group chants.

Counter-caveat: When not in their packs, these leftyloons usally speak in those quiet, thoughtful tones and take great offence at the truth spoken by conservatives.

hat-tip: Real Clear Politics