Was characterization of the ‘left’ accurate?

This letter is a response to Ralph Huie’s letter to the editor in the Wednesday, Dec. 30, edition.

“The catalog of crazy and/ or foolish things that the left want us to believe (and will soon demand that we believe) is enough to keep you awake at night.” So Mr. Ralph Huie asserts in his most recent letter to the editor, building his case that “leftists” are essentially ruining our country. Does his diatribe hold true?

Let us begin with his first assertion. The “left” has painted “people as idiots who find the ever changing science surrounding the pandemic something less than reassuring.” Science, like other subjects, is an ever changing discipline. As new information becomes available one must change their understanding on a particular topic; nothing is permanent.

As a brief example let’s discuss germs. Before modern science most of the ancient world believed sickness was caused by an assortment of menageries ranging from bad blood to vampires. If we were to listen to Mr. Huie, people would again hang garlic in their bedrooms, fearing a nightly visit from Count Dracula.

In all seriousness though, Mr. Huie does reference “contradictory studies” without any proof as to who is issuing these studies. One wonders where this information is as I would gladly read it, had it been provided. However, even with “contradictory information” does this mean that we should ignore all science? Certainly not, but who should we listen to? Should we listen to people who have spent most of their lives devoted to the study of diseases or to a politician who tells us it is a hoax?

Mr. Huie next lists systemic racism as a “leftist” idea that is “baked into the system (of our country) and that all white people are racist.” He goes on to state that there is no country that is less racist, and, although our motto is “E Pluribus Unum,” we have yet to achieve making our people “into one unified nation.”

First of all, great strides have been made and must continue to be made in our country. However, our motto does not mean “Out of Many, One People.” When our motto was originally conceived “E Pluribus Unum” referred to the individual states who had entered into contract with each other — out of many states, one nation.

Our motto never meant to mean unite all people “into one unified nation.” That idea would be almost impossible due to just regional differences, let alone racial differences.

Also, Mr. Huie’s idea that the statue of Lincoln taken down in Boston (I’m assuming this is the statue he means) was somehow related to “all white people are racist” is fallacious. The statue depicted a newly freed African-American slave at Lincoln’s feet in a position of servitude rather than a position of equality to Lincoln. Frederick Douglas even had his reservations about the statue when the original was unveiled in Washington, D.C., writing, “The negro here, though rising, is still on his knees and nude. What I want to see before I die is a monument representing the negro, not couchant on his knees like a four-footed animal, but erect on his feet like a man.” What would Mr. Huie think if this same statue depicted a white man in a position of servitude to a black man?

“Climate change has fallen to the bottom of the long, long list of things about which people are concerned, but the leftists know that they can use it to further their goals (that have nothing to do with climate change) if they can scare the bejesus out of people.”

What goals does Mr. Huie think “leftists” want to achieve besides clean air and water? The whole goal of curbing climate change is to have a sustainable planet for future generations, which is impossible if we continue down an unsustainable path. How this makes “leftists” turn us into underdeveloped countries one wonders as most underdeveloped countries cause more pollution since they are just now having their own industrial revolutions.

Our usage of solar and wind power is to help reduce our impact on the environment, ensuring that, over time, we will be able to save our planet from an ecological crisis, not bring us to the level of underdeveloped nations.

The blackouts that Mr. Huie refers to in California lasted, at most, 90 minutes over a two day period and were due to the poor planning by state utility officials. In an article by the Los Angeles Times it was reported that state officials did not take into account how much electricity was needed as the summer was hotter than average due to (you guessed it) climate change.

If one thinks that climate change/global warming is still a hoax you need only look at the studies that show glaciers (one example are the Himalayan glaciers) are now melting at a faster rate than ever previously thought, as well as the people of Pacific islands leaving their homes due to rising ocean levels.

Lastly, Mr. Huie asserts that “the left hates individualism.” Did conservatives, by and large, lobby for gay marriage? Have conservatives, to a greater or lesser extent, argued for a woman’s right to an abortion? This argument from Mr. Huie is faulty as the “left” in Western European societies have always been for individual liberty and the “pursuit of happiness.”

The “left” is what the Founding Fathers of our nation were considered at their time, arguing for a government based on the will of the people (however imperfect at that time) and not that of a monarchy. If the “left” is against individualism then what are conservatives against?

Does Mr. Huie’s arguments prove true? That is for each of us to decide.