October 6, 2015
As the war of words between presidential candidates (click here) have only begun to blossom, I’ve already grown battle weary, anxious, and disheartened.
While critiquing the existing state of affairs in his essay “State of the Union” (The Nation, 1975), Gore Vidal shared the following observation: “There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party…and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat.” Far from a mere witty turn of phrase, what Vidal alluded to was the not so inconspicuous trend of both camps gradually realigning themselves further “right” (conventional, constrained) on issues despite enthralling rhetoric that would suggest otherwise. Forty years later, his Cassandra dilemma regarding the abandonment of liberalism still rings true though its significance holds no sway over those deafened by partisan favoritism.
In my piece “Under the Microscope: Black Conservatives,” I clarify that, though I hold very progressive political views contra conservatism, I do not identify as a Democrat. Part of the reason is due to the fact that many Democrat officials—and thus the political platform they epitomize and endorse—simply don’t push for truly liberal-leaning policies that would catalyze radical change this nation so desperately needs....
As the war of words between presidential candidates (click here) have only begun to blossom, I’ve already grown battle weary, anxious, and disheartened.
While critiquing the existing state of affairs in his essay “State of the Union” (The Nation, 1975), Gore Vidal shared the following observation: “There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party…and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat.” Far from a mere witty turn of phrase, what Vidal alluded to was the not so inconspicuous trend of both camps gradually realigning themselves further “right” (conventional, constrained) on issues despite enthralling rhetoric that would suggest otherwise. Forty years later, his Cassandra dilemma regarding the abandonment of liberalism still rings true though its significance holds no sway over those deafened by partisan favoritism.
In my piece “Under the Microscope: Black Conservatives,” I clarify that, though I hold very progressive political views contra conservatism, I do not identify as a Democrat. Part of the reason is due to the fact that many Democrat officials—and thus the political platform they epitomize and endorse—simply don’t push for truly liberal-leaning policies that would catalyze radical change this nation so desperately needs....
