How do you know you were victorious in a debate with a leftist? When the progressive hippy prematurely ends the discussion with any of these popular modern-day insults: racist, homophobe, sexist, Nazi, or white supremacist. Unfortunately, because it has been condensed to 280-character talking points, the state of civil dialogue in 2018 is a disgrace, leaving us yearning for the days of riveting and insightful discourse on par with William F. Buckley, or even Dick Cavett.
But this is what the left has worked towards for years, adopting Saul Alinsky’s meditation that “ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.”
While the right and libertarians have utilized logic and facts to craft and present their arguments, the left has relied on fabrication, ridicule, and emotion for their shrieks, er, contemplations on a panoply of subjects. In theory, the former should always be a successful tactic to gain ground in the culture war. In reality, the latter has been a far more effective approach in shaping young minds – blame our short attention spans, reality television, and out-of-context soundbites for this phenomenon.
Saul Alinsky would be proud:
There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)”
The Palinization of Politics
There is a new trend sweeping the country’s political process, causing millions of Americans to ditch reason and embrace an incogitant state of being: Palinization, in which mendacity reigns supreme and the least informed earns the loudest applause.
This term dates back to the 2008 election when the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) selected then-Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) to be his presidential running mate. At the time, which seems like eons ago, Palin was met with scorn and derision, a behavior that was ubiquitous in the media and the entertainment industry. But it was also lauded at the time, despite today’s feigned indignation of President Donald Trump’s tweets and quips.
The Palinization got so bad that people really believed lines uttered by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live were real quotes – who can forget about the “I can see Russia from my house” gag? Fey became one of the most celebrated and beloved comics on the left, while Palin was the target of mockery and disdain.
Though Palin was incessantly derided, former President George W. Bush endured a barrage of insults that paled in comparison – most of it was rightly deserved.
Learning that ridicule wins elections, and that Alinsky was onto something, President Barack Obama and his disciples stayed on the offense.
The former president suggested that race played a key role in the Tea Party’s uprising, resorting to slurs like “extremists” and “tea-baggers.” The mainstream media parroted their lord and savior by arguing that “Southern racism has found a home in the Tea Party” or “Tea Party supporters more likely to exhibit racism.”
The woman who will never be president, Hillary Clinton, attempted to win the White House by mimicking Obama and scorning her opponent and his supporters. It was September 9, 2016 when her campaign decided it was a wise move to call a significant portion of Americans a “basket of deplorables” just two months before Election Day:
“They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic – Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people – now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks – they are irredeemable, but thankfully, they are not America.”
Yet, the left claims that political incivility has only commenced in the age of President Trump.
Once again, ahead of the midterm elections, the left employs this measure. They have accused Florida gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis of racism for using the phrase “monkey this up.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Ben Shapiro of sexism for proposing a discussion. The left passed around a conspiracy theory that Zina Bash, a half-Hispanic, half-Jew, and former clerk for Judge Bret Kavanaugh, is a white supremacist because she rested her right hand on her left arm.
Is it working? We shall see come November.
How Dare You Ridicule
When the right decides to adopt this rule from time to time, the left suddenly becomes apoplectic, resorting, once again, to their favorite tactic of shouting the litany of -isms.
Earlier this year, during a discussion on illegal immigration, President Trump called MS-13 gang members “animals.” For some strange reason, the left was outraged by these comments, grieving that you are “dehumanizing” vicious, bloodthirsty, and contemptible criminals. Because of the group’s odious record, this was not a hill to die on.
CNN has been consistently outraged over the amount of ridicule the fascist organization Antifa has faced. Chris Cuomo has routinely defended the group, Don Lemon dismissed its violence, and Jeffrey Toobin thinks any bad words about it are racist because it is “widely perceived to be African-American.”
The theme is always there. You poke fun at Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and her apparent Native heritage, and it is racist. You call the Kavanaugh disruptors “hysterical,” and it is sexist. You call yourself a free speech extremist, and you are a Nazi.
Ultimately, the left, which has embraced ridicule, gets offended by your ridicule.
The Left Wins – Until Now
The left has made considerable gains by convincing many people that the right is full of ill-informed, archaic, and ridiculous individuals. This has worked – until now.
Thanks to the power of the world’s largest encyclopedia – the Internet – and social media, young generations are discovering that the left’s intent has been meretricious, distorting facts and outright fibbing to achieve a political objective. The people may have bought it before, but, as former President Abraham Lincoln said, “you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
Throughout life, we have learned that everything goes in a cycle and that what’s old becomes new again. The public is beginning to tire of empty platitudes, perpetual outrage, and dim-witted ridicule. They are now demanding rational discussions that challenge our beliefs and invigorate our little gray cells. And, in the marketplace of ideas, the left has nothing to sell because it is bankrupt.
What do you think of Rule Five? Let us know in the comments section!
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