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Over the years I have had interesting conversations and not a few heated discussions with progressives of all stripes. Far too often their arguments devolve into what they feel about something rather than what they think about it. Other times it's one lame talking point after another, many which sound good on the face of it but aren't backed up by personal experience, or history. It's all theory and feel-good sound bites. Failures in practical applications of their beliefs are explained away with excuses like “It was implemented poorly” or “Everyone has to be brought into the fold otherwise it doesn't work” or “We won't make the same mistakes the others made.”
That last one is always my favorite, allowing me to use one of two rejoinders, those being: “Yeah, you'll make worse mistakes!” and “Do you know the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over, but expecting the results to be different this time.” That always brings them up short.
But I am not the best person to speak on such matters. That title belongs to those who lived under the oppressive regimes of “progressive” or “socialist” Utopian countries. More often than not they're capable of skewering ever single talking point or nonsensical utterance brought forth by the 'enlightened' progressives because they suffered under the very system the progressives wish to force upon us.
One such is ex-Soviet immigrant Oleg Atbashian, who poses a number of questions progressives are loath to answer:
Dear Americans, these are some questions I have collected in 16 years of living in your country. Please see if you can answer them for me:Indeed. Read the whole thing and if there are any questions you can think of that might also annoy progressives, add them to the comments of Oleg's post.
If all cultures are equal, why doesn’t UNESCO organize International Cannibalism Week festivals?
If all beliefs are equally valid, how come my belief in the absurdity of this maxim gets rejected by its proponents?
Once a politician labels the truth as hate speech, can anyone trust him to speak the truth afterward?
If a politician gets elected by the poor on a promise to eliminate poverty, wouldn’t fulfilling his promise destroy his voting base? Wouldn’t he rather benefit from the growing numbers of poor people? Isn’t this an obvious conflict of interests?
How did the “war on poverty” end? Has there been a peace treaty or a ceasefire? Who is the occupying force and who are the insurgents?
Why weren’t there demonstrations with anti-feudal slogans under feudal rule? And under Stalin, no anti-communist demonstrations? And under Hitler, no anti-fascist demonstrations? In a free capitalist society, anti-capitalist demonstrations are commonplace. Is capitalism really the worst system?
If the poor in America have things that people in other countries can only dream about, why is there a movement to make America more like those other countries?
If diversity training benefits everyone, why do those classes mostly consist of white heterosexual males?
How come those calling Sarah Palin a “bimbo” often look like part of Paris Hilton’s entourage?
How come the unselfish Americans hate their country out of personal frustrations, while the selfish ones defend America with their lives?
If being a winner in nature’s struggle for survival is selfish, does being extinct make you an altruist?
How come so many anti-American radicals are wearing American brands, listen to American music, watch American movies, and play American video games on computers designed by American engineers?
And finally, if all opinions are equal, how come a liberal who disagrees with a conservative is open-minded, but a conservative who disagrees with a liberal is a bigot?
Here are a few questions gleaned from the comments:
Why are gun control advocates so violent?And the list goes on and on. Can any of you think of questions that would annoy progressives?
Why is it that the Left’s mantra is “Celebrate Diversity” yet they all think the exact same and anybody who has a “diverse thought” is taken to the town square and hung?
Why is it I’ve never worked for a poor person?
If Communism was such a shining example for everyone, why didn’t they put up a “Picture Window” instead of an Iron Curtain?
If all cultures are equal, then why are the liberals down on red-necks and conservatives?
Why do all leftist states have to build walls to keep their own people in, whereas rightist states have to build walls to keep other people out?
Why is leftism never judged by its reality but only by its lofty promises?