I don't suggest I have the answer to your question. I have just kind of taken the position that I move on looking for other people who will do something in their communities, where they go to school and where they work.
Liberalism is probably the dominant ideology in the United States and Canada and I don't really see it as any kind of threat or obstacle to movement building. The liberals are usually on our side when it comes to problems; they share our concerns but it just takes them a while to agree to act with the left through progressive movements for social change.
I think these "leftists" you refer to probably fall more under the heading of "liberals" since liberals take quite a while to come to the realization they have to actually do something... that is kind of what distinguishes liberal from leftist; leftist try to do something about what liberals are still thinking is unjust but are holding off on action.
I have a lot of patience with liberals because I know at some point they are going to be joining with the left which will result in a massive progressive coalition for real social change.
Probably the more activists we recruit to the left is what will determine how quickly liberals come into action.
I have noticed though that many of the liberals you are talking about seem unusually "patient" in encouraging people suffering problems requiring urgent attention like saving their homes from foreclosure, figuring out where their next meal will come from and all the other problems resulting from poverty.
In my opinion those you refer to with this "progressive image life-style" have been far too patient with Barack Obama and the Democrats which is delaying the kind of urgent action required that it will take to solve a lot of very pressing problems... I guess it is just easier to be patient with the problems of other people.
Before you brought up George Lakoff's book, "Don't Think of an Elephant!"... thousands of people are, and have, read this book... in my opinion this book has become kind of the "Bible" for liberals pretending to be leftists and progressives because Lakoff teaches how to properly frame issues based upon concern and caring and then tells people real and specific solutions to problems should never be advocated... there are lots of other books that have been take-offs from Lakoff's ideas... you can find this kind of thinking very popular with any of the organizations funded by The Century Foundation... most notable is the Campaign for America's Future with the book by Robert Borosage and Roger Hickey "The Next Agenda." John Sweeney's book, "America Needs A Raise" fits into this category very well, too.
We are going to witness this "clash" between liberals, progressives and the left in the upcoming October 2 One Nation Working Together march and rally which the Democrats want to be a model of George Lakoff's thinking about framing issues properly just don't bring forward specific solutions like, don't suggest that "war makes us all poor" or ask questions like: "How is Obama's war economy working for you?"
I have found it very interesting how viciously the organizers of this march and rally attacked what I wrote in a letter to the editor published in "Labor World" where I suggested the way to put people to work was ending these dirty wars and using the money for building a national public health care system proving free health care for people while creating around ten million new jobs... apparently my suggestion was along the line of being too "specific" according to George Lakoff's theory and too radical for Leah Daughtry who has been placed in charge of the organizing of Oct 2 events by the heads of the AFL-CIO and the NAACP... Leah Daughtry is a classic example of what you describe; she was the CEO of the Democratic National Convention... now, I don't know if you and others have noticed but the Democratic Party wants to use this march and rally to mobilize (actually control and manipulate) working people who participate in this march and rally to become active in electing Democrats who have done nothing but hurt working people the last two years... and what I find most interesting is the Democratic Party isn't even among the endorsers of this event!!!!!!!!!
We on the left have a great opportunity in changing the character of this event from what the "progressive-image 'lifestyle'" Obama crowd have in mind.
I hope more people start asking the questions I have asked; especially how it is the Democratic Party wants to use working people involved in Oct 2 towards its ends of electing mostly Dumb Donkeys but won't even go on record as an endorser of this march and rally because even as vague as the "demands" are they are too specific for the Obama crowd.
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