The Left and The Right

I am lost: politically, spiritually. I have been bombarded with a lot of conservative and right wing views on my social media and it has affected me terribly. I don’t disagree with a lot of it to be honest. In fact, the right are incredibly good at taking statistics and spinning a very good narrative. There are a lot of claims in this rhetoric that people are too busy feeling sorry for themselves and not holding themselves accountable which is the thing restricting them and nothing else.

I see merit in this. It is difficult to navigate life. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, society has been set up in a way where the most strategically intelligent, direct and forward people can make the most money. It’s a strange abstraction of nature. If I was to sum up the right in one philosophical statement it would be:

‘No one is going to look out for you except yourself so get on with it. Or don’t and I will prosper'.

Humans are inherently selfish and greedy. There are 7 billion of us, it isn’t logistically possible for everyone to live to the same standard. Some people will always crave more for themselves or their loved ones. I certainly want a high quality of life. Taking on some of this mentality will help you attain more in the long run. 

On the other hand, it lacks compassion and essentially endorses walking over other people to promote yourself. I struggle to reconcile with that. Statistics and logic are great but it ignores the emotional elements of situations. If groups of people have a history of oppression and being told they can't succeed, this will begin to spread through the generations. Thus, they need help and uplifting.

The left takes the emotion into account. They wish to overthrow the oppressors - create an even playing field for all. They acknowledge factors like mental health, race, gender, disability which makes it harder for people to succeed. They want to create access for these people. If I was to sum up the left in one philosophical statement it would be:

‘We all live together and rely on each other so let’s look after each other’.

I see merit to this too. In fact, I wish that this could be the case. To be honest, I think everyone does. I greatly value the left because it pushes for change and it pushes us to reflect on ourselves to be better, be kinder and not exploit others and not let power become the driving factor in society. Without it, there wouldn’t be any progression in terms of people’s rights. Society would not ever change. 

On the other hand, if we were ever to achieve this world where everyone had equal access and means, there would arise people who strive for more. Human greed will always win. In today’s world I think there is an over emphasis on identity navigating your circumstance, they do not sufficiently take human nature into account. It certainly does but not like it used to. In this case I think a dose of the right’s self accountability would do wonders. The problem with spoon feeding people is that it creates complacency. The other unfortunate fact is that not everyone wants to work to live and not everyone has the same degree of work ethic and drive. Sadly, whether in modern society or in the wild, it is necessary for survival. That will always be the case.

I suppose what I’m learning is that both sides need each other.

What they most need is to listen to each other.

Opposites create beautiful balance but they also create great conflict. Without the left, the right become overly cynical and look down on those who are not achieving without looking at oppressive factors which are prohibiting them. Without the right, the left becomes too bitter at power-hungry society and spends too much time waiting for others to solve their problems without taking practical steps themselves. 

I feel I’ve become very lost in the victim hood of the left and the cynicism and over simplification of the right. Even when one acknowledges the other side, no one seems to be offering any solutions or desire for actual change. Each side wants their own way. I feel that we need more steady, respected mediators in power to counteract the strong divisive leaders we’ve been acquiring through the years. Those are truly hard to find.