*Note from The Union: Due to the master files for this Letter to the Editor being forcefully removed by unknown sources, we are unable to fully depict the following Letter to the Editor. This version of the letter is retyped from the original print newspaper edition. We apologize for any inconveniences this may bring in the content. Please see the photo of the print article at the bottom of the page.
Dear Editor,
A spectre is haunting America. We live in an age of tolerated discrimination; an age where regressive ideas are deemed progressive; an age where opinions are valued for not being based on facts or logic but feelings.
No, I’m not referring to the ignorant conservatives that popular culture loves to scapegoat. I’m referring to progressive liberals.
Let’s get something straight first: progressive liberalism, or “leftism”, is not actually liberalism; at least, not something that adheres to the original definition and fundamentals of liberalism. The core tenets of the original ideology actually align closer with that of conservatism: the belief in small government, egalitarianism, and the protection of constitutional rights for all… America was built on such values-values that are disappearing thanks to supposed “progressives”-which conservatives seek to “conserve,” hence the name. Conservatism is unfortunately associated with cultural conservatism, or traditionalism: the “religious nuts” and “science deniers” as the left calls them. In reality, most conservatives don’t subscribe to traditionalism and rightfully so. It is fundamentally contradictory to political and economic conservatism…
Doing more research, I realized that being a leftist and having a rational opinion based on facts and logic are incompatible.
Especially in the current polarizing political climate, it’s important to objectively understand both sides without conforming to stigmas or strawmans. Surprisingly, leftism is actually a very violent ideology. Just look at groups like AntiFa and Black Lives Matter: they use violence against groups that don’t subscribe to their “progressive” agenda…
One of the most intriguing stories out there is of Daryl Davis, a black blues musician, that regularly attends KKK meetings. He has managed to get 200 KKK members to renounce their membership. In an interview, he says, “Give them a platform. You challenge them. But you don’t challenge them rudely or violently. You do it politely and intelligently. And when you do things that way chances are they will reciprocate and give you a platform.”
One KKK member even said, “I respect this black man more than some white n****s.”
Let’s get something crystal clear here: I find white supremacism just as distasteful and disgusting as the next person (and probably even more because I understand why their ideology is fundamentally flawed). But my point is, if a white supremacist group is more tolerant than progressive groups devoted to “equality,” something is wrong. The last thing I want to do is polarize the political climate even more, but Davis’ view on freedom of speech is conservative. The leftist majority bullies those who stand in the way with their agenda into eventual silence…
Of course, the leftist media focuses on an incident where two black men aren’t allowed to use a Starbucks’ restaurant and ignores countless incidents when white supremacists are denied service at stores or even expelled from universities for simply having the wrong beliefs. Again, I am not defending white supremacists (I think I should mention I’m Asian): I’m defending the constitutional right of holding any beliefs you want to without discrimination…
Not only are ideologies discriminated against, but also facts. Let me explain: there are some issues where the facts of the matter only correlate to one side. That side is not usually leftism.
One such issue is the supposed discriminatory wage gap. There is no evidence that men get paid more than women for the same amount of work. There is an unfortunate misleading statistic spread that women get paid 77 cents for every dollar a man gets paid. This is a common tactic of the left: they tout a superficial fact that proves absolutely nothing. Due to the biological and psychological composition of men and women, both of the sexes have different habits. Men tend to take more risks and seek higher job positions while women tend to take more morally fulfilling, lower-paying jobs. And differences in pay can be attributed to biological differences. [..] Not to mention that men take more dangerous jobs, thus getting higher pay would be justified. In fact, 92% of all workplace fatalities are men. I don’t see leftists arguing for safer working conditions for men. And yet they still have the audacity to claim to be on the side of “gender equality.” Let’s suppose for a moment that the criminatory wage gap did exist. Why then, would businesses have any reason for hiring men? If women can do the same work as men, why don’t they exclusively hire women to make more money (as leftists claim that the greedy bourgeois only seeks to exploit the working class for a profit)? The answer is, there is factually no wage gap.
The list of cherry-picked statistics goes on with rape statistics. Supposedly 1 in 5 women get raped according to the CDC. How this statistic was obtained is never mentioned by leftists though. The CDC asked people questions such as “Have you had pity sex?” and if they answered yes, that counted as sexual assault. A much more accurate statistics of actual rapes from the FBI puts rapes at about 25.2 individuals per 100,000.
This is just scratching the surface of leftist hypocrisies.
Leftism is an ideology based in purely feelings. Our youth has been unfortunately indoctrinated in leftist teachings. I don’t expect to convince many people with a splurge of facts, but my point still stands. If leftists chose to keep their feeling-based opinions, that’s fine. However, we need to acknowledge that leftism is no better than the ignorant, religious traditionalists that they condemn.
If any of you are still hesitant about researching about conservatism, I don’t blame you. The traditionalist aspect of conservatism is usually a deal-breaker for most. However, I strongly suggest more people into an ideology called Libertarianism. It is essentially the modern equivalent of classical liberalism. Good objective right-wing sources are Prager University, Ben Shapiro, Steven Crowder, and Jordan Peterson…
Class of 2020
Note: This letter is that of the author and does not necessarily reflect those of The Union, students, administration, or Milpitas Unified School District.