A piece of the liberal puzzle: "they need a devil." (legal, drug)

[wutitiz]

So the other day I was listening to this talk show, and the host had on a banking consultant who worked with small community banks. The host pointed out that in his experience the services provided by banks do tremendous good, yet the banking industry now has a PR image that is probably a few notches below the mafia. At least the mafia has the 'rakish factor' going for them. The host asked: 'why.'

The consultant summed it up: "There is one side of this political argument that has to have a devil." (comments can be heard at about 19:30 into the tape, 2nd hour of Aug 27 program).

Radio | George Jarkesy Radio Show


This simple insight explains a lot. Why did the left attack George W. Bush so remorselessly? W Bush governed largely from left of center. Elton John lauded W for having directed so many US taxpayer dollars to fight AIDS in Africa. 'No Child Left Behind' expanded the role of the federal gov't in education, and was a re-do of LBJ's ESEA act of 1965.

Or take the Koch brothers, a current favorite devil for the left. Rarely are we told exactly why the left hates them so much. Sure, they donate a lot of money to political causes, but so do the Teamsters. What exactly makes the Koch Bros. so evil? Who knows, who cares. The left doesn't even bother to distinguish between David and Charles, treating them as one big blob.
Why the Evil Koch Bros. Must be Stopped: They Support Drug Legalization, Gay Marriage, Reduced Defense Spending. - Hit & Run : Reason.com

They need a devil. How else to explain the left's reaction to the Koch Bros, who actually favor some of the same things that lefties do? This raises the obvious question of why the need for a devil, however. I can think of a couple possibilities. First of all, if you have nothing positive to run on, and your policies have failed everywhere they've been tried, the need for a devil becomes obvious.

But I think it goes a little deeper than this. As any reader of CD knows, the left often takes its hater mentality to a level that is self-destructive and can't be explained by political expediency. Thus I think that this is more of a religious belief than a political one. With the decline of religion as a prism thru which to explain life, many have turned to left-wing politics as a sort of substitute. And like any system of religious belief, a devil is required. Anybody who watches pro wrestling knows how crucial it is to have a strong devil when you want to put on a charade.

Any other theories out their on whether and why the left needs a devil???

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by wutitiz

As any reader of CD knows, the left often takes its hater mentality to a level that is self-destructive and can't be explained by political expediency. Thus I think that this is more of a religious belief than a political one. With the decline of religion as a prism thru which to explain life, many have turned to left-wing politics as a sort of substitute. And like any system of religious belief, a devil is required. Anybody who watches pro wrestling knows how crucial it is to have a strong devil when you want to put on a charade.

Any other theories out their on whether and why the left needs a devil???

I think you're just about there. Leftist politics is, for many, a substitute for religion. That much is obvious. The way I see it, it's not that Leftism needs a devil the way religion needs a devil, but that Leftism creates an alternative universe that mimics reality, and in reality, there is a devil.

[Randomstudent]

As opposed to the right which needs, Islam, Communism, the UN, the media, Al Sharpton, Obama, agenda 21, Fema concentration camps, etc.

[Dutchman01]

I thought working white folk were the devil......

[ovcatto]

Another tormented screed of conservative psychological projection.

From the oppressed Christians, to the down trodden white male, now we get the risible argument that it is liberals who require a "devil"!

This from the same people who see socialist and communist under every bed;

scary black men under every hoodie;

feminist with Lorena Bobbitt signature pruning knives;

gays in every public bathroom stall stalking children and members of the Senate;

Muslim terrorist under every dastar;

and, the end of times around every next corner.

Yeah...

Psychological Projection: Dealing With Undesirable Emotions | Lifescript.com

[wutitiz]

Originally Posted by ovcatto

This from the same people who see socialist and communist under every bed;

Last I checked the commies did kill 100 million plus in the 20th century. You seriously compare that to the Koch brothers? AFAIK the Koch brothers have yet to kill even one.

scary black men under every hoodie;

That would be Jesse Jackson, not us. Look under that hoodie, it's Allen West. He's gonna get you.

feminist with Lorena Bobbitt signature pruning knives;

No just Sandra Fluke with a demand to pay for her b.c. pills.

gays in every public bathroom stall stalking children and members of the Senate;

Nope, the strange case of Larry Craig wherein he was hounded out of the Senate for what I'm not sure. Taking a dump? Tapping his foot while doing so? The ACLU did defend him, but virtually none of the rest of the left did.
[

Muslim terrorist under every dastar;

refer back to example one, the commies.

[wutitiz]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

I think you're just about there. Leftist politics is, for many, a substitute for religion. That much is obvious. The way I see it, it's not that Leftism needs a devil the way religion needs a devil, but that Leftism creates an alternative universe that mimics reality, and in reality, there is a devil.

That is an interesting take, as always. Wouldn't let me rep.