Sad May 1st

May 1st is always a day of mixed feelings for me.

On one hand, I tremble thinking about the achievements of socialism and liberalism in the past 200 years and about empowered workers, actually previously slaves, marching and waving red flags - celebrating their dignity.
On the other hand, I think about the great failures, the wars that weren't prevented, the depths of terror to which red flags led and the great betrayal at the end of the 20th century.

I couldn't have for you my fellow readers a better example than the following.

Today a Spaniard friend talked with me about the economical situation in Spain. He started ranting about the situation, the crazy cut downs of the right wing government which is 'selling the country to the Germans'

A: Our government is demented. They are changing laws related to demonstrations expecting that during the summer Spain will burn with manifestations. I didn't expect the right wing government to be so much more radical than the already capitalist previous leftist government. They are handing the country to the Germans.
B: Why to the Germans?
A: Because all the terrible things are done at the request of the German banks.
B: I think you don't fully understand the Germans. Merkel really thinks that the south Europeans are irresponsible and need to learn a lesson.
A: Maybe. But the responsibility should be shared. Investors can't be immune to risk. They invest in Spanish banks and exposed themselves. Their gamble went wrong and instead of them coping with the results, the Spanish state is being sold part by part.
B: Well, that's what Spain (and others) did to Argentina years ago...and the Spanish left didn't even blink...
A: In fact the left here doesn't exist. It's a mere third way.
B: At least Germans are coherent.
A: The pace of changes is brutal. It will take here 2 years to destroy here the welfare state, the same kind of destruction that took you (Israel) 20 years.
B: I tell you again that the life of Argentinians was destroyed much faster, they didn't even have the support, even if virtual, of something like the EU or anyone in the world that could care that they were going down.
A: True. Many times I tell to my Argentinian acquaintances that their past is our future.
B: Other countries in the world were destroyed in months in civil wars and nobody cared. And the Spanish left...what did it do for the Greek people?

An important clarification. I truly believe that people and governments should be the first responsibles for their own deeds and not blame others. There is no redemption for a society which doesn't take responsibility and take bold steps to amend what's wrong internally. Whether the amendment should be brutal austerity or ultra-capitalist changes is debatable. Since economics isn't an exact science, there isn't one formula.

On the ideological level, people who didn't show any empathy and didn't reach out to others shouldn't be surprised when no one shows empathy and doesn't reach out to them.

The failure of the left is global. Instead of establishing a moral stand in hard times, it spent its time on other things and now when the bad times come to their step door people start whining. It didn't rally for people who lost everything, it didn't rally for millions of peoples massacred worldwide, it didn't manifest for human rights in dictatorships. It always opted for fashionable causes.

And no, my left wing party isn't any better.

Workers of the world, show compassion to others! (even when your own middle-class-stomach is full)

Doubts in UK and USA: Two articles worth reading and contemplating

Food for thought. Not everything is comparable world wide, but it is certainly cheering  me up that people think, doubt and analyze.

UK, The Telegraph: I'm starting to think that the Left might actually be right

USA, The Wall Street Journal: Why Americans Are So Angry

 

 

Why in English

We got several comments asking why are we writing in English, which is neither Jaun's nor mine mother tounge.

Well, that's a simple one. English is the current lingua franca and we'd like this evolving discussion to be available to as many people as possible. We believe the left has left people all over the world, and this is our way to communicate worldwide and try to break these boundaries.

We are still sad that this may make the texts unavailable to some Spanish and Hebrew speakers, but currently we don't have the resources to maintain this humble blog in more than one language.

Cheers,

Dario

Yes, We Hate!

It burns in our bones - we feel justice is a must and there must be a way to achieve it. But...we know not how as we don’t believe it is religion or god who’ll bring it.
We desire to clearly see the evil and differ it from the innocent. And when we think we do see the evil, ho....we hate it! Hate makes us feel pure but also blind to reality. Nothing matters once we set a clear path lighten by our righteous hate. Once we hit the road, nothing matters where it is taking us to.
For the practicing leftist today’s world is very confusing. Once we knew the proletarians needed to be saved and we had to hate their pig capitalist oppressors. Now the proletarians just want Nike and Coca Cola (OK, you’re right – they also want McDonald's). They want their own house and not to die for the cause of a just world (well, they never did). The 'oppressors' are cherishing plural systems, which in an akward way give a slightly fair chance to everyone. The left did a very good job convincing people that they deserve living a better life – So no wonder they don’t want to fight. They want to live.
So where does it leave us, the just-world-mongers? One step at a time we managed to create a new set of coordinates for our path. We pointed out the multi national brands and corps, the globalization and the USA among others (did I say Israel?). Yes we hate!
Note, I didn’t say ‘Yes we can!’ – Not only because ‘true’ leftists tend to see Obama (as they did with Tony Blair when he was first elected) as an extension of the system they detest – but since leftist offer nothing constructive nowadays.
The fresh winds of change and a new world once generated by the world’s left turned to smell like the rotten body of an old red lady. Is it the smell of an already defunct ideology?