What causes some Leftists to repent and change their anti-American thinking?

Question

Thousands of former leftists in the US have been repelled by the crimes of Stalin, Mao, Castro, etc and shed their 'progressive' worldviews for a wiser, more rational and often, more conservative philosophy

Several courageous leftists even described and condemned the knee-jerk anti-American reaction of many of their fellow travelers to the 9-11 attacks

One philosopher, social critic and lifelong Democratic socialist, Michael Walzer even produced a piece entitled, "Can There Be a Decent Left?"

"Many left intellectuals live in America like internal aliens, refusing to identify with their fellow citizens, regarding any hint of patriot feeling as politically incorrect," Walzer writes. "That's why they had such difficulty responding emotionally to the attacks of Sept. 11 or joining in the expression of solidarity that followed." In their first responses, he notes, leftists failed "to register the horror of the attack or to acknowledge the human pain it caused." Instead, they felt "schadenfreude," that German word meaning joy at another's sorrows, a "barely concealed glee that the imperial state had finally gotten what it deserved."

http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=740

Answer 1

Great question!
What happens is, they are indoctrinated into what I call a "cult of indiscriminateness." The way the elite does this is by teaching our children, start­ing with the very young, that rational and moral thought is an act of bigotry; that no matter how sin­cerely you may seek to gather the facts, no matter how earnestly you may look at the evidence, no matter how disciplined you may try to be in your reasoning, your conclusion is going to be so tainted by your personal bigotries, by your upbringing, by your religion, by the color of your skin, by the nation of your great-great-great-great-great grandfa­ther's birth; that no matter what your conclusion, it is useless. It is nothing other than the reflection of your bigotries, and the only way to eliminate bigot­ry is to eliminate rational thought.

Answer 2

I would imagine that it has something to do with being labeled a "terrorist," "commie pig," or something else. It seems that since the days of Reagan, the idea of socialism has gone by the wayside. When we have a president that is an actor, acting the role of president, he can say just about anything to convince the people, and get away with it. Such was Reagan's case.

"The Fall" of Communism could also have had something to do with this. When the USSR wasted much of its power and resources in a war with Afghanistan, they were doomed. Though many in the US take credit for this, it is more than likely that the USSR fell due to its using more and more of its resources on this war, than anything else.

I do not know if, as Walzer writes, leftists were gleeful that the imperial state got what it deserved, but rather, many left-leaning people questioned the story that was being purveyed by the mainstream media, and the administration.

Maybe these leftists changed their thinking because Stalin, and the rest were flawed, and did not comply to completely to the teachings of Karl Marx, but were changed to suit the situations in each country.

One would surmise that many 'leftists' are afraid of coming forth as such, because of the Patriot Act, and the use of rendition, torture, and other extreme measures currently used by the Bush administration.

Answer 3

Why? let's see I can think of several reasons.One...they actually spoke to the Mexican neighbor and found out that yes they really ARE just as repellent as Rightists say.Two maybe they heard an Iranian shout"HAKKAMA HAKKAMA HAKKAMA DEATH TO AMERICA NOW I MUST GO SCREW A GOAT" one too many times.Three,maybe it took them this long after hearing Al Sharptons 45,753rd Racist Rant to figure out most Leftist are Morons.Four Maybe they actually WENT to The People's Republic Of China and saw 5.5 Million teeny little geezers with chopsticks running around screaming "God Bless Uncle Mao's Left Titty" and didn't like it.Five Maybe the fact that Fidel Castro's face when he is smoking a Cigar really does like like Lassie taking a sh-it turns them off.Sixth maybe they saw Team America world Police and were offended because they know Kim Jong Il ain't really that kool.Seventh maybe they listened to the Beatles song Back In the U.S.S.R. one too many times.Eighth maybe they realized "Hey if Communism was such a Great System....Why did it collapse???"Ninth How many Politburo Members really can dance on the head of a Lenin Pin?And FINALLY Tenth and Most Importantly WHO GIVES A DRIZZLY **** ABOUT COMMUNISTS ANYWAY!!!!!

Answer 4

So the extreme left has Communism and the extreme right has fascism ... you try to talk about one side of it and connect it to the Democrats here in the US.. that is just incorrect. If you really think any of our take care of the people and hug a tree Democrats are like Stalin .. I'd have to laugh.. when was the last time someone killed millions of people using secret police by trying to get universal health care?.. yeah.. doesn't make a lick of sense does it. That's like saying Bush is Hitler and so are the Republicans. Granted I'm not a fan of his policy.. but last time I checked he didn't invest in the systematic and intentional anhialation of an entire race.

Answer 5

perhaps your question contains the answer... repent
religious underpinnings are central to neocon ideology. It is the basis of their world view. A book containing fairy tales is where a neocons roots run deepest. Perhaps the lefties that convert have a religious experience.
The right has its champions of death and destruction as well. Bush set off what most people saw as some amazing fireworks a sanitized version of shock and awe is all we saw.
Did neocons have this schadenfreude while watching this?
Perhaps people were impressed at 9/11's fantastic explosions and building collapses all I thought of that day were thousands of lives shattered. I heard it on the radio just as I had heard the Challenger explosion.

Answer 6

not sure what you're babbling on about but being anti-PNAC Imperial Americana is not the same as being anti-American.
i know of no American, left or right, who displayed "barely concealed glee" when 9/11 happened. however, i have watched with outraged and dismay as GW Bush and his corrupt neoCON cronies gleefully latched onto the 9/11 tragedy as a justification to make their long planned for war on Iraq and used it as a fear mongering tool to undermine American rights and freedoms. when are you 25 Percenters gonna get a clue that you've been duped, used and abused by the Constitution trashing, war profiteering fascists you voted into the White House?

Answer 7

Being a liberal (leftist) was not always the cesspool that it has become. At one time, we lefties were honorable and had the good of our country in mind.
Now, it seems (at least from listening to the vocal ones) that the leftists are all WAY beyond communist and the rightists are WAY beyond fascism.
What no one is seeming to realize is that with either extreme the resultant government is oppressive, manipulative, totalitarian...a dictatorship.

Extreme left and extreme right are indistinguishable.

go figure.

Answer 8

MANY ON THE LEFT ARE ANTI-AMERICAN HATERS. SOME & IT'S PROBABLY A SMALL NUMBER HAVE CHANGED THERE OPINION. MOST ARE STILL ANT-AMERICAN HOWEVER.

Answer 9

In other words, we should all just be mindless sheep unquestionably eating up the propaganda of our leaders? So much for the American ideals of individuality, free expression, and personal responsibility.

Answer 10

in their first responses, he notes, leftists failed "to register the horror of the attack or to acknowledge the human pain it caused"

What are you? a moron? If leftist failed to do this, as your article claims... than why did Bush have 92% approval ratings when he decided to go to war and oust Osama.

HAHAHA. Bitchslapped.