The Atlantic Scores Again: American Left and Centrists Can Learn from French Progressives and Centrists.

Read this story from the Atlantic’s Thomas Chatterton Williams about what happened this July in France when problems with a growing Far Right movement (think anti-immigrant, pro-business, smaller-government, but much more complex than that) threatened everything.

France, at first, floundered. Then it didn’t. It woke up and worked together. Note: I rarely talk about my own politics because I’m a small-time novelist and English professor, who deeply wants to make my students work for their own thinking, not give them mine.

And yet, here’s something I’ll give everyone for FREE: extremes in a political spectrum, both far left and far right are not helpful/positive to most people. Far right politicians are extreme conservatives, who are often anti-immigrant, suspicious of government, and too friendly with big businesses (they are sometimes so pro-business to the point where they’re generally okay with Henry Fords, Elon Musks, and other unnamed rich white men squeezing the middle class smaller to extract more wealth from them – and sometimes, far-right people are okay with those rich white men controlling more/having more political power).

Far left politicians are often distrustful of businesses and capitalism, sometimes too focused on reducing rights to property, or are hyper-focused on small issues like climate change or cruelty in animal industries, and sometime too dependent on regulation to inhibit businesses, but too focused on individual rights like legalizing all drugs, (and sometimes that hyper-focus on niche rights or issues can put large industries out of business, causing a soft economy, job loss, and broader economic issues).

My first suggestion to people wanting to better understand why extremes aren’t the best choices for politicians is to tell people to listen (to a variety of different voices), to read more (from people who think differently from them), and to try to imagine life from other perspectives. This can develop empathy for “other sides”. For example, people arguing that we must close the border and severely limit immigrants coming into the US are often surprised by immigrant stories (the violence people flee, the taxes they pay, the pure goals of providing for their children they have). It doesn’t change the issues of a more open border but it at least helps stop people from dehumanizing immigrants. There are actually plenty of great ideas and great points on many sides (of plenty issues).

Some of the conversations happening at the extremes can be fascinating… but unrealistic. Switching to only green energy! Yes! But how? Hmmm. Abolishing public schools so I don’t have to pay for other people’s kids! That may sound interesting, but what would the results be? Look closer at who will definitely be able to afford the good schools still and who won’t. Totally unrealistic, and not the America anyone wants. It is cruel, especially to lower income families who would then almost certainly never be able to get out of poverty.

This Atlantic story about France is inspiring – another strong democracy can wake itself up to avoid extremes. Can the United States?

STEP ONE: READ/LISTEN/GROW. Set aside at least 5 minutes per day at least four days per week to answer some questions you have through unbiased sources. Wikipedia is okay. Fox or MSNBC are not exactly. In fact, start looking for news stories that are designed to make you angry or ticked off. THAT IS MANIPULATION. Sometimes there’s also propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation there too.

STEP ONE B: keep finding more sources you can trust, like the Atlantic above, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and plenty of others.

Note: anyone who tells you not to trust any media but them is lying to you. Don’t automatically trust any media at all (including me). Let them build up trust and use Reagan’s often used maxim: “Trust but Verify” to check other sources too.

STEP TWO: identify your VALUES. Not your party, your values. Sometimes a party veers away from their own stated values (and yours).

STEP THREE: VOTE. if you don’t vote, your voice matters less. Use that power or someone else will. Or someone might take that power away.

(STEP FOUR): Take breaks, but don’t ever stop reading and growing. Build up your vocabulary, your ability to express yourself to people of all backgrounds, and build up your resilience/stamina to stick with stories and topics and solutions. We as a country need good ideas.

Step up or other people might put you to sleep and take your place away.