I Didn't Leave the Left, It Left Me

A powerful condemnation of the Left from the Guardian.

"Consistent anti-fascism added enormously to the left's prestige in the second half of the 20th century. A halo of moral superiority hovered over it because if there was a campaign against racism, religious fanaticism or neo-Nazism, the odds were that its leaders would be men and women of the left. For all the atrocities and follies committed in its name, the left possessed this virtue: it would stand firm against fascism. After the Iraq war, I don't believe that a fair-minded outsider could say it does that any more."

What made me liberal...when I came of age to decide for myself rather than just follow my parents...was a passionate hatred for bossiness, bullies, and certitude - qualities I saw in the Right more than the Left. In political-speak I hated totalitarianism, I hated Fascists, I hated tyrants. And I that's what I thought the Left stood for.

Imagine my sadness the day Leftists poured out onto the streets of San Francisco, right in front of me, to protest the removal of a Fascist Dictator? And to learn they were joined by millions in London and Paris.

And now I have to degrade myself by defending a guy like George Bush...