You’ve probably noticed I use the term ‘Leftist’ more than I do ‘Liberal’ in my posts. There’s a deliberate reason why. Most Conservatives cannot communicate their ideas clearly, so it probably seems like these are identical philosophies. What’s the difference you ask? Aren’t those the same thing?
The answer is ‘No,’ absolutely not.
Here’s the clearest example I can give as to why these are two different ideologies. Let’s use what I call, “The Firefighter Example.”
A few decades ago the city of Boston decided their Fire Department needed more diversity and inclusion. At the time it wasn’t called that. It was called desegregation and affirmative action. Blacks had been unfairly excluded from applying for Firefighter positions due to discriminatory hiring practices based on Race. Something Liberals opposed. And rightly so. But there was also an outcry at the lack of women on the force. In the ’60s and ’70s, most major American cities had exactly zero women working as professional Firefighters. The Feminists of the day labeled this clear-cut sexist discrimination.
To become a Firefighter, an individual had to pass a strict and arduous Physical Exam. It was extremely demanding. This involved taking part in a simulated 10-hour work day. Teams of four recruits were required to lower 260-pound ladders while others hauled 85-pound bundles of firehose. Each had to take turns climbing a ladder with heavy equipment strapped to their backs including an oxygen tank, a chainsaw, and a 35-pound box fan. They were also required to hoist a 55-pound ladder as well as take the dreaded, “Stairs Test” in which a recruit had to climb up several flights of stairs wearing a 75-pound weighted vest while a proctor timed him. According to Government data, it had a 99% to 100% failure rate for all female recruits involved. So it was deemed discriminatory.
But here’s the problem with this criticism, the Firefighter’s Physical Exam was not designed to exclude Women from becoming firefighters. It was designed to EXCLUDE MEN who were physically unable to do the job from entering the force.
Keep in mind; this test sounds like a brutal workout, one that would be exhausting at any gym. I am 6’3, and 225 pounds and I’m not ashamed to admit I could not pass this. But a trained Firefighter has to do all this within a burning building! The interior heat of which would be unbearable. Making a physically exhausting job all the more grueling. These men train for real life and death situations. Fighting fires is a serious business with absolutely no room for error. Make a mistake while fighting a fire and you are dead. Simple as that. There is also a high probability you’ll cause the death or deaths of your comrades.
It’s a relatively simple concept to grasp. That is unless you’re a Leftist. For them, reality is a nuisance, and the safety of other human beings takes a back seat to ideology. They are zealots for whom political dogma trumps reality and real-world concerns. Politics supersedes EVERYTHING. Leftists see life as a box of crayons, containing an equal number of each color. NO MATTER what the situation is.
The Liberal Position is this;
If a Black woman passes the Physical Exam with an ‘A,’ then she should be hired as a firefighter because she proved she’s qualified to do the job. Plain and simple. What’s fair is fair. There should be no special treatment.
The Leftist Position is this;
If a Black woman takes the Physical Exam and fails, it doesn’t matter. And the magnitude of failure is irrelevant as well. Failing with a mediocre grade like C+ or a catastrophic F- is meaningless. There are no justifiable criteria for failure. You hire the Black woman to be a firefighter just because you do not have a Black woman on the force. The fact she might be 5’1 and weigh 92lbs is irrelevant. If a Gay, Hispanic man takes the test and fails as well, it’s irrelevant. You hire him to fill the quota. The same goes for an Asian man who can’t do twenty push-ups without being severely winded. It’s the Box of Crayons Principle.
Leftists see this as forward-thinking and compassionate thought. It is anything but. Anyone who points out the obvious flaws is immediately labeled an “Idiot.” A firefighter who is 5’1 and underweight will in all likelihood die while on the job. With a high probability of losing the life of someone they were trying to rescue in the process, leading people to ask the inevitable question, “Why was this person even on the force? It makes no sense!” Probably while attending their funeral.
Liberals wanted someone who could do the job and prove it to have a fair chance. An excellent example of this is the Tuskegee Airmen. During the Second World War, Black pilots wanted an opportunity to prove themselves in combat without any special treatment. They underwent rigorous training, and only the best were accepted. Back then there was something called, “Standards.” A nausea-inducing word for Leftist. You had to pass a strict regime or wash out of the Air Core. The Black pilots who passed were accepted into the Force and eventually allowed to fly combat missions. They ended up highly decorated for their bravery and heroism.
While citing the Tuskegee Airmen as a shining example of what “Diversity” can do, today’s Leftist would NEVER TOLERATE the standards and training required of these men. They would fight for the “rights” of the near-sighted and those suffering from vertigo to join the Air Force. Mediocrity being the name of their game. The highly trained pilots of that era had a very short lifespan once they got into actual combat. Anyone who didn’t make the cut and was let in under lower standards would be killed almost immediately. Another shining example of “Progressive Thinking.”
Leftists are severely cut off from reality (just in case you’re wondering why Communism never works). To them, real-world circumstances are details you never take into account. In fact, you ignore them altogether. They are a nuisance, nothing more.
Here’s the best part.
Morale at Fire Stations tends to drop after all this crap takes effect. Fire-related deaths begin to skyrocket in any city they control, provoking Leftist administrations to “form a committee” to study why this is happening. The committee has a budget of $20 million to begin its investigation (why that would cost $20 million is beyond me). That budget quickly balloons to $45 million. Not once are lower standards ever blamed. Or the low morale of seasoned fighters, or the number leaving the force. Or the lack of suitable recruits applying because the job has become far too dangerous because of ignored safety standards.
Being a Firefighter isn’t like being a Car Salesman or a Preschool Teacher or an Accountant. In those jobs making a mistake doesn’t result in injury or loss of life. Having Affirmative Action in those professions is one thing. Having it for any emergency first responder is lunacy.
Or an airline pilot. You don’t hire an airline pilot because he or she is black. You hire one because they have over a thousand hours of flight time and critical experience.
To a Leftist, everything I just said is, “Completely Idiotic!”
Not because I didn’t make sense but because I went against their ideology or “The Faith” as I call it. Faith in The Holy Church of Mediocracy and Banality. A crime for which there is NO forgiveness.
For the Leftist, political ideology supersedes reality. Even at the cost of Human Life.