ThirstyFish

This photo was taken at the 9th Street Italian Market a month before the elections. I have no clue about the cover-up this gentleman is talking about, and God bless him for practicing his First Amendment rights, but my disdain for politics has reached an all time high.

In politics, the difference between right-wing and left-wing lies in the outlook or position towards social equality and social hierarchy. The right-wing accepts or supports social hierarchy and social inequality, whereas the left-wing opposes these.

Most people do not understand the concept of social equality. It refers to "equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, property rights, and equal access to social goods and services ... also concepts of economic equity, access to education, health care and other social securities ... equal opportunities and obligations". Social equality implies "equal opportunities" rather than redistribution of wealth.

In a democracy, one would think that right-wing ideology is essentially flawed, for, if the majority is disadvantaged, there would be a push toward social equality. To overcome this flaw, right-wing politics relies on populist rhetoric, nationalism, traditionalism, and religion. Most political scientist would agree that the left-wing base is generally more informed that the right-wing base.

A relatively new phenomenon is the disturbing trend of left-wing politicians using the liberal "I feel your pain" language while outdoing their right-wing peers in legislating social inequality. In better words, serving the upper-class. President Bill Clinton was the one that repealed the Glass-Steagall Act which led to the ongoing financial crisis. President Barack Obama repeatedly failed to prosecute banks who are involved in a myriad of crimes, from mortgage fraud and manipulating interests rates to laundering drug money. Obama also signed the 2012, and 2013 NDAA bills which "allow the military to indefinitely detain American citizens".

These days, the difference between left and right-wing politics is so small that the only distinction is in the language used in rhetoric. It's a waste of time to be defending any "wing".

Song of the Day: Soldier Of Fortune [Unplugged] - David Coverdale (1997)