I’m seeing a lot of people in preschool on social media proclaiming certain individuals to be on the “right” side of history and others to be on the “wrong” side. Bernie Sanders is on the “right” side of history, because he showed up to a few rallies in the past in support of civil rights. Of course this somehow means he is completely infallible and qualified to be the president in the eyes of certain groups of people. Donald Trump is on the “wrong” side of history, because he says things that go against what we’ve been indoctrinated to believe by an overwhelmingly liberal media. Of course this somehow means that he is “Hitler”, and the worst thing to happen to America in forever.
The truth of the matter is that the “right” side of history is the side that protects the freedoms of of the individual. This just so happens to include the protection of free speech. Anyone who tries to silence someone else whom they disagree with, is the on the wrong side of history. There has never been a time in history I can think of, wherein the “right” side of a conflict actively tried to silence the other. Let’s take the civil rights movements for example. Were blacks trying to silence the white establishment, or was it the other way around? How about the genocide of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis? Were the Jews trying to repress the German’s freedoms, or did the opposite happen?
So when you see anyone, on either side of this political circus trying to block, silence, or shut down the other side, you are witnessing the “wrong” side of history in action. Unfortunately for Bernie Sanders, despite his record of being on the “right” side of history, a nice portion of his groupies are increasingly displaying their propensity for being enemies of free speech. Enemies of free speech are consequently also enemies of freedom and the Constitution. Enemies of… America. (cue patriotic music) As I’ve started time and time again on this site, freedom of speech applies to everybody, not just your side.
Granted, Trump’s supporters also have a tendency to be a bunch of knuckleheads as well, but this just shows that the same harmful mentality tends to follow both of these candidates. They both may be “outsiders” within their own parties, but both continue to represent everything that is wrong with their respective parties. A large portion of these two groups subscribe to that “us vs them” soccer hooligan mentality that has all but caused this country to grind to a halt, and become increasingly divided. “My party is the epitome of everything good and the other party is pure evil!”, exclaimed both parties simultaneously. It’s kind of like watching two obese people argue over which fast food restaurant is healthier. Just realize that you’re both going to die early of heart disease.
As far as the Hitler comparisons go, both parties reflect shades of fascism. Fascism is defined by a belief in one true party, authoritarian control over the individual, and violence as a means of accomplishing an end. As previously mentioned, both of these parties like to fancy themselves as being the “correct” party, while viewing the other as the flawed, incorrect party, rather than seeing themselves as two different varieties of essentially the same thing. Both also love pushing their authoritarianism onto the country; the red controlling what you can do with your body, and the blue dictating what can be said or what is allowed to be owned. Lastly, both tend to attract volatile types, who view violent opposition as an acceptable reaction to those who have differing views.
To wrap this up, neither party is necessarily on the “right” side of history, because the future hasn’t happened yet, and can’t be predicted. You can only tell if somebody was on the right side of history in retrospect. Both parties have been responsible for a wealth of terrible ideas that have had a negative impact on this country. Both parties continually attract individuals who aren’t particularly intelligent, engage in mud-slinging rather than rational discourse, and are easily manipulated into voting against their own best interests. If you’re truly looking to be on the “right” side of history, always take the position of protecting everybody’s freedom of speech. The second you feel it’s alright to silence another individual’s opinion or viewpoint, you’ve officially cemented your position as being on the “wrong” side of history. Now stop shitposting your inane political memes all over social media. Thanks!
