How Did I Join the “Radical Left?”
Moving to the far left by simply standing still
When I was younger, I was what most people would call a mainstream Democrat. My parents were both New Deal Democrats, coming of age during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt. My dad, the president of the local of United Paperworkers International Union, made had no qualms about talking about how the rich people screw over the middle class and poor people.
My mom came from a strict Polish Catholic family, and it showed in how she treated other people. Her idea of Catholicism, and Christianity in general, was that Christ’s admonition to love your neighbor was paramount. As such, she supported social welfare spending, resented people for whom greed was a sacred personal value, and never hesitated to help someone in need.
My dad was slightly more conservative than my mom was. I always attributed that to being in the Marines in the South Pacific during WWII. Still, he was a union leader and had little good to say about Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, or any other Republican politician. Still, he had reservations about those who were protesting the Vietnam War. It was a war very unlike the one he fought in, but at the time I don’t think he ever understood the politics behind the war. In his mind, you were supposed to do your duty. Nevertheless, whenever…
