The Intellectual Dystopia: How Progressivism Lost Its Way

The Descent of Progress: From Sanders to the Watermelon Freaks

When future historians chronicle the progressive era, Bernie Sanders' campaign will surely merit the opening chapter, while the Watermelon Freaks will cap the tale with a befittingly absurd denouement. What began as a commendable endeavor advocating for universal healthcare and the equitable treatment of minorities morphed into a grotesque parody of its noble origins.

Our movement, initially earnest and well-meaning, tragically lacked the foresight to temper our more outlandish propositions. Over the years, our rhetoric has strayed further from rational discourse. Consider the rallying cry to abolish the police—a concept so disconnected from practicality that it exemplifies our descent into folly. Worse, when corrupt Black Lives Matter leaders embezzled $30 million in George Floyd's name, our collective response was a deafening silence, paralyzed by the fear of appearing racist. Similarly, the absurdity of self-identifying gender, leading to biological men in women's locker rooms, became another blind spot we dared not address.

In the face of such lunacy, credible voices among progressives, myself included, found ourselves socially coerced into silence. Like a dementia patient losing grip on reality, our movement drifted ever farther from its moorings. We devolved into easy targets, eschewing critical examination of our beliefs, certain that debate was unnecessary. Inevitably, this left us vulnerable to manipulation by a conman.

This conman, funded by Qatar, Russia, and China, exploited legitimate critiques of war to incite a virulent domestic anti-Semitism. They forged alliances with Islamists, pushing the fallacy that self-destruction was the panacea for our woes. Our culture became so twisted that actual self-immolation was lauded as a virtue among progressives.

A relentless tide of social media zealots spewed unchallenged vitriol against Jews, until the public's tolerance snapped. Saner minds are now abandoning ship while true believers continue to fiddle as the Titanic sinks.

The malignancy within is terminal. Though progressive policy ideas retain their value, their current proponents have discredited them. These ideas must await a new, intellectually honest vehicle.

Addressing our critical failures could reverse this decline, though such a prospect seems increasingly unrealistic given the current embrace of extremism:

1. “Cannibalistic Culture”: The progressive movement has become joyless and oppressive. It is a culture of perpetual scrutiny, where any deviation from orthodoxy invites fierce censure. The progressive brand is now synonymous with moral policing rather than social justice.

2. Futile Identity Politics: While I firmly believe in addressing structural oppression against women, people of color, and LGB individuals, progressives offer only performative solutions.

By fixating on identity and incentivizing victimhood, we've cultivated a toxic environment where even the absurd becomes plausible. Straight individuals claiming demisexuality to gain marginalized status epitomize this dysfunction.

3. “Stifling Intellectual Inquiry”: The most pernicious flaw in our movement is the inability to challenge ideas without moral retribution. The California law permitting 'F' on driver’s licenses allowed a sexual predator to exploit women's spaces, yet we can't discuss this policy's flaws openly. How can we hope to lead if we cannot critically evaluate our policies?

Is it feasible for the progressive movement to reflect on and reform along these lines? I remain skeptical. The prevailing insanity seems likely to persist. Yet, if these issues were addressed, I would gladly return to the fold, convinced that policies like universal healthcare are fundamentally sound.