yes, young republicans are scary

For some reason, exactly four people have sent me this article today. I wonder why it doesn't mention the Everett program, although those perks sure as hell aren't as good. At the same time, though, the left has a generation of leaders too, even if we aren't all doing internships and staying in dorms. So, let's not get too scared...yet...

The funny thing is, all of my friends that are so caught up in looking at the right for an example of how to gain power in so many years keep forgetting some simple differences between the left and the right. First of all, the right kind of wants to take over the world. And to do that, you want to consolidate power. The left wants to make the world a better place, and how the fuck do you do that? Well, there are lots of different conceptions of what a better world would look like and how to get there. See, that's one difference: we don't have a blueprint for what we want to see, but that's not necessarily a weakness, simply a result of valuing nuanced views and an egalitarian society. Could we use a more streamlined vision? Sure. But let's be careful about what we're emulating. Secondly, the right feels perfectly comfortable going in lockstep and explicity brainwashing members; on the foundation level, this is perfectly clear (right wing foundations are incredibly efficient, because their decision making processes aren't as collaborative), the left feels the need to be inclusive to the point of inefficiency. Still, I'd rather value equality than efficiency, and that's what makes me a liberal. Yes, this is a crass analysis, but I also think it's crass to say, "look at how effective these people are at consolidating power". What does it matter if your objectives are in ideological and tactical oppostion? Just a pet peeve of mine.