Pardon me for delurking from my South Louisiana perch and bringing my penny s worth to this Battle Royalle...but being someone who is of the Left, a Secularist" and yet someone who acknowledges the importance of spirituality And belief to any progressive movement, as well as being a sex radical who Has more than his share of problems with most establishment religions due Mostly to their reactionary sexual and gender-based discrimination, I Believe that I may have something to contribute to the debate.
Not that I want to get in between Yoshie's cheerleading for her Persian Prince Ahmedinejad and the innately revolutionary power of right-wing Populist Islam, and Chuck's blasts about how religion as a whole is merely An opiate for fools....but there are people like me who are in the middle Between these two extreme (at least to me) positions.
I see no problem whatsoever with leftists who happen to base their beliefs On matters of spirituality and faith....as long as they are willing and able
To accept that others may not be so willing to agree with them, and that They accept the rights of people whose personal practices may not follow Their own political or religious doctrine.
My issue, however, is how far should we as "The Left" go to embrace and Engage people of faith (whatever faith they may follow), and how that Affects our general beliefs in social and economic equality and Self-autonomy.....not to mention, grave issues of social justice.
It's one thing to condemn Western elitism for its role in both economic and Cultural imperialism against other peoples and countries; but can we say That religions so fundamentally conservative and socially and sexually Reactionary as Islam or Christianity can be negotiated as somehow more Progressive and radical?? I would agree that one of the main failures of Most "secular" liberal and leftist movements is the failure to acknowledge Their roles in reinforcing both colonialism and cultural imperialism, and That the present backlash and resurgence of populist fundamentalist Islam in
The Arab world is a direct response to the vacuum created by that crisis.
But, where I would separate myself from Yoshie's analysis is that I would Not go so far as to see the response as nearly as radical and progressive as
She does. Considering the nature in which Ahmedinejad took power in Iran (by elections as questionable in legality as the 2000 and 2004 elections in The US), and considering his policies in eliminating not just political Dissent but also even social radicalism that doesn't match his own Fundamentalist Islamic ideology (and I won't even bring up the attacks on Homosexuals and feminists), it would be hard pressed on my account to see Him as anything other than a right-wing populist who is taking full Advantage of (if not directly exploiting to his own advantage) the excesses And extremes of US/Israeli actions against Arabs/Muslims in the Middle East/South Asia.
That doesn't imply by any means that he should be overthrown by the US or Invaded by Israel just to topple him; it only says that he is only the best Of a bad situation, and that he is not necessarily the kind of person to be Looked on as a "radical Left" leader.
By the same token, having been raised in and overcome a mostly conservative Family of faith (mostly Catholic, with a few of my relatives gone over to More charismatic evangelical faiths), I'm not so sure that I can dismiss Religious people as strongly as Chuck does....though, my views as a pro-sex Radical and a feminist sympathizer would probably taint my personal views About religion per se. I just happen to believe that merely pandering to Conservative religious people just because they may occasionally speak to a Progressive" issue like the minimum wage or ending the war in Iraq could be Either a positive means of expansion or a dangerous weakening of principles,
Depending on how it is executed.
Personally, I'd much rather that Leftists use their basic principles of Equality, justice, and fairness to sell themselves against the proven record
Of the Center and the Right...and if they manage to knock some sense into The brains of a conservative or two or a hundred, then more power to them. Merely aping conservative populists just won't cut it in my book.... Especially if it leaves certain groups of people behind to be sacrificed for
The good of "the revolution".
I know I'm rambling a bit and I apologize...but that's how I feel. Do with It what you will...or don't.
Anthony Kennerson http://redgarterclubwebsite.com http://redgarterclubwebsite.com/SmackChron_Blog/index.php