the iron horse
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Is It Possible to Discuss Issues with the Left?
Is it possible to discuss issues with a person on the left. I am using the term LEFT not a LIBERAL. For example, President John Kennedy was a liberal, but he was not on the left.
To start, here is a commentary of the song and the band performing live:
The song takes a look at those who vehemently criticize the government, and questions whether the alternatives they propose (if they actually have any) are truly any better than what they are criticizing. This especially rings true about the 60's "revolutionary" period, but can still ring true with some people today (think: those politically-active activist college students you know/knew and who are always going to rallies and protests, who apparently think that the government can do no right, and honestly think that they hold all the answers to their society's problems).
It seems like John is acknowledging that the world no doubt has a lot of problems, and that there is always some need for change and progress to fix them. And it's okay to be passionate about such things, as long as you maintain perspective and stay true to what you preach (i.e. actually living up to your stated ideals of peace, nonviolence, tolerance, open-mindedness, etc.) But when you become radical and intolerant, and begin advocating violence as a solution, then you become just as bad as the system you're protesting again.
What's more, if you become radical, you're also a hypocrite. Protestors preach the virtues of love and harmony, and then go on to advocate violence against their fellow man (those in the government). They speak highly of peace and freedom, and then go on to fly the banners of murderous, totalitarian tyrants like Mao Zedong or Che Guevara. How do such contradictions make any sense? They don't.
As soon as you let your righteous indignation over legitimate grievances degenerate into blind hatred of your opponents, you lose all credibility. A "revolution" driven by such a mentality does not improve society, as it was supposedly intended to do. It simply replaces one tyranny with another.
~ The Seeker
Is it possible to discuss issues with a person on the left. I am using the term LEFT not a LIBERAL. For example, President John Kennedy was a liberal, but he was not on the left.
To start, here is a commentary of the song and the band performing live:
The song takes a look at those who vehemently criticize the government, and questions whether the alternatives they propose (if they actually have any) are truly any better than what they are criticizing. This especially rings true about the 60's "revolutionary" period, but can still ring true with some people today (think: those politically-active activist college students you know/knew and who are always going to rallies and protests, who apparently think that the government can do no right, and honestly think that they hold all the answers to their society's problems).
It seems like John is acknowledging that the world no doubt has a lot of problems, and that there is always some need for change and progress to fix them. And it's okay to be passionate about such things, as long as you maintain perspective and stay true to what you preach (i.e. actually living up to your stated ideals of peace, nonviolence, tolerance, open-mindedness, etc.) But when you become radical and intolerant, and begin advocating violence as a solution, then you become just as bad as the system you're protesting again.
What's more, if you become radical, you're also a hypocrite. Protestors preach the virtues of love and harmony, and then go on to advocate violence against their fellow man (those in the government). They speak highly of peace and freedom, and then go on to fly the banners of murderous, totalitarian tyrants like Mao Zedong or Che Guevara. How do such contradictions make any sense? They don't.
As soon as you let your righteous indignation over legitimate grievances degenerate into blind hatred of your opponents, you lose all credibility. A "revolution" driven by such a mentality does not improve society, as it was supposedly intended to do. It simply replaces one tyranny with another.
~ The Seeker
