Leftist Values

I’ve seen the argument at the left before, and I find it compelling.

Obviously, there are aspects of academia that are not subject to bias whatsoever.  Regardless of what you believe politically, “should have went” is bad grammar and sodium chloride is salt.

But need we stop there? Can’t we say that virtue is better than vice? Let’s review Aristotle’s 12 virtues:

1) Courage – bravery and valor

2) Temperance – self-control and restraint

3) Liberality – bigheartedness, charity and generosity

4) Magnificence – radiance, joie de vivre

5) Pride – self-satisfaction

6) Honor – respect, reverence, admiration

7) Good Temper – equanimity, level-headedness

8) Friendliness – conviviality and sociability

9) Truthfulness – straightforwardness, frankness and candor

10) Wit – sense of humor, appreciation of absurdity

11) Friendship – camaraderie and companionship

12) Justice – impartiality, evenhandedness and fairness

Perhaps here we start to see some “leftist” values.  Two slam dunks are:

Liberality (bigheartedness, charity, generosity). Liberals don’t want any honest and decent person to suffer hunger, treatable disease or impoverishment.

and

Justice (impartiality, evenhandedness, fairness).  Liberals don’t want a two-tiered justice systems, or, really a two-tiered anything that isn’t based on merit.  MLK said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Liberals like that.

I would go further and say that we can all agree on a great number of things:

• Peace is better than war.

• Love is better than hate.

• Truth is better than lies.

• Science is better than superstition.

• Happiness and comfort are better than grief and misery.

• Health is better than illness.

• Clean water and air is better than pollution.

• Sustainability is better than forcing future generations to suffer deprivation.

Is any of this at all controversial?