Recently, the great innovator/billionaire/entrepreneur Elon Musk plopped down over $44 billion big ones to purchase Twitter. This has made a lot of people who espouse “free speech” happy, apparently because they believe he will restore that famous commodity once he takes control of the social media giant.
Curiously, different people are claiming Musk as their own in wildly contradictive stances. Right-wing conservatives applaud him because they anticipate that he will reinstate former president Donald Trump’s Twitter account. Left-wing observers also applaud Musk, thinking he will champion their rights.
This is confusing; free speech is not a left-wing or right-wing issue, it is an American Constitutional issue, but not necessarily from a private enterprise standpoint! Musk’s actions have stirred a firestorm of controversy surrounding the notions of “leftists,” “rightists,” and “freedoms.”
Ultimately, everything in our known 3-dimensional universe can be broken into three main components: left, right, or center. The triangle is ubiquitous in logos of corporations, which harken back to the notion of the “trinity.” This can also be found in one way or another in many religions.
The human biological system is also divided in this manner. The right ear and left ear of the human physical anatomy result in stereophonic, or blended sound; the two eyes blend to create a third visage point. To test that out, close one eye and observe an object, and then close the opposite eye while opening the previously closed eye and watch the object appear to move its position.
The totality of observation requires two vantage points that result in a composite (third) point. The key here is that no one point is the truth in itself; there is always a blended reality.
This last point is crucial for the lives of Americans, and especially for African Americans. We are all dependent upon the synthesis of opposing viewpoints in an attempt to perceive what we call “truth.”
With that said, let’s examine what is meant in politics when a person is identified as left-wing, right-wing, or neutral. One definition of “left wing” is “the liberal, socialist, or radical section of a political party or system.” A definition of “right wing” is “the conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system.” Pundits often conclude that there is actually no such thing as a “neutral” stance in politics, i.e., that everyone can be found somewhere on the left or the right.
If we look more closely at the operative words in each definition, it will give clues to the actual psychological mindset behind the words.
In the left-wing definition, when we say “liberal,” we’re citing “willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas.” In a political context: “relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.”
The operative word in the right-wing definition is “conservative” which means “averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values.” In a political context: “favoring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas.”
When we juxtapose the ideas of the “left” and “right” certain points become obvious. The common denominator of BOTH is the quest for “free enterprise.”
What is problematic for Black Americans, however, is that the embrace of “conservatism” is the idea of wanting to keep things as they have always been. For Blacks that means wanting to maintain the system of slavery, Jim Crow, and oppression. In this regard, African Americans would never, ever reach real parity in America, because, as it stands, it was never an objective for Black people when viewed from a conservative viewpoint!
The issue of right, left, and center can boil down to this: the left wants personal freedoms, the right wants the status quo, and centrists are in the mythical middle.
According to the New York Post, Elon Musk has said that he is liberal, but “woke progressive” extremists make him look right-wing. If so, it will be interesting to see how this plays out on his Twitter platform, and how Black people will be impacted. Free enterprise is one possibility, since both conservatives AND liberals desire it. What is certain is that either the right, or the left, will be disappointed unless Musk is truly a centrist! A Luta Continua!
Reprinted from the Chicago Crusader
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