This was originally a reply to this post
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8672422But since the author liked my response, I will post it here. It is about the fact that we cannot do any good making this a more caring nation until we actually show some empathy for out fellow leftists, or in other words, walk in their shoes.
Yes, our Republican enemies have one advantage, since they are a lot more alike then we are, they have the ability to wear a regulation combat boot, train while wearing these boots, and fight in them.
Now, let me say this once, twice ad infinitum. NO I DO NOT WANT TO BECOME MORE LIKE THEM! I like the fact that we disagree and have have DISCUSSIONS about what we want and how to get it. Of course, here lies the problem, we are so hateful of the idea of discussions that we will flat out refuse to put on any shoe, much less a boot! It's not that we wear sandals to the fight, it's that we spend so much time arguing about what to wear and throwing shoes at each other (in the Iraqi reporter sense) that the GOP knows they have the fight half won by the time they get there!
Now, all sides of the Democrats are responsible.
1)We have the "Blue Dogs/DLC" here dislike the left as much as the right, namely because while they do not think the Right wing is smart enough to hurt them (itself a dangerous flaw exploited many times), they do think the far left is. Sadly, they do tend to have many of the same fears as their GOP friends do. They get scared of all those immigrants, they think Israel gets a bum rap, etc. If you point out that they are acting like the GOP, they say "but I am NOT a bigot!: and also that they can somehow control the damage and harness the energy. Theses folks want to wear penny loafers, or whatever goes with a pantsuit.
2)We have the farther left, aka the "Dean/Kucinich in 2012!" crowd. They are the soul of the party, to be sure, but, they have one weakness. Many times, they get arrogant, and when asked how they actually plan to get things DONE, they hurl insults, and accuse you of being a sellout/scumbag. They get angry when you tell them that they have to actually sell ideas to John and Jane Q Public, and that no, these ideas are not so "Obvious" that they still need to explain them. Single Payer is an example, because when the Blue Dog say something like "well, even Germany and France are not single payer!" out comes the rotten tomatoes. They want to wear Sneakers no matter what or where!
3)We have the far left, aka "Nader 2012!" These folks in some ways are noble, because unlike everyone else, they are honest about being leftist. They just think a stronger does is needed. However, to an even worse degree than group 2, they have NO concerns about practical concerns, and indeed are enamored of many ideas of Marxism. These folks will tell you that Stalin and Mao were never real Marxists, but in the same breath scream "property is theft" and wonder why middle class people who have already had much taken from them get scared. These folks want to wear sandals because they anticipate the end of modern civilization, and want to be prepared for the golden age where everybody is back living off organic farming, despite the fact that many would starve if that was tried.
Now, ALL of these factions have some good points, and all of them have some bad ones. NONE of these camps have so many right answers that they can cop the self-righteous attitude they all do. We do not want them all agreeing, because each has a PART of the solution. The GOP only has to destroy, indeed, at this stage, that is ALL it can do, so they can cajole everyone into lacing boots.
What we need is to realize that as much as we disagree with our fellow leftists, even our worst enemies among them have more in common with us than any GOP "friend." It is not a mater of adopting a single shoe to wear, it is a matter of making sure we stop stepping on each other's feet. Some people will need to wear bad ass doc martens, for some good old fashioned street fights (cue Rolling Stone's "Street Fighting Man, or the RATM update). Some people, will need subtle, ninja shoes, to sneak into places that would not normally let a leftist near them. Some do need sneakers, for all the walking, some need loafers, to look sharp when the occasion needs suits. The point is, we need to STOP throwing shoes at each other, walk TOGETHER, and yes, realize that the other fellow does have a point.
an example: The DLC person may says "We are not ready for single payer!" The Dean crowd says "If we do not get at least a serious public option, we are screwed!" and finally the Nader type says "I can help you get a strong public option, but we need to keep single payer alive, especially since one the idiot masses try socialism, they will like it!"
In contrast, we have the DLC putting on Ninja shoes to sneak away from the Public Option, we have the Dean/Kucinich crowd ducking the shoes thrown at them by both left and right, and last, we have the Naderites willing to kick and stomp anything that is not all of what they want, exactly how they want.