CommentsTHE DOCTOR IS IN - Once upon a time, L.A. and California were bastions of moderate to conservative citizens who grew their region and state with the understandings of political and forward-thinking paradigms that demanded both vision and pragmatism, and both personal opportunities and personal opportunities.
It was that simple.
Once upon a time, bigotry and crime were present (if not rampant, in some cases), but they weren't tolerated. Latino/Hispanic, Black, and Asian Californians suffered cruelty without any doubt at the hands of white bigots (even "liberal" whites), but California remained a Golden State of opportunity for individuals of all ethnicities.
It was that simple.
Police were respected, politicians were tolerated but demanded to be more in touch with the citizenry, and L.A. was the shining hope in the West to be better than Chicago and New York.
It was that simple.
Southern California and its suburbs were built based on water and infrastructure, which were mandated as per environmental law and demands for quality of life.
It was that simple.
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY.
Conservatives, moderates, and any liberal with a modicum of self-respect (including those who have the temerity to presume that their hard-earned money and quality of life will remain theirs to keep after fighting for it for decades) are either bailing out of the Golden State, or at least pushing farther south or east to remain ensconced within the state of their birth.
Because they're tired of being pillaged by the Progressive Left.
It is that simple.
There was once a time when JFK Democrats and Eisenhower Republicans stood shoulder to shoulder with conservatives and liberals who didn't and couldn't lose their collective minds about any Far-Right or Far-Left extremism.
It was that that simple.
Now JFK Democrats and Eisenhower Republicans (and their heirs, who STILL exist as a majority of voters, who as adults tend to be MODERATE) are aghast at what the Far Right and Far Left demand for us all...and who are empowered.
It is that simple.
And for this now-blue state, moderate Democrats are aghast, torn, and in anguish at the Trump-dominated GOP and also the Bernie Sanders-dominated Democrats who control this state. How can one realistically scream at the GOP when they're without any significant political power?
It is that simple.
How can anyone scream at the GOP (who must be vilified and vanquished, doncha' know?!) and take it to "The Man" when "The Man" has bailed out of the Golden State, and L.A./S.F. liberals from all parts are taking flight to more conservative regions...not because they're suddenly conservative, but they want to remain in the realm of common sense and adult-level moderate living?
It is that simple.
The Far Right is disempowered...but now the Far Left ("Progressives" as they like to call themselves, and we're forced to call them, because "Extremists", "Socialists", and "Fascists" are names that just aren't in vogue, no matter how accurate those terms might be) control politics and policy with a collective, painful, squeezing iron fist.
It is that simple.
1) L.A.'s Gascon recall effort building steam after SOMEONE voted in that criminal coddling extremist?
L.A. City and County citizens are suddenly realizing they don't need to be pillaged by those hired to defend and carry out the law...it is that simple.
2) S.F.'s District Attorney facing recall no less than the radical/loonie/what-the-hell-are-you-thinking school board?
S.F. and regional citizens are also realizing that they don't need to be pillaged by those hired to defend and carry out the law, and to teach and protect our children...it's that simple.
3) Cap and Trade no longer preventing pollution, and faux-environmental policies destroying the middle class with environmental and economic chaos...when all along we could expand our suburbs with excellent infrastructure like we once demanded to grow in an otherwise-desert California?
Californians are beginning to realize that gas/oil reliance can't be legislated or wished away overnight, and they're tired of being pillaged by those who proclaim they're protecting us...
...it's that simple.
4) Californians catching on that coding and development laws (and the increased/widespread allowance of violating environmental laws) have led to Wall Street In My Back Yard (WIMBY) overlords pillaging our cities and suburbs?
Californians are beginning to realize that "development" and "progressivism" is leading our developing and progressing in the absolute wrong direction...and they're tired of being pillaged.
It is that simple.
5) COVID-enabled working from home drawing Americans to low-tax states because they honestly think they deserve to keep THEIR money in THEIR pockets and bank accounts?
No more financial, or resource, or individual-thinking-for-one's-self pillaging.
It is that simple.
And in our complex world, sometimes simple isn't such a bad concept.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was termed out of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) twice after two stints as a Board member for 9, years and is also a Board member of the Westside Village Homeowners Association. He previously co-chaired the MVCC Outreach, Planning, and Transportation/Infrastructure Committees for 10 years. He was previously co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee, the grassroots Friends of the Green Line (which focused on a Green Line/LAX connection), and the nonprofit Transit Coalition His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)