The left's remarkable lack of knowledge of history

I tell you something that constantly surprises me - the lack of knowledge of history of those on the left with whom I discuss political matters.

Take Martin Luther King Day as an example.

The left write articles and make speeches and send tweets containing one or other of MLK's profundities in an attempt to cloak themselves in moral rectitude. MLK was the leading figure in the Civil Rights movement and is quite rightly regarded as the man who brought to an end the last vestiges of racial discrimination in the United States.

What these people don't seem to be aware of is that the entire reason there had to be a civil rights movement in the first place was due to the racist policies of the Democrats! From Jim Crow to miscegenation laws to lack of voting rights these were all policies introduced and supported by the Democrats.

Since the time of Lincoln the Republican party has been at the forefront of the equality argument. It's ironic that to now argue that white and black are equal and that there should be no racial preferences for work or university placement is guaranteed to attract a charge of racism. MLK would certainly be shocked at the blatant racism of these policies.

But it's not just the civil rights movement that those who claim to be the defenders of equality are ignorant about.

The eugenics movement of the early twentieth century had as one of its primary objectives the restriction of having children of those who were less educated. It was an almost entirely race based policy.

The union movement is one of the worst racial offenders going. The minimum wage was introduced entirely to deal with the 'problem' of cheap, black labour which would threaten the jobs of a unionised, white workforce. As Thomas Hazlett points out in this terrific article, this policy led to apartheid in South Africa. The great Tom Sowell calls the minimum wage the most racist legislation ever to be introduced.

A lefty will learn more in the three minute discussion between Williams and Sowell than they will in a lifetime of watching the ABC or SBS or reading The Age or Canberra Times or in the USA the New York Times etc.

In fact, while I'm linking to Tom Sowell here's another short lesson for the world's ignorant left.

But it doesn't stop there. The original purpose of Planned Parenthood was to create an environment in which young, pregnant, black women would have abortions on the grounds that they were not able to look after the children.

And there's more! Gun control in the United States south was introduced (by Democrats) entirely because they didn't want newly freed slaves having firearms. They feared, probably correctly, that a number of them might want to exact some vengeance before settling down.

Somehow or other history has been turned completely upside down and it's the historically race-blind party - the Republicans - who are tarred with the racist slur while the historically racist party - the Democrats - have been given a free pass.

I guess that's what happens when the mainstream media and universities and others in the chattering class overwhelmingly inhabit the left side of the political spectrum.