What Inclusion Means on the Left

In the past decade, there has been much digital ink spilled on the subject of inclusion, intersectionality, and other such topics. We are living in an interesting time where marginalized voices are coming to the forefront more than ever before. However, I’ve noticed that on the political Left, the political group most likely to be inclusive of those voices can be very exclusive.

Welcoming Everyone

It is important to be welcoming to everyone. This means that even former Republicans, those who may hold a conservative view on certain matters, or those who are simply exploring and looking for answers should be welcomed. There is a culture of purity tests developing among the Left. As a former Republican many Leftist friends might consider me suspect. Those who have been liberal their whole lives often look at people like me as a “recovering” Republican, as if stricken by some disease. This isn’t welcoming or incredibly inclusive. Inclusion is all about belonging. Too often, any statements and purity tests that are put in place by well-meaning people in the Left can intentionally or unintentionally exclude others. The Left should work harder at making sure that people feel like they are being heard and belong in Leftist spaces.

There are multiple ways to help people feel included. Many of them come naturally to the Left like using inclusive language and choosing accessible spaces. However, it also extends to not shaming people both online and off for having different views. The best pathway is to engage in the debate for as long as you can and withdraw when you feel you need to withdraw. This is a far better path than simply shutting people down or not engaging with them at all.

Creating a Platform for More than One Voice

Keeping with this idea, the Left, as a political movement in the US should be a platform for a variety of voices. There are many problems to solve ranging from economic problems to social problems. The reality is that a variety of voices are going to be needed to take on all these problems. The best way to solve any problem ranging from sexuality to houselessness is to work with the people directly affected by it. To do this, a platform has to be created to speak with those people directly. For example, over at Rouges Magazine, I posted a series of videos from Mark Horvath. He creates a series on Youtube interviewing homeless people and telling their stories. Invisible People does a great job of telling those stories and he is a great contact to work on houselessness nationwide. He has traveled to every state and several English-speaking countries talking about houselessness. Mark is the type of person that should be on every panel available to talk about this problem. Inclusion means including people like him who are doing the great work of telling these stories. This method can be used when looking at every issue like racial issues and LGBT issues.

Any of these issues is going to have more than one voice and that is perfectly alright and needs more acceptance. Too often, anyone who doesn’t conform to the dominant Left narrative gets silenced. Creating an inclusive Left means accepting a variety of voices and working to create helpful policy positions based on those voices and continuing to improve those policies once they are in place.

What Inclusion Should Include

Inclusion is about helping people feel like they have a voice and that they belong in a space. Too frequently, the Left does not allow this. If someone doesn’t tow the party line then they often get canceled or thrown out of the movement. This is just wrong. This is no way to build a greater coalition or bring voters onto a bigger agenda. Just because someone is still navigating the new world of gender expression and neutral pronouns, doesn’t mean they can’t be on the Left. Inclusion means just that: inclusion. For a while now, it seems like the Left, especially mainstream commentators like certain members of The Young Turks are simply not listening to anyone who doesn’t share their exact views or isn’t voting for Bernie Sanders. How is that an inclusive Left?

The Left can and should be more inclusive of all its members and all those working for true progress in this country. Whether it’s working on Labor rights or universal healthcare, creating a healthy and inclusive debate will make for a stronger and far more practical movement than simply silencing anyone who doesn’t share a predetermined set of values. Let’s work on being actually inclusive and not just pretending it’s a good idea.