What Draws Women to Toxic Leftist Beliefs?

Recently, I wrote a piece at The Federalist titled “Hell Hath No Fury Like A Single Liberal Woman,” based on my own experience as a former liberal, and offered some explanation as to why single women make up such a large proportion of the Democrat Party. And why, as Jesse Kelly commented, many of those women seem to be somewhat mentally unstable. Based on comments in my inbox and on social media, the piece was fairly well received. Well, mostly well received. Of course, any time you categorically call a group of people, particularly single women, “crazy,” you’re bound to get some pushback.

One writer at Wonkette penned a dissertation, dissecting my piece line by line to demonstrate why everything I said was a “Jennifer” problem rather than attributable to leftist ideology. I think the author proved my point about leftists being compassionate on the outside but vicious and hypercritical on the inside. Judge for yourself.

However, it did get me thinking. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Was it my personality and disposition that inclined me to fall prey to cult-like thinking, or did leftist values alter my fundamental beliefs? Yes.

Is it Nature?

As much as they whine about “gender” being a social construct, women have inherently feminine traits that predispose them to liberal or progressive values. I use those words as ideological frameworks rather than referring to their etymological meaning. “Progressives” do not seem particularly interested in progress. Table that debate for another time.

The left weaponizes women’s tendency to be more caring and nurturing. They play on emotions all women likely have felt at some point in their lives — the feeling of being taken advantage of, dispossessed, or patronized. Women who have not yet disposed of the victim narrative will continue to empathize with it and stand with their “brothers and sisters.”

The ability to perceive the underlying humanity in everyone is an objective good. But the inability to understand your own life as a unique story with a particular context is ignorant. Women must be willing to ask themselves to what extent is any given narrative true for me? They also must be brutally honest with their answer.

I remember going through this exercise myself during my spiritual and political transformation. To what extent is the toxic masculinity and evil patriarch narrative true for me? While I have had some unfortunate incidents with men, I have more men in my life who have been nothing but supportive, gracious, kind, and courteous. Granted, many of these men were present before I fell into the leftist abyss and reappeared upon emerging from the toxic waters I swam in. But they are there, and I choose to remember and focus on those relationships.

Now when a girlfriend says something about men’s evil paternalistic behavior, I am astute in reminding her it was a certain man’s evil paternalistic behavior. For the record, that particular man usually has one or a combination of words associated with his name — yoga, vegan, and Los Angeles.

Or How We Are Nurtured?

That is the nature side of women’s ideological preferences. The nurture includes institutions in society and culture, as well as personal relationships. It’s not news that our institutions, particularly education, are pushing identity on young women. Same with culture. Friendships, mentors, and social circles also have an outsized influence on shaping a woman’s worldview, particularly in young adulthood. However, the most influential and formative relationship a woman will ever have is the one she shares with her father.

I contest that a woman’s self-confidence, self-worth, and self-perception disproportionately depend on the paternal bond. If that bond is broken or dysfunctional, it will fundamentally alter the way many women interact not only with men but with every person and idea around them.

We’ve Got Daddy Issues

While there’s much ado about absent dads and their effect on young boys — and rightly so — it’s equally important to examine the father-daughter relationship. Even fathers who are physically present may not be well equipped to cultivate the type of bond a little girl needs to feel secure and loved, leaving women unable to enforce appropriate boundaries or be discerning with their empathy.

I submit there are a lot of single women walking around with big old “daddy issues,” making them particularly vulnerable to the left-wing paradigm. One in which the state or a man who abuses power (i.e. Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, or any number of spiritual “gurus”) steps in as the paternal force.

However, maybe we can put politics aside and exercise a bit of benevolence. If I don’t, it means never forgiving myself for the mistakes I’ve made and the maligned view of the world I had. If we don’t, we communicate the message that there is no hope for these women or path to redemption. Frankly, that is heartbreaking, and it isn’t true.

Is Christianity the Solution?

This does not absolve poor and immature behavior. What it does do is highlight the imperative role Christianity plays in Western culture and the need to continue to push for its resuscitation, along with other character-forming institutions and social organizations.

While there were many factors contributing to my own transformation, Jesus was at the heart of it. I mean that literally. Conservatives made fine points that appealed to my logic, but that did nothing to heal the cuts in my heart. Sure, I could put a band-aid on them through meditation and thoughts of peace, love, and unicorns, but ultimately the scabs would get ripped open again and again.

It didn’t matter how imperfectly my father loved me. To know I have a perfect Father Who loves me perfectly and not just intellectualize but feel that love, and feel it deeply, was the most profound healing I have ever received. There is no blame, no anger, no resentment for what I didn’t have growing up — just a gratitude so immense that it brought me to my knees. That kind of gratitude will fundamentally alter someone’s life.

The fact that I am who God says I am and not the broken, lost girl with a slew of failed relationships and unrealized dreams in her wake changed everything. The fact that it is no longer me but “He who lives in me” allowed me to move forward in life unencumbered by the past and absolved from bitterness. This does not mean life is now lollipops and rainbows. Actually, quite the opposite. I’d say it’s gotten even more challenging. However, I am no longer alone in responding to those challenges. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

This new perception requires a depth of humility and submission I have never known — again not a defining characteristic of the far-left.

So maybe before we condemn the crazy, liberal single woman bragging about her 15th abortion or screaming on her knees over another four years of Donald Trump, we can pray for her. There were so many people who did that for me. It worked.