The only thing 'deeply troubling' is that both sides are labeling a whistleblower as a 'leaker' and 'traitor' when all he's done is expose that U.S. citizens info is collected without warrants, a likely constitutional violation.
Personally I also equate American Republicans with fascists, whom spout rhetoric about patriotism and some measure of ethnocentrism.
Remember where the neocons originated: these were Democrats who became frustrated by the post-Vietnam anti-war sentiments in the Democrat party (the 5 minutes that the Dems were an anti-war party).
Let's not forget that guys like Hitchens were some of the biggest cheerleaders for war post-9/11. Fake "liberal" and "conservative" labels that are more about Jesus and abortion than real politics are almost entirely meaningless. When someone says they are a liberal nowadays, it means nothing more to me than if they said they were a Yankees fan. I know it's going to be yet another indoctrinated statist.
Perhaps their driving motive is not politics at all, but something else (such as social change or well-being) and the politics required are simple a means to an end? Perhaps it's just that you don't understand their motives, or any number of other possibilities?
Your off-hand dismissal does nobody any good.
Yes, it's called narcissism.
Having been involved in politics at one point and being around elected politicians and aspiring politicians (at least at the state level), I can tell you with absolute certainty that the overwhelming motivation for public office is narcissism. This is also the reason I abandoned my interest in politics - some of the worst human beings I've ever been around.
Snowden has gone far beyond simple whistleblowing about US citizen's information being collected. He has specifically detailed hacking attempts by the US against Chinese universities and cell phone companies. This is clearly a different form of leaking and it is something the majority of the public is strongly against.
Who exactly are you referring to? There are almost no politicians holding high office that can be called "left wing." At best, you have centrists.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1266821/us-hacks-chin...
But words have meanings. Would you mind explaining how exactly they are neocons, other than you feel they are somewhat sinister?
I think you've just uncovered the fact that both parties are really just two sides of the same coin. It may appear that they're engaged in some kind of tug-of-war struggle, but if so, we are the rope.
In fact, both DEMs and GOPs agree on the vast majority of issues, the only differences are in fine details. They're both quite happy with the form and function of today's government.
(For what it's worth, I primarily take issue with the words 'liberal' and 'reality'.)
'Deeply troubling' is diplospeak.