When the left marches past reasonableness or falls to extremes: the committee of public safety - in revolutionary France or the politburo in the USSR - it cannot tolerate criticism and condemns not just cultural systems but individuals because they disagree.
When it is in balance - Vietnam war protests, women's liberation movement, workers rights and pay - it tolerates dissent with poise and
Argues the point with equanimity rationality respect. It doesn't play the man - it plays the system. It doesn't need to exaggerate to make its point - its consistent, persistent
And patient - knowing that time will prove it to be right.
It accepts criticism not with anger and condemnation but consideration. Not righteous but humble. Not screeching but persuading, refreshing and most of all challenging.