A time for “calling in” If the threat posed by the authoritarian right is as existential as it seems, some of us might want to unhunch our shoulders and not be as reflexive about running off potential allies. If Digby’s Monday post about Red Caesarism was not a wake-up call, you just ain’t woke. About that. A repeated theme in Anand Giridharadas’s “The Persuaders” is “Is there room among the woke for the waking?” Do those on the left edge of the left — at the cutting edge of consciousness, if you prefer — possess enough critical mass to achieve the progressive goals they seek: Veteran activists Giridharadas profiles have decided they do not. Success means expanding their movements without compromising them. They’ve learned to “call in” progressives with whom they mostly agree rather than just calling them out for their failings, to focus more on conversion than on hunting heretics. They walk a fine line seeking to coalition with more moderate allies without watering down their own goals. A listserv I once enjoyed blew up when the “call out” fad hit the progressive movement. Where there had been months of friendly banter, meet-ups, networking, and idea exchanges there were suddenly micro-aggressions to be called out, privileges to be checked, and demands for self-criticism reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. What seemed more like online Esalen turned overnight into Salem. A liberal desire for purification became Puritanism. Community collapsed. It’s a critical flaw on the left that could prove fatal in…