All this might be OK if the Left created alternative ways to recreate, celebrate, or just relax, but we don't. And because we are often on edge, critical, or being criticized, these absences take a great toll. The left infights. Leftists rarely support one another. We compete for who is righter, who is better, which institution deserves more support.
Ideas are personal property, almost like capital.
You can tell who will be at a conference just by knowing the sponsors. Everyone finds fault with everyone else, with or without justification. We seek differences not commonalities. And what solidarity there is is often ridiculous. Consider this recent example.