I suspect that liberals have plucked quotes from conservatives
I read Animal Farm and 1984 when I was in High School and correctly identified him as anti-communist. I only learned later that he was a socialist. It didn't wreck my life.
Each side of the political spectrum sees the other as a slippery slope. Each side is probably right but it has become so polarized there is no room to meet in the middle. Not good, it leads to a 'I'm coming for you atmosphere'.