This post is by request of one of our readers.
I was wondering if you could post an entry giving your definition of “progressive”. Is being progressive the same as being liberal, a subset of liberalism, or something totally different? I’ve noticed that your website heavily promotes Democrats, yet you do have contributors that promote the Green Party. What does progressivism embrace politically? Does it include that most dreaded bugaboo of the American political/economic sphere, “socialism”? Can progressivism be a part of other traditions? For example, the Teddy Roosevelt Republican era was considered progressive, and the Conservative Party of Canada was once called the Progressive Conservative Party (thought I have a feeling that Canadian Conservatives are of a different breed than our U.S. neo-cons!). And…is it only a political stance, or an entire philosophy unto itself?
I’m asking this question not only to clear this up for me, but I think it is important that you take control of your title. I have no idea how many readers you have or how far your influence extends, but I do not doubt that if local conservatives get wind of your efforts, they will certainly tack onto you a definition of “progressive” that will not be supportive to you. It is best to stake your claim early, and give a clear definition from the start. So many pundits throw around terms like liberal, conservative, progressive, etc., all of which can have different meanings to different people. When it comes to ensuring that people understand your position, semantics is everything.
Sounds like an interesting project. I'll start things off and hope that others will pitch in. I also will repost this at the top of the page for a while, in hopes to draw more attention to it.
DonVila said:
For me, being progressive is more of a philosophy than a political stance. It is foremost (in the Unitarian/Universalist vernacular) "a belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every human being". It is a belief that, in a democracy, government should work towards the betterment of the many - rather than the few. The particulars of achieving these ends are not important. But all public policy should be judged on this basis.
I grew up in a progressive Christian household - my paternal grandfather Wendell was a Congregational minister. My elders took Jesus at his word that we should care most about those with the greatest challenges. And they stressed that I should always strive to learn more about people who are less like me. Because, for the most part - in a practical way - we are all so alike.
I think it's really that simple for me.
I'm eager to hear what others think.
2 comments:
So refreshing to read your take on Christianity, which is also mine.
I'm a housebound, mostly disabled person and it happens that a few days ago my neighbor sent a uniformed county representative to serve me official notice that the guy who's been cutting my lawn for the last two years had gotten grass on their driveway. The county rep was truly embarrassed - also angered. He made it clear to me, standing at my bedside, that he would not come again to issue another such complaint. (Luckily the home health aide happened to be here to let him in or things would have been more complicated.)
As soon as he came I knew what it was really all about. This neighbor had asked me to cut down two trees on my lawn some months ago. I had a tree guy look at them. He said one needed to come down, the other's perfectly healthy and in no danger at all of falling.
I'd forgotten all about it, then the last few weeks my neighbor approached two different people coming in and out of my house on two different occassions, telling them to tell me I need to take the tree down. Both looked at the tree and politely told her they couldn't see anything wrong with it.
This was evidently her retaliation.
Even if I were healthy I would have no interest in playing the Judge Judy show with this person, but as it is, with my sister as the sole family member able to help me, we're in a particularly bad position to do extra stress and time on nonsense. We're hoping my neighbor can get over her tree and grass traumas. If I'd known how much the tree meant to her I'd have happily spent the several hundred dollars to avoid this but it's too awkward now to approach her with "I surrender! If I cut down my tree will you please go back to just ignoring me?"
I stopped asking this woman and her husband, in whose name the driveway grass complaint was issued, for help even with little things from time to time shortly after moving here four years when she began answering the phone with "Hello Paul, whaddya want now." And they've never offered.
Since I literally can't leave the house and people are only in and out quickly to houseclean and arrange my food, they couldn't possibly ask for a less intrusive neighbor than I am. It's like nobody's home almost all the time from the perspective of my neighbors, except for those flying grass blades every few weeks.
The one time I had to press my life alert button, she followed the emergency crew in to have a look at me and the inside of my house. Found me in my boxer shorts and kept going "He's so skinny..." It was like a bad dream. The crew, of course, had no idea she didn't belong there.
This must sound made up! Entirely true I'm afraid, and there really is no other side to this story - never an unpleasant word from me or my sister directed to them.
And every single Sunday, like clockwork, I hear their car doors slam as they go to and from church...
Paul-
That is terrible the way your neighbors treat you. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who think only of themselves, even among those who would claim to be religious or spiritual.
Don-
Good to know that you consider progressivism as a philosophy. I feel that claiming it only as a political position would fail in the long run. Even if a political party were honest in its attempt to bring about progressive and supportive community values to a nation, as time goes by, I think the party would eventually become less concerned with the original goals and more focused on power and control, even through corrupt means. (This is how I tend to view all political programs--rather cynical, ain't I?) Progressivism would just become a buzz word. People tend to think of politics as "Let the politicians run things" and thus, once they've voted, folks just go about their own business and only worry if they think things are going wrong for them personally. Holding progressivism as a philosophy keeps you thinking of others, not just your own little corner of the world; and gets you considering what you can do, what you can say, how you can act for others, rather than just leaving it up to some party leaders. In order to truly be progressive, helpful, & honoring of one another, there must be a personal touch to it. It has to be owned by each of us. Then, if we need to use political processes to ensure a progressive society, it will stay true to its form because the people will hold government to its original intent.
I hope some of the other blog contributors have something to add.
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