Progressive. And Proud of It.
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Nov 13, 2007 4:49pmOne of the things that frustrates me so much about having such a right wing echo chamber for a MSM is how they have turned liberal and progressive labels into epithets. When I saw this campaign from the Center for American Progress taking back the term "progressive" I had to highlight it here:
The Center for American Progress, in conjunction with the Glaser Progress Foundation, recently launched a multi-year effort to increase public understanding of what it means to be a progressive given our nation's history and the challenges we face today.
The first part of the campaign involves a pilot experiment to begin defining progressivism in the public's mind through a series of distinct advertisements that explain the progressive movement's core values and policy ideas, its historical accomplishments, and its philosophical differences with conservatives.
There are two other commercials available at ThinkProgress.
Login or Register to post comments.
It's hard to be progressive when we are standing on a conveyor belt moving backwards.
And that's what pisses me off the most about their incessant whining whenever a progressive story or individual, etc., gets into the news. They're nasty, nasty people.
Exactly... I wrote about Laura Ingraham appearing on 'The View' to promote her fucking book - 'Power to the People.' Ripped it away from the Black Panthers (both at Les Enrages.org and my place).
Wordsmith@ work @ 2:
Power to what people?
Book Description
Top-rated radio personality Laura Ingraham is fed up with the rule of the elites. . . .
But she's appearing on The View to promote her book?
Phew Man looney toons.
The right wing HATES and VILLIFIES the term Progressive because it means PROGRESS and the exact OPPOSITE thing these scum want. They want Bible reading NASCAR retards that take a fantasy book as literal truth.
Personally, I refuse to use the term "conservative" in reference to the current crop of repugs and their dittoheads. There is nothing conservative about their ideology.
Since they are so hell bent on being opposed to everything that progressives stand for then the only logical name for them would be the exact opposite. Hence, they are regressives.
Awwww they're just jealous and can't accept change. It makes them all twisted and bitter
kudos to John Podesta and everyone at The Center for American Progress
Basically I get the feeling Laura wants to get rich so she can further insulate herself from her readers.
I like the word 'progressive', but I like the word 'liberal' even more.
I'm gay and live in the Deep South. I love tweaking the religious freaks. It's easy to do - one way I do it is by wearing Iron Maiden t-shirts (love the band, ADORE the artwork! - you'd be surprised at the variety available in the 'Number of the Beast' line alone), often with a pentagram. The Jesus fairy tale apparently has it that Iron Maiden is, quite literally, satanic. Christians treat you differently when they see you're a fan. Some of them want to "save" you. It's funny, and the opportunity to pass thinly veiled insults never fails to present itself.
Remember this one from "The West Wing"?
"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things...every one! So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor." -- Matt Santos, The West Wing
[Deleted. Flamebait-Sitemonitor]
RedWhite&Brooklyn @ 11:
Amen to that!
Plus I wish they would show more ads like these on television. I'll take breathes of fresh air like these over Bushit's hypocrisy and all these damn reality shows.
L.A. Confidential @ 3:
Rich, white, hating white people.
I especially like the connection to historical accomplishments, things that everyone now takes for granted. Sort of gives a continuity to it, implying that the changes we want to make now are a natural progression of society. Which is the reason for the name, duh, but it shows our politics as a series of improvements. Very cool.
I love these. Thank Jesus we are finally fighting back!!!!
Liberals also gave us child labor laws, don't forget. Kids as young as six or seven used to work 16-hour days, 6-day weeks in factories.
They stand for nothing but themselves. Even when they speak about 'values', or whatever, they really just don't care. Whatever puts more money in their pocket. They claim to worship God, but nowadays, God seems to be made of cash.
Conservative means wanting to keep something preserved. What about the ENVIROMENT?! Don't see much of that conservation. Only thing they conserve it hate and bigotry.
Love the Ads - Good and timely reminders of the accomplishments made by the left for the benefit of ALL, not just a few lucky people that happened to be born into families of wealth and power. I prefer the moniker of progressive rather than liberal because it is about human progress into a brighter future.
Perhaps conservatives are unhappy people and are most comfortable making others miserable. George Will comes to mind - He compared himself to his friends who were Cardinal fans and grew up to be happy liberal, while he a Cubs fan, facing perpetual losing seasons, grew up to be bitter and conservative.
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 6:
I agree, today "conservative" means using up resources as fast as possible, not being cautious about about poisons and toxins in our environment, going to war without reason, maximum growth and development, and moving more and more wealth out of the working class. The only thing they conserve is the status quo for the rich and powerful and also, they are good at conserving use of their brain cells.
berberry @ 17:
Those godless commies also took the form of Labour Unions and got the 40 hour work week weekends, holidays-Next time you are in Manchester England have a shufti through the History of Labour Museum (People's History Museum, Manchester). See EXACTLY what liberals and progressives have been up to, since Peterloo, you fascists.
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 6:
Good one.
L.A. Confidential @ 3:
Exactly - that's what Whoopi Goldberg called her on and what we've been discussing. It's the same as what Nicole is discussing here. They take the language and macerate it. It goes from being what it once was to mean either the direct opposite or something so oblique it's unbelievable and unrecognizable.
Great ads. I also love this video that's been getting a lot of play around the web, "The Battle for America":
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/14/154119/85
"Regressive". I like it. Time to fight back people :)
Wish I could hear the sound.
How about an ad that reminds people of the original progressive idea "We the People" as in
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,... do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Seems the biggest message hammered home for eons is that "government" is some abstract thingy out to get you. Bring people back into living as the goverment they are would be the most empowering message and would explain why we got women vote, New Deal, environmental control, civil rights, etc. Even the Bill of Rights was progressive!
Okay, so I'm stupid. I just figured out why I couldn't hear the sound.
Great commercials. It's so anti neocon. When Americans followed Reagan and the traitors after him, they forgot their roots and they forgot that it was progressive, forward thinking presidents and congress people that gave them highways, social security, national parks, clean air and clean water.
I liked both the ads.
Let's reclaim the word "liberal," too. It is a badge of honor, indeed.
And I love the word "regressive" to describe those neanderthals on the right/reich.
That Ingraham book title is both a joke and an insult. Those reich-wingers sure know how to pilfer and reframe, don't they? It's all about the language and how it's deployed.
must be something in the air. this is almost the exact topic i posted on today - the war of the words. the right wing noise machine has managed to attach a feeling of revulsion to words like liberal, progressive, social, etc. making it almost impossible to discuss the merits of ideas behind them.
An excellent idea!
Time does not stand still. You can either be progressive or regressive. Nine times of ten, I think it obvious that most Americans would choose the progressive path, were it not obscured from them by the lies of the rich old men squatting the status quo.
"Progressive. And proud of it."
Then why not say "liberal"?
Conservatism is the anchor that drags America down to the depths of hell.
I love the Pro / Con commercials. It's about time someone spent the money to educate people about what being Progressive is about.
So how about supporting the most Progressive presidential candidate?
Kucinich 08
they've done the same thing with the word, "feminist." And it's all been part of the right wing plan.
Good for you, Nicole. I'm hard-pressed to define "progressive" myself. Judging from what I see around here on a daily basis (including but not limited to your articles), "progressive" means:
(1) Disliking Republicans, sneering at Liberals and passionately loathing Democrats--all depending on the current course of the breeze;
(2) Deciding that the thinking of the likes of Ted Rall and Stephanie McMillan is "sensible," while anyone even slightly to their right is an idiot (ironically mocked as "sensible");
(3) Declaring that a vote for the joke-candidacy gadfly is the only sensible choice;
(4) Trying to build a third party from the Presidency downward.
I'd really like to see something to define "progressive" besides Chris Daly, Ralph Nader, talking about how bad things were under Clinton, and outrage over candy bar commercials. Feel free to start anytime.
I don't like these, this only sets conservatives against liberals and may scare away conservative ready to switch.
Bravo. Was that so hard?
Happenstance @ 37:
I won't claim to be an expert, and it's hard to miss your sarcasm, but I think the phrase "we the people in order to form a more perfect Union" is plenty of definition in my mind. It can be hard to drop some old traditions; progressives nonetheless think we should and go ahead with that "more perfect Union". Far from utopian, it seems to me a philosophy that acknowledges that constant change is necessary to stamp out the inequality and irresponsibility in government and society -- that this will be an ongoing process. The fatal flaw of strict or blind conservatism seems to me to be that time does not stand still, and even the traditions we all agree to keep must in reality keep mutating and evolving to better fit into a modern society. If they don't they will either die despite our wishes, or mutate into a valueless or perverted ritual. I see the "flag lapel patriots" as an examle of this. Fascists co-opting a symbol of freedom and devaluing it under the guise of traditionalism. However, I think some conservatives could be "progressive" by working to make some traditions relevant and vibrant in their original meaning by adapting them to the new context of the current day. Progress, of sorts, in my view.
The wikipedia entry may prove useful for those asking without the snark (though seeing someone sneering that someone else is "sneering" fulfills my daily RDA of irony). It is easy to see progressive ideals looking back, now that people with black skin aren't lynched in the street without punishment to their aggressors (as much) and women are not beaten, and kept ignorant and barefoot to serve only as baby-machines (as much). And we finally, recently, allow all adults to vote. Often these parallel liberal ideals as far as I can tell. But as to contrast with liberalism, a section of that wikipedia entry is useful (quoted in part):
I don't think it is that hard to apply progressive ideals to modern social issues like immigration, the environment, health care for working people, corporate malfeasance, or government corruption and inefficiency if you tried at all. Those ARE the progressive ideals, and they just happen to be our biggest issues right now.
I think this is why the progressives have had enough of people like Clinton that would co-opt the word "progressive", talk about progressive ideals, but then vote a VERY center conservative fashion. I would think it insulting to progressives and liberals alike. But that's just my opinion...
I fail to see how John Edwards, for example, is a joke, a gadfly, or some sort of spy for a third party... and I'd call him somewhat progressive. Am I wrong?
Thank you, Center for American Progress, for the excellent ads. I would agree that we also need to reclaim the label "liberal" as well. It comes from the same Latin root word as "liberty:" or freedom, and I remember the quote from "The West Wing" that should remind all of us what liberals have done over the years to advance our freedoms and our country.
The question then becomes: why do regressives ("conservatives") hate freedom? Could it be they hate America?
the uncontested repetition of the talk radio monopoly to 50-70 MIL Americans has been doing most of the framing and redefining since reagan killed the Fairness Doctrine 20 years ago.
until we get some new Fairness Doctrine all efforts like this are uphill- the cons have the biggest soapbox by far.
just yesterday two out of three GOP reps i heard reading their prepared statements praising of the "patriot" Cookie Krongard who is accused of enabling Iraq corruption for the Bushies used the term "driveby" (attacks, media) to describe his opposition (dems, progressives, liberals)--- and that is pure limbaugh....
The "progressive" blogosphere is "progressive" until the Israeli Palestinian conflict comes up. Then Firedoglake and many other websites jump on the same path and self censorship that the MSM has been on for 60 years. No writing about it, no challenges, and attacks on the people who do bring up the issue at their website. The I-lobby has been successful at shutting down "progressive" blogs on this critical issue.
Blogs like Firedoglake like to pretend or claim that they address this issue, but the proof is in the pudding. The facts the writing is just not there. They and many other so-called "progressive"blogs are complete chicken shits when it comes to writing about the I/P issue of the upcoming Aipac trial. Complete and utter chickenshits.
No different than the MSM
You know when you go through Crooks and Liars website for anything written or linked to having to do with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the I-Lobby or the Aipac investigation and trial you folks fall into line with the MSM also. Not so "progressive' after all.
The progressive blogsophere has some very serious BLOG CLOGS
Socialism doesn't work.It never has,it never will.
awesome ads! i'd like to see more in this vein that cover other issues. powerful, easily digestible stuff and right on the money!
Login or Register to post comments.