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KevinTheOmnivore KevinTheOmnivore is offline
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Old Sep 28th, 2004, 02:18 PM        "Progressive"
Okay, I'm going to sound like a whining old man here, but certain semantical things like this often bug me in politics.

I've often said that the most misused word in politics is "Machiavellian." Those who use it to identify someone as merely sneaky or deceptive have probably never read Machiavelli.

HOWEVER, I've found a new #1 for my gripes. That word is "progressive." I'm curious to know how many folks on this board refer to themselves as "progressive." I'll admit it, I've probably called myself a progressive in the past, too. I'll often catch myself saying something like "well, I support progressive legislation."

It has become politically sexy to refer to yourself as a "progressive," thus likening yourself to the movement and the party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This bothers me for a couple of reasons. One, it seems to me like a capitulation by Liberals. Since the 1980s, conservatives and Republicans did a very effective job of making the word Liberal (with a big "L") a bad word, much like New Dealers made the word "conservative" a bad word in the 30s and 40s. Now, if somebody embraces the word "Liberal," it's considered a politically dangerous or risky thing to do. It is a testament to the ability of Republicans to not only win a debate, but frame it as well.

So what do people do? They have re-christened themselves "progressive," partly, in my opinion, to lose the negative conotation that comes with the word "progressive." i think this is a bad way to go.

Secondly, I think many folks on the far Left, maybe those who don't like to be called Liberals or Socialists, prefer to be called "progressives." Once again, I think we have a case of historical ignorance here. Don't get me wrong, I love Bob La Follette as much as the next guy, but this doesn't mean the progressives of the past necessarily match up with Leftist ideas of today. For example, Hiram Johnson of California, a well known progressive, was quietly supportive of state legislation that prevented Japanese-Americans from purchasing land in California. William Jennings Bryan, a well known populist and progressive, played a key role in messing around in Latin America and the Caribbean during the Wilson administration. Furthermore, there were "wet" progressives, and "dry" progressives. Some progressives of that era would seem like southern social conservatives to the "progressives" of today.

Anyway, I'm done, I feel better now.

:onlanguage
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