All posts tagged government

Let me first say that I’m answering this question for myself.  I believe that the things I write here are, for the most part, fairly common among progressives, but I’m sure that there will be individual exceptions.

As a progressive, I understand that the world does not remain static.  We live in a complex and dynamic world, where change is constant.

As a progressive, I believe that our responses to a dynamic world must not remain static.  The best answer yesterday may not be the best answer for today.  We may need last week’s answer, the answer from 150 years ago, or a completely new answer. 

As a progressive, I believe that “This is how we’ve always done it” is not sufficient reason for our response to a dynamic world.  This isn’t automatically the wrong response, but it isn’t automatically the right response, either.

As a progressive, I believe that progressives need conservatives.  Truly, we need those who are more reluctant to change their responses to the world because they hold us accountable for persuading them that a different response is the better response.

Similarly, I believe that conservatives need progressives.  It is so very easy to fall into the “This is how we’ve always done it” trap, to become comfortable and complacent while Rome burns around us.  Progressives help conservatives see other options that may — or may not — be better.

As a progressive, I believe that all persons have value.  No human being should be diminished or harmed intentionally by another.  I know that this is impractical, because we aren’t perfect, but this is an ideal that we try to live up to.

As a progressive, I believe that all persons are deserving of dignity and respect.  No person deserves vilification, manipulation, or abuse.  All persons deserve consideration, compassion, and kindness.

As a progressive, I understand that “all persons” includes those who live at the margins: those who live in poverty, who have no home, who lack meaningful employment, who are ill or disabled, who were born in a nation that lacks for basic resources, who look different from the majority, who follow a different faith than the majority. 

As a progressive, I also understand that “all persons” include those with whom I disagree.  This means that no person with whom I disagree deserves to be mocked, vilified, harmed, abused, or diminished as a person.  Those with whom I disagree deserve respect, dignity, consideration, compassion, and kindness.

As a progressive, I believe that religion is important.  The ideas that underlie our faith lives shape us deeply as persons, whether we identify ourselves with Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, or any other faith tradition.

As a progressive, I believe that rights are important.  There are fundamental rights that we share as part of our personhood, such as the famous life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  I believe that one of the most important roles of government is to protect and promote human rights, understanding that this is not always simple or easy in a complex and dynamic world.

As a progressive, I believe that human rights include the right to continue living, the right to choose a faith tradition and to practice it, the right to have sufficient nutrition, the right to have sufficient shelter and protection from the elements, the right to meaningful employment, the right to basic care for body and mind, the right to freedom and integrity of mind and heart, and others that I may not have enumerated here.

As a progressive, I believe that life is a precious gift.  War should only ever be a last resort, never the first.  Violence is wrong, whether it is physical or not, whether it is perpetrated by an individual or by a government.

As a progressive, I also understand that decisions involving the balancing of one life against another are necessarily complex and may not have a “correct” answer.  This includes questions of self-defense (both individually and corporately), medical care for the terminally ill, saving the dangerously suicidal, medical abortion, capital punishment, and many others.  I do not know if there are any universal solutions to any of these questions, but I know that each one must be undertaken with proper care and discipline.

As a progressive, I understand that not all responses to our dynamic world are simple.  There are many simple (not necessarily easy) guidelines for us, like the bold-faced statements I make here.  In practice, though, the ways in which we live these out are usually quite complex.  Balancing the rights of all citizens, for example, is a complex proposition, and it does require some sacrificing of individual rights for the good of all.

As a progressive, I recognize that government is sometimes the most effective agent.  Yes, I agree that individuals and communities should support those who live at the margins, providing food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and protection for human rights.  However, we humans often become caught up in our own struggles, and we can forget such important responsibilities.  Thus, it is not inappropriate for us to empower our government to take on some of this work, recognizing the government’s unique economies of scale and of scope.

As a progressive, I believe that civility and respect in political discourse should be highly valued, and that we must hold our leaders accountable for this.

As a progressive, I love my country, while recognizing that it doesn’t have all the right answers.  It is possible — and probably necessary — to recognize the flaws in my country without diminishing love or loyalty to my homeland.  No person, faith group, political party, or other community has an exclusive hold on patriotism.

As a progressive, I understand that diversity is a gift that enriches any community.  Great value lies in cherishing the unique perspective and gift that each person brings to the community.  The disabled man sees the world differently than the female athlete, who sees the world differently than the retired military officer, who sees the world differently than the foreign students at the local university.

As a progressive, I also believe that we must celebrate the things we all share in common.  We may be diverse in ethnic heritage, faith tradition, education, career, physical and mental ability, and any other quality; at the same time, there are many aspects of human life — especially life together in a community or a nation — that we hold in common.

Of course, there are many other things that I know, believe, and/or value.  Not all of them define me as a progressive, but I believe that these do.

Last night, I encountered a person on twitter who is a very angry liberal.  He believes that conservatives are evil, demonic, and non-persons.  He believes that they should be attacked fought without any pretense to fairness, that they have abandoned their personhood and their basic rights to respect and dignity.  I disagree, and overnight I found myself reflecting on what it means to be a progressive, and why I was bothered so much by his vilification and abuse.

I believe that progressives have a responsibility to model progressive values, even when this may come at the cost of winning elections.  It is our inherent duty to rise above petty unfairness and bickering, to eschew unethical or immoral tactics, to refrain from diminishing the personhood of our opponents. 

Progressives need to demonstrate that there is a better answer, a better way to live together and to “do” government.  Yes, governing a nation will necessitate conflict, disagreement, and compromise.  No, this does not mean that disrespect, indignity, manipulation, vilification, abuse, or any other diminishment is desirable or necessary.

Progressives understand that we’re all in this together.  So let’s try to get along, so that we can work for the very best for our community, okay?