ProudProgressive

Why did I name this blog “ProudProgressive”?

Simply put, I’m proud to be progressive, liberal, left-wing, or whatever you want to call it. I’m proud of the progress that liberals have made in winning rights for women, racial minorities, gays and lesbians, workers, children, religious minorities, and the disabled. I’m proud of the work liberals have done to widen the safety nets for families, to make quality health care and education more widely accessible, and to encourage corporate responsibility and respect for the environment. I’m proud of the progressives who have made us safer by instigating food, drug, and environmental standards, food labeling, mandatory automobile safety measures, and myriad other protections that we take for granted. I’m proud of liberals who have advocated for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to conflicts and who recognize the moral imperative of world-wide humanitarian work. And I’m proud of progressives who support and make contributions to both the arts and sciences.

I’m also proud that progressives realize that our work isn’t finished. Liberals understand that we can always keep improving. Instead of resting on our laurels, we need to continue working for improvements. We need to combat the still-present racism, sexism, homophobia, religious oppression, and other forms of discrimination. We need universal health care and better safety nets. We need to work harder at diplomatic instead of military solutions, and at the multitude of other omnipresent social, economic, and political issues.

I’m tired of the media denigrating the terms “liberal” and “progressive” and of politicians, and the general public refusing to describe themselves that way. I’m proud to be a progressive liberal.

Tags: history, liberal, Politics, progressive