Progress doesn't stop
I'm an old-hand at self-delusion. I'm the sort of person who sees the empty glass as half full. At the same time, I did live through the age of Reagan. There is no way this age can be worse than that, for during Reagan's era we had a government that stood by and did absolutely nothing while tens of thousands of people died of AIDS. Through his intentional inaction, Reagan was in effect a mass murderer.
While it's true the Republicans did score big yesterday, it's worth remembering that in the long run they never succeed in turning back the tide of change. Our history is replete with liberal victory after liberal victory that are now part of our national landscape. Conservatives fought against emancipation, child labor laws, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, minimum wage, environmental protection, the 40 hour work week, the Family Leave Act, hate crimes laws, Obamacare, as well as Civil Rights, women's rights, and gay rights. They lost, regardless of which party was in power. For instancce, it was during the Bush years that gay rights scored two of its most significant victories with Lawrence v. Texas (invalidating sodomy laws) and the legalization of marriage in several states.
And even in this, the worst of elections, let's not forget that North Dakota and Colorado defeated anti-abortion amendments, that South Dakota, Arkansas, Alaska, and Nebraska voted to raise their minimum wages, and that Washington State voted stricter gun control laws. Conservatives have almost no notches in their belt for their social agenda, and in the next two years they may be forced to establish an immigration amnesty and take steps towards addressing income inequality.
When polls show that Americans are twice as likely to be conservative than liberal, the difference is that liberal victories move the bar of conservativism to the left. Today's independents and many conservatives generally support most of the initiatives that were once considered liberal, whether we're talking about rights for minorities and women, healthcare for the poor and elderly, or other laws that help children and families.
When Republicans win it usually means that progress on human rights and fairness slow to a trickle, but it doesn't stop. And, I think the reason for that is because we don't stop.
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