Did I stumble on to part of the solution?

[HereSince1628]

A co-worker who was very supportive of Bush commented that I wouldn't understand about her son gaining a medical under honorable circumstances separation from military service because I was a Liberal.

I responded saying "But I'm not Liberal I'm Progressive.

She asked,"What do you mean Progressive?"

I said, " Well, I believe the nation isn't perfect and it can and will be better. And I believe better means increases in Liberty, Justice, and Equality...For Everyone."

She said,"Damn, I think I must be progressive!"

Which I have to say took me back a step. This was coming from a typical limited education, ClearlyChanneled Country listener and Bush Cheney supporter.

I didn't quite know how to respond so I said, "Well, maybe you are but just never noticed before."

Maybe the answer lies in claiming something very easy to understand and which the majority of Americans clearly believes in---Then running with it all the way to state houses and the national capital.

But then as a progressive it is likely that I am delusional.

[okieinpain]

1. oh hell no, they are just a distraction. gays contribute to much

money to the repug party for that to happen.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Yuo did, you reframed the issue

now get yourself Lakkkoff's book and read it, and practice reframing all the time

By the way do not use (will reinforce them) their frames, good for you, did not use the term liberal.

Now when talking of republicans, talk of regresives, and credit card party... when refering to leadership use crook constantly, the label has to stick

Oh and want to help him? Tell him that his son has to file with the VA fast, even though he is medically separated they can be a pain. taht is the progressive thing to do...

[IrateCitizen]

3. You're not delusional -- you're on the right track!

Maybe the answer lies in claiming something very easy to understand and which the majority of Americans clearly believes in---Then running with it all the way to state houses and the national capital.

Sounds to me like you're describing a long-term, national movement that develops leaders and policies all the way down at the local level, and then pushes those candidates and strategies up through state and national politics.

That, my friend, is how to build a true democratic majority in this country. The majority of the population isn't right wing -- it's just that the right wing has figured out how to successfully push people's buttons while all segments of the left were sitting around with our collective thumbs up our butts. We need to figure out how to push people's buttons in a way that encourages them to vote FOR us and our ideas. The first part of that is actually campaigning on what we represent and what our ideas are, as opposed to simply saying, "We're not Republicans."

[HereSince1628]

7. It seems it might really be THAT simple...BUT

if it is then all the big heads have clearly overlooked something that is pretty obvious.

I do hope there IS a pony in here :)

But I am hesitant to be too hopeful. All other leads have left only wheelbarrows full of manure...

Simple message that reaches more than half America is a simple formula.

Finding that by returning to the mindset of Jefferson and other progressive Founders and looking at their message in the prelude to the Constitution as a source of something largely shared by the nation seems way too obvious.

What did I miss? I must have missed something, right? :shrug:

[IrateCitizen]

15. You're assuming that the "big heads" would want this strategy...

They don't. It's not because it's a losing strategy, but because it would inevitably drift toward the repeal of unfettered corporate rule.

We don't live in a country of Jeffersonian democracy anymore. For all his faults, Jefferson was a visionary when it came to the ideas of civic involvement. He believed that in order for the country to live up to its ideals, it must pursue a truly egalitarian spirit -- which would ensure that the citizenry consume their time with debate over the issues of the day and civic involvement. Failure to pursue this egalitarian path would result in a society in which the citizenry concerned themselves more with the acquisition of material possessions than with the pursuit of ideas.

The latter was the Federalist vision, and although the Federalists met a rapid demise, their vision for the country has come true and the Jeffersonian vision has diminished.

Both major parties in this country are controlled by, and work for, the elite of the nation. Bush was just being honest when he said at that dinner, "... the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base." The sad fact is that the "haves and have-mores" represent the base of BOTH political parties, despite both our and their efforts to deny it.

The only way that this will change is if either an ascendant third party arises to challenge the elite duopoly controlling our political process (not likely), or if the machinery of one of the major parties is wrested from the clutches of the "elites" and transformed into a true party of the people. Either way, it's an uphill fight.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

4. You win the prize

for the most useful and smart thing I've read here lately. :yourock:

[flygal]

5. I like progressive - I liked liberal until it became a four letter word

during the 90's. But, I lived in a town that never wanted change - the only way you can get elected is to promise to turn back time fifty years. I doubt "progressive" would do it for those backwards jerks.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Don't call them back ward jerks

call them regresives.. and MAKE IT STICK

[Old and In the Way]

8. Here's the spectrum-

conservative -> regressive -> -> progressive -> liberal

They've managed to make liberal a radical evil word....so paint the conservative label with the same brush. That leaves "progressive" as the label of choice. The only corresponding opposite would be ....regressive. How many people want to be labeled regressive? Not many.

Regress

Main Entry: 1re·gress
Pronunciation: 'rE-"gres
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin regressus, from regredi to go back, from re- + gradi to go -- more at GRADE
1 a : an act or the privilege of going or coming back b : REENTRY 1
2 : movement backward to a previous and especially worse or more primitive state or condition
3 : the act of reasoning backward



Progress

Main Entry: 1prog·ress
Pronunciation: 'prä-gr&s, -"gres, US also and British usually 'prO-"gres
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin progressus advance, from progredi to go forth, from pro- forward + gradi to go -- more at PRO-, GRADE
1 a (1) : a royal journey marked by pomp and pageant (2) : a state procession b : a tour or circuit made by an official (as a judge) c : an expedition, journey, or march through a region
2 : a forward or onward movement (as to an objective or to a goal) : ADVANCE
3 : gradual betterment; especially : the progressive development of mankind

[JohnOneillsMemory]

9. I hear doctors are now prescribing ANTI-OPPRESSANTS. N/T

[HereSince1628]

10. Don't leave it there...please explain what an anti-oppressant is

[JohnOneillsMemory]

12. I made that up to show the need to get mad, not sad, fighting fascism.

Anti-depressants are being prescribed to children and anyone else who is stressed to keep the stress from reaching a threshold where people figure out what is wrong in their lives (fascism) and CHANGING IT.

You could call the intentional cultural terrorism and TV-enabled fearmongering in the USA an 'anguish management system.'

Tension is deliberately induced in the masses to get them in line but the threshold of awareness and coping is intentionally avoided with medication and distraction (TV, sports, soap operas, celebrity gossip.)

We actually use our vocabulary to THINK and 'frame' how we think so words are tools to change minds. Every little alpha-bit helps.

Like '9/11 Ommission Panel'

or 'Hack America's Vote Act'

or 'No Child's Behind Left Act'

[JohnOneillsMemory]

11. YES! Clear and simply stated moral values. A winning ticket for sure.

Congrats on your instinctive success at educating your co-worker.

We all should do this with our families and co-workers, everyone we bump into out in the 'real' world.

Don't expect the media or Congress to do it for us.

I walked past a College Republicans table on the campus of UCBerkeley a few days ago and stopped to chat with the two young women eating their lunches and handing out a magazine called 'The Patriot.'

I asked "so how do you explain to people your support of torture?"

One girl said she didn't think that could be tied to Bush/Cheney (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
I explained who Gonzales was and that he was about to become our Attorney General.

The other girl said that torture was ok as long as it was the right person being tortured. I laughed and said "nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. That's a slippery slope, isn't it?" She replied, "yes it is...but I'm not sure how we got on it..."

I was still friendly as I bade them farewell and thanked them for their courage in manning a Repub table at that bastion of Berkeley liberalism. The old 'kill'em with kindness' tactic.

When I walked by 15 minutes later, they were chatting with two guys. I waved with a big friendly smile and called out "Hi, torture girls!"

One smiled and waved back in a 'rock on!'-manner.

But the other looked down in shame and embarassment. I could tell she was wondering "how did I become 'Torture Girl'?"

And another mind was opened with a simple honest human interaction between strangers.

[DinahMoeHum]

13. It's called "finding common ground". . .

and while it may not be THE solution, IMO, it's a very important step on the road to taking our country back.

:kick:

[SweetLeftFoot]

14. As a foreigner ...

I have often tought that since the Republicans and their minions have done so much to impugn the word Liberal that progressives in the US will need to find a term to replace it.

That's what Blair (may he regain his mind soon) did in Britain and the New labour govt there will be around for at least another seven years.

FWIW - meanings and words are interchangeable. The current ruling party in Australia, led by Dubya's Little Deputy Sheriff John Howard, is called the Liberal Party and they are right-wing scum.

[Hamlette]

16. they turned liberal into a dirty word, won't they just do the same with

progressive?

I actually agree with the arguments but it makes me mad I have to change my language. Truth is, liberal is a good thing. They just trashed it, systematically.