10-06-2008, 02:17 PM
So they're talkin' away: "Bush is the anti-Christ, Cheney is a mass murderer, they are all mass murderers, they steal elections, they have destroyed the constitution, everything they do is theft, they are destroying the planet, they are religious nut jobs who are planning to destroy the planet, they are Nazis, they murder millions, they are genocidal..."Progressives are not Leftists, they are softer Capitalists.
1- Certainly progressives are on the left of the right-wingers and they seem to care about the poor.
2- Leftists, last time I checked, are people who believe in socialism, at least.
3- Progressives, as far as I can tell, don't believe in socialism.
4- While people believe Progressives are the top-left-radicals in America, this is not true, not even close. And because the media portray them this way, we are given the impression that the weak and slow change they advocate is extreme and almost intolerable.
So not only are Progressives are NOT Leftists, I also submit this to you : by calling them leftists, which is a very charged term in America, we are limiting the terms of the debates, we are giving a helping hand to the right-wingers.
No, Progressives are not Leftists, they are softer Capitalists.
And it goes on like this, not for an hour or a day but for years. Seemingly, there is no charge serious enough or accusation sweeping enough which is too radical to be flung at the social fabric.
And, you come along and say, "socialism" or "nationalization"....
And all of a sudden, it all turns on you... and you get a ringing defence of the system that would have been inconceivable five minutes before:
"With all its flaws, it is still the best system in the world" and "YOU wanna take away our freedoms"... and assorted other jive lifted from the civics textbooks and civil religions of those who were just being excoriated minutes before...
And, understanding this "balance" is called "progressivism".