The progressive wing of the Democrat Party has waxed, waned and flirted with socialism since the early 19th Century. It began its decline in the 1920’s, and especially after World War II when America, utilizing the private sector, and strongly supported by labor unions, rebuilt our national economy. Private labor unions sponsored primarily by the Democrat Party at that time were, at the core, moderate and capitalistic. In the 1950s, progressives and their agenda of socialism was again strongly curtailed by McCarthyism.
The progressive movement re-emerged in the 1960’s and 70’s moving its wing of the Democrat Party outside America’s political and culture norms. Progressive academics who learned more and more about less and less advanced theories, ostensibly without intellectual challenge, concerning gender, sex and race that today permeate progressive core values and beliefs.
It is an understatement to say today’s progressives embrace a vision of their utopian world that far exceeded their 1900’s predecessors. Progressives apply an inflexible political correctness; coupled with a shifting of ethical and moral codes to fit their new normal paradigm. It is one of the reasons they continue to re-write American’s History, a narrative that remains a work in progress.
Progressives reinvent nature as they contrive elaborate new genders, nature never contemplated. Note the substitution of gender vis a vis sex especially in light of the fact that Title IX passed not as to gender identity but rather on the basis of sex. They substitute the word gender so they can invent esoteric terms such as a gender turning them into unintelligent jargon and claims
Progressives conceive gender(sexes) as a social contract rather than as a fact of nature negating ages worth of human experiences about the biological roles of men and women in their role of procreation and survival. Their ideology adversely affects teenagers such as the recent social contagion referred to as “rapid onset gender dysphoria” rendering sudden, and never before confusion about their sexual identity. Consequently, in keeping with progressive’s ideology a declaration of transgender identity is met without question and with immediate medical remedy.
Progressives actually believe affirmative action should remain a permanent fixture of American society, entrenched both politically and bureaucratically, defining their basic idea of fairness, and serving as a basic system of intimidation. This, despite clear demographical and socio-economic evidence that systemic racism no longer exists. While wrongly assumed, we are all presumed to be racist so that our educational institutions, corporations, etc. subject us to cultural and diversity training as if we were Pavlov dogs. It never occurs to progressives that their overreach along these lines, is self-defeating because it perpetuates a victimology and actually debases the dignity and the legitimacy of meritorious accomplishments of many members of their base.
Likewise, the “rule of law” is cast aside for an ancient dream of open borders (unrestricted immigration) and sanctuary cities. Progressives socialistic belief of total governmental dependence is exactly what they want evidenced by their clamor for free everything.
I dare say that Barrack Obama was [t]he prophet in waiting for the progressives’ big push, and credited as the modern author of identity politics. And he did not disappoint from the beer summit at Cambridge where he accused police of racial profiling, to his Administration’s refusal to charge members of the New Black Panther with threats of violence against white voters, to his Administration’s refusal to investigate the Ferguson riots, riots instigated by bus loads of people from Chicago.
It is however, doubtful that neither Obama, nor his then frequent visitor to the White House, Al Sharpton, will explain or admit the perils of using race or gender as political weapons but they are both conspicuously out of control. Progressives use catch phrases such as environmental justice or social justice as a substitute for real thinking. The judicial error referred to as “hate crimes”, is another catch phrase. Sadly, it does not deter such crimes, and actually promotes innumerable hate crime hoaxes.
Self- reliance, individualism and masculinity are progressive codes words aimed at a mischaracterized, distorted and one-dimensional view of patriarchal culture of male privilege. The American Psychological Associations anti-masculinity campaign is in sync with the war on anything progressives find offensive concerning biological male values and their natural role in society. This has created a belief, by some to advocate that masculinity is a sickness. Progressives promote and perpetuate an unhealthy status quo of gender(sex) intimidation and inequality that is damaging to relationships and hence society.
Progressives’ social weapon is to promote fake news and fake outrage, and as exhibited by their attacks on conservatives such as Brett Kavanaugh do not deal in good faith. And yet, we find prominent political and administrative agenda pushing progressives, from Hillary Clinton to James Comey to Andrew McCabe who move with impunity. Conservatives are well by nature conservative. Perhaps to get the pendulum swinging back to center, conservatives should feed progressives some of their own Saul Alinsky medicine such as (4) make the enemy live up to its own book of rules (5) ridicule, as it is a man’s most potent weapon (8) keep the pressure on (13) pick the target freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. I abhor tit for tats but it is evident that progressives actually believe their own press, flashing their hubris, smarter than you attitude, and higher moral ground while not listening nor originating workable solutions. Because in their minds anything they do is a means that justifies an end, and that is all that matters.
Dennis Petrucelli is a resident of the Village of Bonnybrook.
