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The mark of a great nation; Progessives 101 [1]
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Date: 2022-10-17
The mark of a great nation is not how the wealthiest and most powerful are coddled, how great their tax cuts are, how much they were unfairly favored in the eyes of the law.
The mark of a great nation is in how the least among them were treated, how the poor, the ill, the elderly, the young, those at the margins of society and how those 6 and 7 generations to come were cared for.
(I paraphrase a greater speaker then myself here — JFK)
I am a progressive.
I am a liberal.
I am a flawed person of flawed nation who still strives for “May your best todays become your worst yesterdays”.
As a progressive I work to improve and part of that is to understand both myself and my neighbors who although seemingly unreachable are still my fellow travelers through this vale of tears. We, progressives, often seem to fail to convey what our morals, our ethics, our hopes and dreams for ourselves and others are; much to our frustration we forget that most people are moved not by reason and logic and fact and data but by emotions of hope and fear and worldview mental frames.
We need to tell others in clear words, in words of emotion and hope and caring what we truly believe in…….the why can come later, first we must speak our truths.
Re-reading “Thinking Points by George Lakoff” I am forced to articulate what I, in my heart, know to be true and yet has been altered and twisted in others ears by decades of poisoned words dripping into their ears from uncaring demagogue’s seeking power above all.
We cannot remain silent; silence is complicity.
”When conservative philosophy causes disaster, progressives must make that clear, shout it from the rooftops, organize speakers everywhere to say it out loud, and repeat it until it registers in the brains of the public and become an issue, a matter of ongoing public debate” — pg 43 Thinking Points by George Lakoff.
I firmly believe and will continue to believe we can be a better nation, we can appeal to the “Better Angels of our Natures”……..and we must speak, write, sing, dance, and convey to our fellow citizens what we truly want.
Our nations greatness lies not in our military arms, or our anger, or the famous and wealthy or our vengance; it lies in our power to innovate and care for the least among, to accept the storm tossed, to truly open that golden door for all.
To me this still means “Equality and Opportunity for all” including those yet to follow us and leads to most of my philosophy and actions.
Equality before the law (none below it, none above it)
Opportunity and the resources for the best lives possible.
And care for those seven generations away from us who will suffer what we leave them, good or ill.
I will perhaps next speak of the Rule of Law, not the rule of men.
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