Can You Be Both An American and A Progressive?

PoliticalChic

Diamond Member
Gold Supporting Member
Oct 6, 2008
124,863
60,200
2,300
Brooklyn, NY
Can you be both a Progressive and an American?

Well, let’s see what Progressives believe, and see if you can subscribe…

1. The Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution are founded on the idea that people are born with inalienable rights, given by one’s Creator, not by a legislative body or government that can decide which ones you have, and can remove them.
a. Not according to Progressives. Woodrow Wilson, of the Declaration of Independence, from “What is Progress?”
“Some citizens of this country never got beyond the Declaration of Independence, signed in Philadelphia, July 4th, 1776….The Declaration of Independence did not mention the questions of our day. It is of no consequence to us unless we can translate its general terms into examples of the present day and substitute them in some vital way for the examples it itself gives…”
b. Wilson: “ the Constitution could be stripped off and thrown aside…”( Project MUSE - Journal of Policy History - Woodrow Wilson and a World Governed by Evolving Law Project MUSE Journals Journal of Policy History Volume 20, Number 1, 2008 Project MUSE - Journal of Policy History - Woodrow Wilson and a World Governed by Evolving Law
The Constitution stands in the way of the Progressives' agenda.

2. The founders believed in the sanctity of private property…but not Progressives:
a. Madison, 1792, said that ‘property’ included our natural rights, and the goal of government is the protection of property.
b. Woodrow Wilson, in his essay “Socialism and Democracy” said ‘Limitations of public authority must be put aside; the state may cross that boundary at will.’ The collective is not limited by individual rights.


3. How about the idea of checks and balances, you know, so that no one branch or individual accumulates too much power? Good idea or bad?
a.Federalist #10- checks and balances, to keep passions in check.
b. Tocqueville tells how centralization of power can lead to despotism. “Beware of government by experts and bureaucrats.”
c. Woodrow Wilson, in his essay “What is Progress?” Wilson compares the Founders ideas of checks and balances as the construction of a government as one would construct an orrery, a simple machine, based on immutable laws as in Newtonian physics, while he contends that government should conform to Darwin. “It is modified by its environment, necessitated by its tasks, shaped to its functions by the sheer pressure of life. No living thing can have its organs offset against each other, as checks, and live.” See, Progressives want on separation or check on the power to do as they wish.


4. Progressives know how stupid the masses are, and that is why Progressive journalists editorialize instead of report the news… to tell you what you should think.
a. : “President Woodrow Wilson, a leading progressive, spoke often of his "vision," introducing a term that has now become central to our understanding of presidential politics. Wilson believed, as Kesler puts it, "that to become a leader you have to have a vision of the future and communicate that vision to the unanointed, mass public. You have to make them believe in your prophetic ability."
The Roots Of Liberalism - Forbes.com
b. Modern journalism is based on Progressives’ ideas: use the media to ‘teach’ people. Alter journalism from reporting facts to editorializing in the news, as the elites always know better. Walter Lippmann, Progressive (American newspaper commentator and author who in a 60-year career made himself one of the most widely respected political columnists in the world.)Public Opinion, “When properly deployed in the public interest, the manufacture of consent is useful and necessary for a cohesive society, because, in many cases, “the common interests” of the public are not obvious, and only become clear upon careful analysis of the collected data — a critical intellectual exercise in which most people either are uninterested or incapable of doing. Therefore, most people must have the world summarized for them, by the well-informed.” Public Opinion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


5.But that’s the ‘old time’ Progressive…not the current group. Right? Wrong.
a. Does President Obama believe in three separate branches of government? Well, Congress refused to pass his commission idea, so in the SOTU he said he’d just use executive order to create it. And he insisted that Congress overturn the Supreme Court decision…or, I guess, another executive order?
b. Ms. Clinton: “"I prefer the word ‘progressive,’ which has a real American meaning, going back to the progressive era at the beginning of the 20th century.” Hillary Clinton: I’m Not a Liberal
c. Axelrod claims the WH is Progressive:

[youtube]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j4PxJ4uH-t4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j4PxJ4uH-t4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]
 
What a load of diaper sludge.

I hope you didnt spend to much time on this hate rant.
 
Can You Be Both An American and A Progressive?

As far as the general question posed, I'd say yes. Progressives measures were passed almost 100 years ago and the Constitution as well as the country as a whole is still here and pretty much intact despite bumps in the road, some major and some minor.


As far as specifics go, one point really caught my eye:

Modern journalism is based on Progressives&#8217; ideas: use the media to &#8216;teach&#8217; people. Alter journalism from reporting facts to editorializing in the news, as the elites always know better.


I guess maybe a certain "Fair and Balanced" cable network has adopted progressive ideas, too, then.
 
While they might be considered Americans, I don't think that they're what the founding fathers were hoping for when they conceived the idea for this nation. It seems to me that progressives often consider themselves to be world citizens that happen to have the misfortune to be born in the horrible USA.
 
Can You Be Both An American and A Progressive?

As far as the general question posed, I'd say yes. Progressives measures were passed almost 100 years ago and the Constitution as well as the country as a whole is still here and pretty much intact despite bumps in the road, some major and some minor.


As far as specifics go, one point really caught my eye:

Modern journalism is based on Progressives’ ideas: use the media to ‘teach’ people. Alter journalism from reporting facts to editorializing in the news, as the elites always know better.


I guess maybe a certain "Fair and Balanced" cable network has adopted progressive ideas, too, then.


Fox is the most trusted television news network in the country, according to a new poll out Tuesday.
A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19 found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more than any other network.
Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t trust Fox, also the lowest level of distrust that any of the networks recorded.


Read more: Poll: Fox most trusted name in news - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com
 
Can You Be Both An American and A Progressive?

As far as the general question posed, I'd say yes. Progressives measures were passed almost 100 years ago and the Constitution as well as the country as a whole is still here and pretty much intact despite bumps in the road, some major and some minor.


As far as specifics go, one point really caught my eye:

Modern journalism is based on Progressives’ ideas: use the media to ‘teach’ people. Alter journalism from reporting facts to editorializing in the news, as the elites always know better.


I guess maybe a certain "Fair and Balanced" cable network has adopted progressive ideas, too, then.


Fox is the most trusted television news network in the country, according to a new poll out Tuesday.
A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19 found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more than any other network.
Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t trust Fox, also the lowest level of distrust that any of the networks recorded.


Read more: Poll: Fox most trusted name in news - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com

Doesn't change the fact that they're employing the progressive idea on journalism you apparently abhor so much. In fact, it could be argued that it shows its effectiveness.

As you said yourself:

Progressives know how stupid the masses are, and that is why Progressive journalists editorialize instead of report the news… to tell you what you should think.


Not saying I actually believe that swill, mind you, just pointing out how hypocritical it is for you to pin that just on the left.
 
What a load of diaper sludge.

I hope you didnt spend to much time on this hate rant.

Interesting approach to intellectual discourse.

Its NOT intelluctual its a long well organised hate rant full of assumptions that make no sense.
There is nothing hateful about it. Are any of the quotes wrong? Are they taken out of context?

The only thing that is happening here is someone is asking a question. Are asking questions now considered hate speech?
 
how do you have the patience to respond to that type of lunacy?

Since the OP quotes the major Progressives in their own words, your response reeks of ignorance.

I note that there is not an error that you can find in the post, and, therefore, athe use of the phrase "that type of lunacy" indicates a transparent attempt to divert from that which you cannot defend.

I'm disappointed in you, as I am eminently prepared to repel any attack on the post, and looked forward to a more measured and congent- and mature- onslaught.

Here is what I take away from the fairly vapid responsed from the left: "I didn't realize that those were the views of my heroes! I'd best make believe that those ideas aren't really the way they thought!"

Reality: if you love the ideas in the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, and the view of America as expounded by the Founders, then you have been hoodwinked by the left!


And, my friend, for you specifically: are you familiar with the way the teaching of law changed in the 1920's, by such Progressives as Roscoe Pound, who introduced the idea of 'social justice' to jurisprudence?

"Roscoe Pound and others changed the view of the law. “Pound fought the notion that an unchanging and inflexible Natural Law formed the basis for the Common Law. He did believe that some constant principles existed in the common law, particularly ones dealing with methods, to which he gave the name "taught legal tradition." Pound firmly believed that the implementation of the principles of the taught legal tradition by wise common-law judges resulted in substantive change, which reflected changes in society. As the interpreters of the common law, judges had a special duty to consider the practical effects of their decisions and to strive to ensure that judging facilitated rather than hindered societal growth.” Roscoe Pound legal definition of Roscoe Pound. Roscoe Pound synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary.

I suspect that you were not aware. Hoodwinked.
 
"The founders believed in the sanctity of private property&#8230;but not Progressives"


You take one mans words and try hard to misunderstand him and then say he speaks for all progressives living or dead.

You are a hate filled partisan hack.
 

Forum List

Back
Top