If You Enjoy Progress, Thank A Liberal

By David at Kmareka, Section Diaries
Posted on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 10:00:34 AM EST
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There is a well-known bumper sticker, popular among educators and their supporters, that proclaims: If you can read this, thank a teacher. Undoubtedly, the message is intended to highlight the important role played by these professionals and to suggest that a modicum of appreciation is their due. That such a seemingly obvious sentiment required dissemination on the rear of vehicles speaks to the lack of respect and understanding educators are oddly afforded at times. The same might be said of liberals--who perhaps ought be honored with a bumper sticker of their own: If you enjoy progress, thank a liberal.

This nation owes a great debt to its liberals. A determined and visionary lot, they fought against the currents of history and around the obstacles of repression and disfavor to give birth to democracy and further advancements in liberty and equality. Their achievements are many: the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the emancipation of the slaves, women's suffrage, social security, civil rights, et al. Indeed, there is little in the way of social and political progress that cannot be credited to liberals. Nevertheless, to some Americans, liberal is a dirty word, synonymous with heathen or fanatic and invoked with suspicion if not disdain. Such disapprobation hardly seems deserved.

In the sedan (or SUV) that is America, liberals are the gas pedal, and conservatives are the brakes. One group seeks forward progress, while the other seeks to halt or even reverse direction. To resist progress as thoroughly as many conservatives do is to encourage stagnancy and to fight the natural course of evolution (which perhaps helps explain the appeal of creationism or intelligent design). All too often, this fight gets ugly. It was not so very long ago--though it feels like a lifetime (or perhaps 2800+ lifetimes)--that George W. Bush espoused "compassionate conservatism." What does it say about conservatives that their compassion is not implied but must be pointed out? Conversely, who would think to espouse compassionate liberalism? The very term is redundant. The irony of Bush's words is that, rather than masking, they expose the inherent intolerance and meanness of the conservative cause.

Nearly a century and a half ago, the English philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote a letter to a conservative member of parliament, in which he stated: "I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative." Stupid or not, many prominent conservatives do have a knack for stupefying their liberal counterparts, who often seem to flinch or flee when tagged with the "L" word, as though branded unclean. Such a paradoxical reaction only serves to embolden their detractors and lend credence to the notion that it is somehow bad or weak to be liberal. What do liberals have to be ashamed of? Their numerous achievements and aspirations are worthy of pride. In point of fact, it is not the avowal of liberalism that lessens their stature but its disavowal.

Unfortunately, many liberals have yet to acquire this lesson. Perhaps, when they learn, they will know greater success and self-worth. Perhaps, when they learn, this nation will cease its unnatural retreat from progress. Perhaps, when they learn, they will thank a teacher.

(NOTE: This diary was simultaneously posted on Kmareka.com.)

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If You Enjoy Progress, Thank A Liberal | 3 comments (3 topical)

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Liberals??? Liberals are Saboteurs! (none / 0) (#1)
by Edger on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 11:42:20 AM EST

Thanks for a very good diary, David. Well said!

In the sedan (or SUV) that is America, liberals are the gas pedal, and conservatives are the brakes. One group seeks forward progress, while the other seeks to halt or even reverse direction.

Though I agree with everything you said above, I think there are also times when Liberals need to be pushing the brake pedal to to enable progress.

I like science fiction. It's my favorite literary genre because it is a literature of speculation, possibilities and of thought experiments. In many cases because of those attributes it can sometimes predict or describe the general outlines of future scenarios and future societal needs.

Watching Bush, the GOP, and rightwing 'conservatives' assaults on reason, intelligence, thoughtfulness, freedom, rights, and the constitution reminds me strongly of Frank Herbert's story "The Dosadi Experiment", and particularly his character Jorj X. McKie, an agent for The Bureau of Sabotage (BuSab):

In Herbert's fiction, sometime in the far future, government has become terrifyingly efficient. Red tape no longer exists: laws are conceived of, passed, funded, and executed within hours, rather than months. The bureaucratic machinery has become a juggernaut, rolling over human concerns and welfare with terrible speed, jerking the universe of sentients one way, then another, threatening to destroy everything in a fit of spastic reactions. In short, the speed of government has gone beyond sentient control (in this fictional universe, many alien species co-exist, with a common definition of sentience marking their status as equals).
BuSab begins as a terrorist organization, whose sole purpose is to frustrate the workings of government and to damage the incredible level of efficient order in the universe in order to give sentients a chance to reflect upon changes and deal with them. Having saved sentiency from its government, BuSab is officially recognized as a necessary check on the power of government.
First a corp, then a bureau, BuSab has legally recognized powers to interfere in the workings of any world, of any species, of any government, answerable only to themselves (though in practice, they are always threatened with dissolution by the governments they watch). They act as a monitor of, and a conscience for, the collective sentiency, watching for signs of anti-sentient behaviour and preserving the essential dignity of individuals.

Maybe we need a "Bureau of Sabotage" to throw a wrench into the plans of people like BushCo and PNAC?

Maybe Talkleft, and other netroots sites, are a BuSab of sorts?

What do liberals have to be ashamed of?

Absolutely nothing. If You Enjoy Progress, Thank A Liberal, indeed!

It's all in knowing how to drive (none / 0) (#2)
by David at Kmareka on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 12:27:54 PM EST

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Edger. In terms of the automobile metaphor, what I perhaps could have said is that both the gas pedal and the brakes serve an essential function and ought be used prudently, with the goal of maintaining adequate forward progress at a rate that is safe and manageable. When it comes to social and political progress, I believe that there is no question that, as a nation, we must cease the unnatural retreat that we have been in since the conservatives hijacked the three branches of government. We must begin to move forward again and perhaps even try to make up for lost time.

On the other hand, I sometimes think that, when it comes to technological progress, we do need to apply the brakes a bit more often, so as to allow ourselves the opportunity to catch our breath and integrate the many advancements that propel us forward with such rapidity.

In any regard, let's hope that, after Tuesday, the liberals have regained some control of the vehicle and are at least partially back in the driver's seat.


: ...at least partially back in the driver's seat. (none / 0) (#3)
by Edger on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 12:37:42 PM EST

Or at least directing traffic and making sure whoever is driving follows the rules of the road.