The Progressive Alliance: United We Must Stand

“There Are Many Ways Of Moving Forward, But Only One Way Of Standing Still” -Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Opinion By Ole Olson

The last 30 years have been dominated by an increasingly conservative political philosophy that has done some major damage to America. Although times have changed and the people of our country have woken up, the battle did not end with the election, in fact it has only grown more intense. Everyone has their own particular issue that they need addressed, but unless every progressive group stays active and helps each other out, nothing meaningful will get done.

The Republican Party seems to be circling the drain. For the last 2 years, their party has become increasingly extreme and irrelevant to the dominant political philosophy in a classic case of overexertion and losing touch with the reality on the ground in nearly every issue that’s important to a majority of Americans.

Conservative philosophy has dominated since Ronald Reagan was in power, and the results to our country have been disastrous and far reaching, ranging from skyrocketing debt due to borrow and spend policies to becoming the world’s police force to stacking the courts with right wing ideologues bent on increasingly harsh penalties that now have 1 in 33 Americans either behind bars or on probation among many other things.

Thus it comes as no surprise that the GOP is now losing ground among all demographic groups. The colossal failures of the Bush regime may even haunt Republicans for generations. But that doesn’t mean the right wing won’t do everything in their power to divide progressive causes. In fact, conservatives have attacked Obama for literally everything the man has done since taking the oath of office, including taking the oath itself.

Failing to take responsibility for their mistakes, conservatives now hide behind libertarian philosophy with Tea Bagging Parties, have pushed neo-secessionist movements, are threatening to filibuster in record numbers, and many other shady ways of putting their party ahead of the good of the nation.

PARADIGM SHIFT

“What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.” -Obama inauguration

The 2006 and 2008 elections were clear evidence that there has been a paradigm shift in the dominant political philosophy in the United States. For the first time in 30 years, with perhaps the only exception being the temporary awakening from the dark Reagan/Bush years in 1992, the Democratic Party appeared to grow a pair and fight back with genuine enthusiasm and strength.

Instead of waning away from liberal beliefs and issues, they were made a center point of campaigns, even in traditionally red states and areas. The timing was perfect, because after nearly a generation of failed conservative policy, there was a self-correction taking place in the mindset and worldview of the American electorate.

What does this translate into on the ground? There are a myriad of progressive issues that people are fighting for. A brief summary of portions of a sampling of these are below.

Freedom, Justice, and the Constitution

Under the conservative domination of the three branches of government, each of these three were violated. Domestic espionage, the Patriot Act, failing to follow the rule of law, ignoring habeas corpus, etc. were a clear assault on the freedoms protected under the constitution that we enjoy in America. Torture must be prosecuted. Domestic espionage must end.

Health Care

50 million Americans have no health insurance and tens of millions of others are underinsured. This is unacceptable for the richest country in the world, and a recent poll demonstrated overwhelming support for a strong, public option to ensure care for all of us. The powerful insurance and pharmaceutical industries will spend millions of dollars to defeat any meaningful reform, and this issue is in front of us right now. Health care reform is likely the single issue that demands our strongest support at the moment.

Legalization

This movement has been grown underground and organically for quite a while, and is only now starting to emerge into the mainstream. Medical marijuana is a no-brainer, simply being a humanitarian issue, but cannabis has innumerable industrial applications, would make an excellent cash crop for struggling farmers, and legalization would solve a criminal justice system overrun with small time recreational users.

Environmental Protection

The last 2 presidential terms were particularly disastrous for the environment. Mining and petroleum companies were allowed to rampage virtually without regulation due to a severe weakening of EPA rules and definitions. Add to this ecosystem destruction, increased pollution, deforestation, desertification, and many other issues, mother nature has suffered immense pain recently.

LGBT rights

This is the civil rights battle for our generation. For too long our gay brothers, sisters, neighbors, and friends have suffered both social and legal discrimination. They are human beings who are born the way they are and have nothing to apologize for.

Science

Whether it be evolution, climate change, stem cells, or simply pure research, real science has been under funded and coerced by unfriendly political forces for many years. It’s about time that we unleash science from the shackles of manipulation and start funding it adequately. Technological innovations alone should be enough incentive to convince anyone in the importance of science, not to mention biomedical research, environmental data, etc.

Separation of Church and State, Freedom of (and from) Religion

We do not live in a theocracy. There is no state sponsored religion in America. Further, Western tradition values the freedom of and freedom *from* religion, but this has been demonized by various ‘fire and brimstone’ sects that have become increasingly fanatical and aggressive in their rhetoric. Everyone has a right to believe what they chose to or not to believe at all, and when this is infringed upon by overbearing fundamentalists, everyone is damaged.

Equality of Gender

30 years after the Equal Rights Amendment failed to be ratified, women continue to have major disadvantages in our society. Whether it is pay discrepancies or advancement opportunities, discrimination based on ones gender is simply unacceptable.

Ethnic diversity and Immigration reform

From the earliest days of colonization and even prior to that in the days of the First Ones, America has been a land of many cultures. Although the groups coming to our shores have changed many times over hundreds of years, our capacity to welcome them in has not. Each culture is a pillar, creating a stronger roof for our great nation. Legislation such as the DREAM Act can help make this a reality. Racism in all its forms must be opposed.

Economic justice and workers rights

This is one area that perhaps highlights the failures of conservative philosophy greater than any. The last 30 years has been a huge boon for the wealthiest and a bust for those least advantaged in society. For instance, CEO who once made 40x the salary of an average worker in their company now rake in over 400 times that.

Unions have been busted, jobs have been outsourced, and real wages have declined with ordinary Americans during a time when benefits have decreased and hours worked per year have skyrocketed. The Employee Free Choice Act will help working Americans lift themselves out of poverty by allowing them to organize and collectively bargain free of corporate interference.

Human Rights

Although as mentioned in the next section, Obama is closing Guantanamo and joining the UN Human Rights Council, there is still a LOT of work to be done both at home and abroad with this issue. Those who crafted, pushed for, and engaged in torture have yet to face justice and everyone involved must be held accountable.

Green Energy

We have a unique opportunity to revitalize our industrial base, forge new export products, create jobs, and help the environment by supporting green energy products. Solar, wind, geothermal coupled with the increasing efficiency and usage reduction will be good for everyone except big oil and coal, perhaps the reason they are trying to sidetrack any real progress with this issue.

THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS

There have been some small but meaningful gains in policy that have stemmed from the Obama administration in a very short period of time. These include a first day pay freeze, joining the UN Human Rights Council, disclosure of documents, reversing abortion-funding and stem cell policies, ordering the closing of Guantanamo, nuclear weapons agreement with Russia, stopping logging in road less areas, canceling Bush-era oil leases in Utah, helping endangered species, letting states cap their own emissions, and pushing for a huge increase in miles per gallon in vehicles.

Despite these gains, republican obstructionism seems to be having an effect on delaying significant legislation in congress. Health care reform is being watered down and could potentially not happen. The Employee Free Choice Act might not even make it out of committee this year. The Climate Bill is being viciously attacked by pseudoscience parrots, high paid lobbyists, and GOP attack dogs. These are things that our nation desperately needs and frankly the type of changes we voted for in the last 2 election cycles.

CALL FOR UNITY

It took a tremendous effort to elect progressive voices into congress and to get Barack Obama into the Oval Office. Although this was a monumental landslide victory with a clear mandate, the work is far from over. With the unprecedented conservative obstructionism taking place backed by powerful corporate lobbyists and slick misinformation campaigns, now is not the time to relax, everyone needs to stay involved in this grassroots movement for change. This is why we need unity.

Conservatives have always held a disproportionately large share of real power because they enforce strict party loyalty with punitive measures, are bitterly intolerant of even the slightest dissent, and have more similar, traditional views. The liberal side of the spectrum is full of good ideas, but it is very difficult to get everyone on board with each idea.

Considering the natural disadvantage progressives have in lieu of this situation, we are in danger of letting real reforms and fundamental changes slip through our fingers, like they did in 1992. I remember everyone breathing a collective sigh of relief when Clinton was elected. It looked like the country was finally waking up, and we were certain that with a Democratic president, things would get better.

Everyone turned complacent and two very short years later, the divide and conquer Republican tactics succeeded and they swept back into congressional control, effectively hamstringing any further good that Clinton might have done. They are using the exact same playbook today, and if we let them, they will divide us again and stop any meaningful change from taking place. We need to stand together and support each others causes in a positive, constructive way.

Therefore, if you want worker’s rights, you need to support green energy.

If you believe in science, you have to take a stand for LGBT civil rights.

If you value justice, you should speak out for environmental protection.

If you know legalization is logical, you should stand up for immigration reform.

If you are pro-choice, support the separation of church and state.

If you value our tradition of ethnic diversity, fight for health care reform.

If you like freedom, help push for human rights.

Due to the enormity of each issue and the sheer number of them that demand attention, each one will be a battle and cannot be solved immediately. Progressives need to focus on one or two at a time, continue the grassroots fight to get it done through volunteering, donating, and speaking out loudly. Once each battle is won, we can move onto another, and another.

The only way in which a majority of these issues can be addressed is with the help of those who value other issues. The election is over, and if we allow those who failed our country before do it, they will divide us. We are all in this together. United we stand, divided we fall.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by guest columnists and writers on the NEWS JUNKIE POST’s Opinion Section don’t necessarily reflect those of its editors and contributors. NJP offers an open space for a broad range of opinions and political perspectives.

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