Mike Lux over at Open Left has a great run down of why he is a progressive. I echo this list. After going through a history of what Progressives have accomplished in history, he asks what we can accomplish in the future (i.e. almost everything that comprises modern American life). In the comments, tell us why you are a progressive and what you want progressives to accomplish in the future:
Here is the list:
I am a progressive because progressives have always fought for Jefferson’s idea that all of us are created equal.
I am a progressive because progressives embrace the idea of a government of, by, and for the people instead of a government run by the wealthy and powerful.
I am a progressive because we need an economy built from the bottom up, not the top down; an economy that is built on rising wages and an expanding and prosperous middle class, not one built on getting scraps trickling down from the rich and investor bubbles; an economy built on producing quality products, not one based on moving money around from one wealthy financial conglomerate to another.
I am a progressive because all of the great advances in American history come from the progressive movement, from people who believed in equality and democracy and justice and change fighting against the powers that be:
-The American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence
-The Bill of Rights
-The abolition of slavery
-The national park system
-Consumer safety laws
-Breaking up the big corporate trusts
-Women’s suffrage
-Social Security
-Minimum wage
-Unemployment and worker’s compensation
-Rural electrification
-The GI Bill
-Child labor laws
-The weekend and eight hour days
-Ending Jim Crow
-Medicare and Medicaid
-Head Start
-Legal Services
-Clean Water Act
-Clean Air Act
-The EPA
-The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
-Martin Luther King Day
-Labor Day
-Family and Medical Leave
-SCHIPAll of these gains for the American people came about because progressives had the idea, organized for it, and passed it into law. If progressives could make all these things happen in our history, what can progressives do in our times if they think big and act boldly?
–Build an economy that is run almost entirely on wind, solar, and other clean renewable energy by the year 2020
–Create a health care system where every American has access to health care services, with their own choice of a high-quality doctor, whenever they need it, and where they and their doctor don’t have to fight with insurance companies over the treatment they need.
–Create a full employment economy where everyone is paid a wage that will keep them and their families above the poverty line
–Create an educational system where anyone who wants to get a college degree is able to do so without going deeply into debt, and where every single K-12 public school succeeds at getting their students ready for life as productive citizens.
–Invest in a non-profit sector where citizens are empowered to build community organizations that make a difference in their lives.