1 Boring Old Man

Reading along about the Republicans’ meetings in New Orleans, I found few articles that I could finish. They were too monotonous, boring. I guess I thought the Party of "No" was something of a Democrat Talking Point, but if there were any things said in the Big Easy other that "Obama is bad," I couldn’t tell you what they were. I was thinking back about what I thought "conservative" really meant when I first heard about such things in College [the Kennedy years]. I thought I sort of knew, but now I wonder what they want to "conserve": Nixon/Agnew? Reagan/Bush? Bush/Cheney? The Contract with America [and the escape of Newt Gingrich]? Michael Steele? The War on Terror, the Torture Program, Deregulation? the Financial Crisis?

Recently, I’ve personally been conflicted about the term "progressive." In general, the people I think of as the "progressives" are disillusioned and negative about Obama too. He’s not undoing enough about Bush; he’s not moving forward enough on social issues; he’s not busting Wall Street hard enough; we’re still fighting two wars. I feel some of those things too. But I’m not sure I can define "progressive" with any more precision than I can define "conservative." "Progressing" to where? Every attempt I make to construct a definition feels like it’s either utopian or "not conservative."

If the power of conservatism is its "no" to the progressive agenda, and the power of the progressives is in its "no" to the conservatives, where does that leave us? I wish that what I’m saying here is the musing of an old man housebound by the pollen, but I have a creepy feeling that it’s more than that. It might be where we are right now – a war of "no" as meaningless as some of the ideological wars of history. The thing the Conservatives seem to want us to conserve is some of the worst of our history. The place the Progressives want us to head does not represent a consensus, and may be more of a utopian dream than a reality [though it certainly captures my fancy more than the alternative].

^{Liberalism [from the Latin liberalis, "of freedom"] is the belief in the importance of liberty and equality. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but most liberals support such fundamental ideas as constitutions, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights, free trade, secularism, and the market economy. These ideas are often accepted even among political groups that do not openly profess a liberal ideological orientation. Liberalism encompasses several intellectual trends and traditions, but the dominant variants are classical liberalism, which became popular in the 18th century, and social liberalism, which became popular in the 20th century.}

^{Liberalism first became a powerful force in the Age of Enlightenment, rejecting several foundational assumptions that dominated most earlier theories of government, such as hereditary status, established religion, absolute monarchy, and the Divine Right of Kings. The early liberal thinker John Locke, who is often credited for the creation of liberalism as a distinct philosophical tradition, employed the concept of natural rights and the social contract to argue that the rule of law should replace absolutism in government, that rulers were subject to the consent of the governed, and that private individuals had a fundamental right to life, liberty, and property.}

^{The revolutionaries in the American Revolution and the French Revolution used liberal philosophy to justify the violent overthrow of tyrannical rule, paving the way for the development of modern history in tandem with liberal history. The 19th century saw liberal governments established in nations across Europe, Latin America, and North America. Liberal power increased even further in the 20th century, when liberal democracies triumphed in two world wars and survived major ideological challenges from fascism and communism. Conservatism and fundamentalism, however, remain powerful opponents of liberalism. Today, liberals are organized politically on all major continents. They have played a decisive role in the growth of republics, the spread of civil rights and civil liberties, the establishment of the modern welfare state, the institution of religious toleration and religious freedom, and the development of globalization. To highlight the importance of liberalism in modern life, political scientist Alan Wolfe claimed that "liberalism is the answer for which modernity is the question".}

lib·er·al [lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl]

–adjective
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.
–noun
14. a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion.
15. a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain.

So for as much as the Republicans in New Orleans raled and ranted, it could all be reduced down to "Obama wants to take our ‘stuff’ – and we’re going to stop him!" And the Progressives are correct in looking at the subtext, "The Republican Conservatives want to keep on taking our ‘stuff,’ and we’re going to stop them!" I think what Obama actually wants is for us to become more giving, accepting, generous, tolerant, and not so  cynical. I’d like that myself. It’s definitely a nice thought. It reminds me of T.S.Eliot’s ending for his poem, The Wasteland:

Explained in the accompanying footnotes:

The Hindu fable referred to is that of gods, men, and demons each in turn asking of their father Prajapati, "Speak to us, O Lord." To each he replied with the one syllable "DA," and each group interpreted it in a different way: "Datta," to give alms; "Dayadhvam," to have compassion; "Damyata," to practice self-control. The fable concludes, "This is what the divine voice, the Thunder, repeats when he says: DA, DA, DA: ‘Control yourselves; give alms; be compassionate.’ Therefore one should practice these three things: self-control, alms-giving, and compassion."