For too long, a run-of-the-mill Conservative talking point has been that progress is bad for our nation. That straying away from tradition and “the way things were” is somehow harmful. Rhetoric and talking points such as these do very little to fix any problem.
Liberals aren’t any better. They do like to throw a lot of money at problems without regard for where the money is coming from, or what long-term impacts such reckless spending would spark. At least those on the left try to inject new ideas into government.
Progressivism has been generalized by conservative media as an exclusive tool of the left, that any kind of change or progress is liberal, serves a liberal agenda, and is wrong. They cling to the notion that the founding fathers would be ashamed at the kind of progressive action liberals wish to take. These pundits need to stop acting like they know anything about a dead man’s perspective about any modern occurrence.
The loudmouth, right-side pundits seem to forget about Ron Paul, who while being a conservative, is quite the progressive. Paul has advocated ending prohibition on most controlled substances and ending the United States’ funding for Israel. If these aren’t progressive agendas then what is? While it might sound quite contradictory, such a thing exists as Conservative Progressivism.
Last week, local self-defining conservative columnist Rick Wagner quoted Rush Limbaugh while speaking to my class. “The only thing in the middle of the road is dead skunks,” he said. Pay close attention, I agree with Limbaugh (and Wagner) about something. The only real, powerful ideas come from the poles of the political spectrum.
This is where real progress lies. The challenge we face as a nation is forcing these two poles to cooperate. I have lost a lot of faith in our country to do this, but not because of any kind of political ideology. Private interest is the source of most political stalemates in the U.S.
The two sides like to generalize things. From youth, different political agendas are put under imaginary umbrellas and force-fed to our unsuspecting selves. Universal Healthcare is Socialism, while a fair-tax system is a staple in Libertarian ideology.
The truth is that Universal Healthcare would function quite well if it were to be funded by a fair-tax system. If these two ideas can be meshed together, what is there to be said about other social and economic issues? Our nation has become so bipartisan that we have created and accepted the notion that only one side can be right.
I don’t want to say that all progress is good, some ideas, laws and moral bases should certainly be left alone. However, the conservative pundits who continually attack the principle of progress forget that this country was founded on progress. And that if the founding fathers wanted anything for this nation, they wanted it to persevere, to survive. Clinging to rhetoric and doctrines of the past will most certainly do the opposite.

elinko@mavs.coloradomesa.edu