Reflections On American Progressivism PDF Download

They say if you're not a liberal when you're young, you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative when you're old, you have no head. I got it completely backwards. Back in the 1980s, I was a yuppie Reagan conservative. I proudly voted for Reagan and I scorned the liberals who would cut off America's fighting arm. To me, the poor were lazy moochers.I am ashamed of that person. While I own him - after all, he is me, I have come full circle. A big part of my transformation was education. Getting a law degree helped me figure out how the system works, and how at every level, the system is rigged in favor of the rich. It completely opened my eyes. Another part of that was probably empathy. Over the years, I've been beat down a few times. I've been poor. I now have the empathy my teen self lacked.In short, my transformation from conservative to progressive comes from getting smarter and, as a result, growing a heart. I learned that what Jesus taught is true. I learned that humanity has a duty to care for one another. I learned that we all are truly equal because each person is imbued with God's grace.I learned.The first progressive movement started in the early 20th century by the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, who sought to use the nation's new industrial abundance to benefit all Americans, not just the richest. With our technology riches, we now have the same opportunity, but that opportunity is going to waste.This is a collection of essays on contemporary issues, written from my newfound progressive orientation, on how America can become great again - for all Americans. In short, progressivism is concerned with progress. Moving forward, improving society. The conservative orientation, that things were better years ago, ignores both the sins of the past and the promise of the future. Conservatives would return to an idealized yesteryear that never existed in the first place. More importantly, moving backwards is exactly the wrong direction for any society. We can and always should try to move forward. It's what we're here to do. Read on, and let's do this.