Who do you blame for progressivism's current troubles?

Progressivism isn't, well, progressing here in the US. A lot of you are unhappy about that. Im just curious who or what you think is the biggest cause of it.

Explanatory comments prefferred.

 

progressive
[pruh-gres-iv]
See more synonyms for progressive on Thesaurus.com
adjective

1. favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters: a progressive mayor.
2. making progress toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc.: a progressive community.
3. characterized by such progress, or by continuous improvement.

Meh. Overall, I think that we are making progress. These dark times shall pass. They represent but a bump in the road, and one which will undoubtedly get progressives more fired up than ever.

 

K... so who or what do you think caused this 'bump in the road'?

 

Growing right radicalism that began under Obama and reached a fevered pitch in 2015-16 with a lot of Russian involvement.

 

Physics.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Clinton was the reaction to Reagan.
Bush was the reaction to Clinton.
Obama was the reaction to Bush.
Trump was the reaction to Obama.

"X" will be the reaction to Trump. Crazy matches crazy. Not looking forward to it.

 

So far, 100% of the voters, voted progressives are at fault.

The biggest issue, that progressives have, is that their ideas don't lead to progress. They like to follow wacked-out academic theories which destroy conventions that have proven successful for centuries. Progressives just ain't progressive.

 

I hope you are right.

 

I hate to burst your bubble, but Hillary won over 3 million more individual votes in 2016, than Trump. How that synchronizes with your "100% of the voters" above is a mystery. Progressives tend to care about people and want to use government as a tool to help those in society who need it the most. They believe in capitalism, but want it to have a heart. Many Progressives are drawn to socialism in its most democratic form because it represents the most effective form of individual freedom under government currently functioning in the world.

I don't believe in blame. It solves nothing. I'm not sure what has caused the American public to lose faith in the ideals of Progressives. I suspect it was a combination of several long-term ongoing processes at work in our political arena. I think many Americans approach life from a negative, fearful perspective, and are susceptible to propaganda heralded by fear-mongers, naysayers and faultfinders constantly at work all around us. Both the lack of functionality and the constant belligerent tone of our elected officials in Washington and stateside have eroded both hope and expectation for improvement. I think Americans have been intentionally drug down into a bog of malcontentedness and despair. I think their votes in 2016 reflected that state of mind. I don't believe the results of that election made most Americans feel better. It may have even motivated them to act toward intentional change for the better in 2018 and 2020, if they can avoid the onslaught of negativism about to be unleashed on us all by those currently in power.

 

once progressivism allied itself with the violent force of government it became an instrument of oppression. i'm afraid this was inevitable from the outset, as its basic premise is that the driving force behind creating a better society is the enforced regulation of its people. you want to reduce gun violence? you make owning guns illegal. you want to give everyone access to health insurance? you make it a mandatory purchase. you want to improve the lot of minorities? you enforce quotas on employers and in colleges. you want to "empower" women in the work force? you force corporations to place women on their boards. all of these "answers" are illusions. they improve nothing, but they do give their advocates a warm fuzzy feeling inside. what you end up with is an unarmed population at the mercy of armed criminals, health insurance that is useless even to those who pay nothing for it and employees and students struggling in positions they are unequipped to handle. progressivism today is all about the stick and no carrot, it's about the have-nots taking what they want from the haves and the weak overpowering the strong by sheer numbers (along with a little help from uncle sam). the "progress" of progressivism is mediocrity. it's no wonder they slide so easily into the downhill track of socialism, another ideology that embraces both authoritarianism and the lowest common denominator.

 

Umm...

At the time I posted, I was 100% of the voters in the poll at the top of the page (I just checked. I still am).

 

Except that all the major players in the computer industry are more liberal in thought than you. Basically, that energy drives our economy. So I'm going to have to say that your post is full of crap.

 

The fault lays with the voters, in particular the young voters. They are the most vocal and energized when it comes to the progressive movement and thus the movement focuses on them. But they just dont vote. They talk a big game, will show up to protests (especially if there is a hang out time at the end) but when it comes time to do the boring job of actually voting they are to busy sleeping and watching youtube.

 

I suppose I disagree with the assumption that 'Progressivism" isn't doing well in the U. S. -- because it is very much alive and vibrant, especially among those who remain rabidly in pursuit of 'free-stuff'. So, I voted "Other"....

Take a good, close look at the hyperliberal Left-wing. Who do you see? Some very rich "Limousine Liberals" (who no longer care about 'free stuff', per se, because they've already got everything they want and need).

And then there's the 'scroungers', the 'bust-out's', the scammers, the 'slackers', and the people who simply gave up, sat down on their dead asses, waited for the government to give them what they wanted in life, and have never seriously even tried to get up again. Now, for most, it's too late. The world has passed them by. These are the most militantly "progressive'!

People in that latter category, who are primarily nothing but a horde of PARASITES, increased in number dramatically during the final Idiot Bush administration, and throughout both Obama regimes. Today there are still an enormous number of people who continue to draw one form of handout welfare or another from government. There are many different pathways through which the 'goodie' flows, everything from well-known handouts like 'food-stamps' (SNAP/EBT cards) and Medicaid, all the way to the many different kinds of "subsidies" (which is just another word for WELFARE).

As long as people who don't/won't work and who do draw welfare of any kind can vote, there will always be a very lively "Progressive" segment in this country. Indeed, the Democrat Party could not (NOT) survive without this vital constituency!

 

Thank you, for clarifying that.

Your post is an excellent example of what I consider conservatives are best at--calling those they disagree with demeaning names & blaming others for everything they regard as wrong, while taking no personal responsibility ever for the part they played themselves in creating the mess we all see around us. Trump is another prime example of this behavior.

 

I called it as I see it, and have seen it for about the past ten years. People who simply sit on their 'dead asses' and refuse to work, pay their own way in life, or strive to improve themselves as human beings are nothing but parasites, living mostly on government welfare handouts.

The only real exceptions are those unfortunate people who suffer from verifiable, terrible diseases, verifiable, debilitating injuries, verifiable, birth defects, etc. Those people should feel no shame in taking public assistance for as long as necessary -- possibly even for the rest of their lives, for they should not be lumped into the same grouping with the worthless elements in the population.

The bums among us are merely the useless dregs of an overly-permissive, careless society that adopted an attitude nearly three decades back that said, "F*ck it! I don't care about anything and neither does anyone else...." What do we need them for...?

 

You are 100% correct. I see it all over the place. People who think everything is owed to them. 30 year olds living in their parents home. Expanded Medicaid, bozos claiming fake disabilities, on and on. Welfare fraud and Social Security fraud is rampant. This is the base of the Democratic party. They condone and cater to this parasite class.

 

If free handouts to lazy, worthless individuals in society were really a problem, then it would show up in the books as a substantial expense for the government. According to Google, 6% of government spending goes toward welfare associated programs. I agree with you that there are a percentage of welfare recipients who have made welfare a profession, and they should be kicked off permanently. But to kill the program because of a few miscreants, would be both unfair and undeserved. The majority are legitimate recipients who stay on only until they are able to stand on their own again. I have no problem with them at all.

 

Nicely worded post, yet filled with errors. I'm one of those "liberals," or (democratic) "socialists," or "progressives" you're attacking, yet I find no agreement between my personal goals and the web of negative behaviors described in your post and attributed to people like me. Somehow, you are misinformed. Badly misinformed. You've also taken the most extreme views on the matter, which are seldom actually true. They certainly aren't here.

 

It sounds like someone thinks problems with progressivism aren't a good thing, you don't blame good things, you praise them...

 

What's wrong with Progressives or Progressivism?

 

I am unaware of the Problems the OP refers to and he did not explain what they are. Likely this was simply a way to express biased opinion.

 

What trouble?

They own the media.
They own education.
They own entertainment.
They own the public sector.
They own unions.

They are driving America and western civilization back to the dark ages for some collectivist fantasy. Why would that trouble anyone?

 

Too much to list, but some of the core problems are the utter lack of forethought in progressive thinking, using emotion to determine policies instead of logic, the inability to accept failure and assume responsibility when things go wrong, which they always do...

 

You don't leave much room for hope. As a "Progressive" myself, I don't agree with much of your post.

 

As a "Progressive," I find your post most accurately describes the Capitalist system currently in place, where a small number of ultra-wealthy families own everything you mention and are "driving America & western civilization back to the dark ages for some Capitalist's fantasy." Your summary is well done, just blaming the wrong people.