Liberals, Progressives, Socialists - you can attach any name you wish, but in the end they are all one and the same. The Left is about bigger government, and "collectivism."They believe they are somehow on a higher plane because of their "intent" to be "compassionate." However, in the end, their belief system is just another incremental step toward tyranny.
Rather than tell you what they are, let's have them tell you for themselves. In the following video, "What Is A Progressive?" the leftists explain quite well what they think of themselves.
Let's go over what they said, shall we?
A progressive is someone who believes we are all in this together, as opposed to a conservative who believes you are on your own. - A progressive is someone who is a great leader. - A progressive is someone who believes in fairness and transparency in business and government. - Someone who is trying to solve real problems. - A progressive is someone who cares. - Someone who takes care of kitchen table issues. - A progressive is someone who understands the modern world. - A progressive is someone like my mother, who cared about the entire family. - We are Robin Hood, they are the Sheriff of Nottingham. - When I hear progressive I think of policies that will help everyday people. - If you're not successful, then we're not successful. - A progressive is someone who knows we are in it together.
Such feel-good stuff. And how can you argue with it? The values of progressives, as put forward by that video, is very human, very touching, and very compassionate.
Okay, let's tackle them one at a time.
1. The first person said: "progressive is someone who believes we are all in this together, as opposed to a conservative who believes you are on your own." This is a reference to the conservative belief in self-reliance, personal responsibility, and individualism. However, the person who said that, I believe, doesn't understand what conservatives mean by that, and also doesn't understand the consequences for the progressive method of what he espouses.
The man's opinion is apparently one that holds to the notion that progressives are polar opposites of conservatives in all ways, which is the reason he added the "as opposed to a conservative" statement. If the opposition is as he says, then that would mean he believes progressives should not be self-reliant, have personal responsibility, and be individuals. The "collective group" of progressives are all in it together, so they will do for each other, and as an individual he would then have no personal responsibility. So, if his alarm does not go off in the morning, it's not his problem because the group, which is the government to these people, would be responsible to make sure he wakes up anyway. A government official should run into his house, wake him up, start the shower for him, help him dress, tie his shoes, make his breakfast, and drive him to work. . . oh, wait, work? That's right, the government should cover for him as well if he gets to the point where he doesn't want to work, uh, I mean, can't work. Right? Because if he wakes up himself, gets ready, feeds himself, drives himself to work, and ensures he has a job and that he does his job to the best of his ability so that he can take care of his family, then he is acting like his definition of conservatives. . . you know, acting "on his own."
2. A progressive is someone who is a great leader. - I have one word to answer that one: Obama. But if you'll settle for Reid, Pelosi, Biden, Byrd, Frank, Waters, or any of the other progressives, that's fine by me. In reality, to answer this one, you have to understand the definition of leader. A leader to progressives is a "ruler." A leader to conservatives is one that is a servant, and a partner in advancing America. One could say that Ronald Reagan fit that bill nicely; well, a hell of a lot better than Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Biden, Byrd, Frank, Waters. . .
3. A progressive is someone who believes in fairness and transparency in business and government. - I thought this one was fascinating because it is a line right out of Barack Obama's campaign speeches. What is interesting is the transparency in government turned out to not only be a big fat lie, but it is something that Obama and the "progressive" Democrats are working at eliminating. For example, Obama stated the Health Care negotiations would be on C-Span, and the news, out for every American to witness and appreciate. Then, when it came time to negotiate, they held their meetings behind closed doors, shutting out C-Span, shutting out the public, and even shutting out the Republican Party.
Want another example of the progressive Democrats killing transparency? How about the fact that under a little-noticed provision of the recently passed financial-reform legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission no longer has to comply with virtually all requests for information releases from the public, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act. (Fox Business)
Not only does being progressive not mean transparency, but it seems that progressives consider transparency the enemy.
4. Someone who is trying to solve real problems. - Well, let's see. The current progressives in power have solved no problems, and have made them worse. And I am trying to figure out what this person means by "real" problems. I suppose the problems that Republicans have solved were not "real" problems. They must've been "fake" problems. You know, like ending slavery, winning the Cold War, being an instrumental part of bringing down the Berlin Wall, responding to an attack on 9/11 against the United States by Islamic Jihadists, staving off recessions by cutting taxes (Harding, Coolidge, Reagan, G.W. Bush), being an instrumental part of passing the Civil Rights Act (the Democrats filibustered it). . . shall I go on with those problems that by this person's definition are not "real" problems?
5. A progressive is someone who cares. - I suppose by default that means that conservatives don't care? Once again, to understand this one, we need to understand the difference in definitions. To the person that uttered this, since they are a progressive, I am assuming "caring" means welfare programs, health care as a government entitlement, and so on and so forth. The purpose of these programs, according to progressives, is to "help" the poor. By opposing these programs, the liberal/progressive assumption is that you don't care.
The conservative definition of caring is a little different. We absolutely do believe in caring about the poor. Our way of caring is to provide these folks with help through charities and church programs, and to offer them the opportunity to work their way out of poverty with the liberty to pursue achievement. The offerings by conservatives are voluntary, or charitable. In other words, a conservative believes we should be free to decide to help, or not to help. If it is voluntary, and the person chooses to do it, then it is truly from the heart, and in the spirit of giving. Providing for the poor through government, which is done through taking taxes from people whether they like it or not, is "forcing" people to be "caring" about the poor. If people are being forced to care, then how is it truly compassionate? Compassion is the choice of an individual, not the mandate of a collective group.
When a person receives from the government, it becomes an expected entitlement, which dulls the person's desire to be self-reliant, or to pursue opportunity. What results is slavery as a dependent upon the government. When a person receives from a charitable organization, or from a family up the street, and so forth, the person appreciates it more because they know the gift is "voluntary," and then is encouraged to work their way out of poverty, with the help of charitable groups if necessary, so that they can give in such a way as well once they are out of their poverty. You tell me. . . Which is truly more caring?
5. Someone who takes care of kitchen table issues. - I think this one goes back to my first point. We should be personally responsible for our "kitchen table" issues, and tie our own dang shoes. Government should exist to protect our rights and our property, not hold our hand because we didn't do a very good job taking care of ourselves.
6. A progressive is someone who understands the modern world. - This one was actually quite comical, because this person believes that we have somehow evolved into something better because we murder our unborn children, try to convince our elderly to end their lives early, give up on our loved ones in the hospital so we pull their plug, have decided that family is somehow not normal and that perverted sexuality is normal and should be justified by government, and that government should be our nanny. Don't get me wrong. In a number of ways we have improved ourselves. Slavery is a thing of the past in America, technology has opened up many opportunities, and so forth. But freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (opportunity) does not change in the basic sense. To believe in something like the principles of the U.S. Constitution is not failing to understand the modern world. Adhering to those principles is recognizing the wisdom of the ages. I think this person believes the modern world is a socialist one, and if that is the case, we are in a heap of trouble if we chase the "modern world" as this guy sees it.
7. A progressive is someone like my mother, who cared about the entire family. - This one goes back to number 4, you know, the one about "caring." Conservatives do believe in caring about the entire family. That is why rather than encourage poverty by subsidizing the increasing numbers of the poor through entitlement programs, conservatives believe nobody should be excluded from pursuing the opportunity of prosperity, and should be given every chance to become an achiever.
8. We are Robin Hood, they are the Sheriff of Nottingham. - Progressives all think they are like Robin Hood because they "steal from the rich (through confiscatory taxation), and give to the poor (through entitlement programs). What is funny about it is they only know that statement. They don't truly understand what Robin Hood was all about. You see, the governing body had become rich from taxing the people, and Robin Hood was about retrieving those taxes and getting them back to the people.
In other words, the wealth of the rulers were not from hard work, entrepreneurship and innovation, but on theft. They didn’t work for it, nor did they earn it. They simply stole it from the people by levying high taxes. The taxed became poor and oppressed under the tyranny of the rulers, yet they still tried to raise themselves up by their bootstraps and be personally responsible individuals. . . only to be pushed down time and again by those in power.
You see, progressives have no problem with high taxes, nor with taking the wealth from the wealthy so that they can be poor like the rest, and then letting the ruling class have all of the wealth. In fact, progressives believe that every single penny one earns actually belongs to the state.
Robin Hood was justified to take back the money from the tyrannical rulers and give it back to the oppressed subjects. In reality he was not truly robbing anyone, but simply giving back to the people that which was rightfully theirs in the first place.
So, in reality, Robin Hood was more a conservative, than a progressive. The progressives are clearly King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham, serving as a governmental body taking high taxes, and setting up regulatory laws that control what little freedom we may have left.
9. When I hear progressive I think of policies that will help everyday people. - The help this man is referring to does not help, but instead instills dependency into the people upon the government. Rather than be a dependent upon government, wouldn't this person prefer people do for themselves, feel the sense of accomplishment, provide for their families without help (and government intruding into their lives), and become achievers and producers?
10. If you're not successful, then we're not successful - This person is obviously confused. You see, that is actually a Free Market principle. You see, if the company is successful, they have more profit, and that profit produces more jobs and raises in wages. The stock holders do better as well, most of which are retirement investments by everyday people. So yes, if in the Free Market a business entity is successful, then everyone attached is successful too. . . and that is hardly a progressive trait.
11. A progressive is someone who knows we are in it together. - We are in it together, I agree. That is why conservatives are quite fond of the words "We The People." You know, the first three words of the U.S. Constitution. However, a progressive's definition of "in it together" pulls government into the mix. Progressives don't seem to understand that government is only supposed to have limited authorities. The problems we have cannot be solved by government, it is government that is causing the problems in the first place. And as Americans we are in this together, and it is up to us to get the Federal Government to return to abiding by the contract between the States and the Federal Government called the U.S. Constitution. And together, through entities like the Tea Party Movement, we will get our country back. The question is, do progressives truly understand that form of "in it together," or was this person just referring to socialistic collectivism?
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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