Those of us who are on the left of the political spectrum come from many diverse backgrounds and life experiences. What we all have in common is our similarity in political, social or economic ideologies. However, there are some on the left who have sought to distance themselves from their assumed compatriots, by moving themselves away from the traditional definition of liberalism. These leftists are not “liberals” but “progressives.”
The majority of “progressives” might not admit it, but they are hardly any different from the liberals they were once known as. Progressives would generally favor modern left-wing policies such as universal health care, an end to neoconservative foreign policy debacles and some form of civil libertarianism. However, they are not liberals. Why are they not liberals? Simply because they do not like the word liberal.
Admittedly, liberal is a word that has been sufficiently maligned by conservatives and their colleagues in the media. As a result, more “electable” moderate Democrats were allowed to take control of the Democratic Party and diminish its identity as the party of change and the party of the people. It then became the party of restraint and rich businesspeople. However, “liberal” was still used and slandered because the Democratic Party’s base remained liberal. Because of this, some former liberals began to call themselves progressive.
It is true that a majority of Americans believe being politically “progressive” is a positive trait in a political candidate. Nevertheless, it might not always be that way. Do progressives think Republicans will not go out of their way to trash their new word? Of course they will. Switching to a new label will only be beneficial until that label is besmirched.
If I am forced to call myself progressive out of necessity, I will. But if Republicans roast the word, I reserve the right to say “I told you so.” So to progressives, here is my advice: keep your new label if you find that it is politically unavoidable, but change your behavior when it comes to dealing with conservatives. We have to be the ones to go on the offensive. We have to slur the word conservative. But do not think of it that way. Just think of it as telling the truth about conservatives. If we let people know that it is the conservatives who want to take away our First Amendment rights, and conservatives who lead us into unnecessary wars with no exit strategy, we will simply be telling the truth.
But progressives, I plead that you would give the word liberal another chance. You know as well as I do that every last thing the conservatives said about liberals was false. Just give the word another chance, follow my advice and tell the truth about conservatives. Please do not say things like “this is not conservative” or “you guys are not conservative,” as these phrases will simply pay respects to the word conservative and compel even Democratic politicians to call themselves “conservative Democrats.”
So in conclusion, I will not be embracing the word progressive yet because I do not believe that the word liberal has run its course. It has not been effective, not because it is inherently ineffective as some progressives might have you believe, but because it was trashed by conservatives. The progressives who were once liberals do not seem to realize that liberals and conservatives will never be able to hold hands in a field of roses and dance; they simply changed their label and went about their business, making no attempt to tell the truth about conservatives.Instead of selling out, I will continue to call myself a liberal, and I will continue to tell the truth about the conservatives as I usually do in each column. Once again, I will begin to call myself progressive if it becomes expedient, but for now I am still a liberal.
Brian Murphy is a senior in political science. He can be reached at [email protected].
