I think that Mermaid02 inadvertently touched on something this morning. She highlighted that this election will represent a milestone, regardless of who is elected. There is no question that the alternative milestones that will be achieved are signs of progress. However, I cannot help but consider which of the two parties is more so the party of progress, these days, embracing it, and relishing in it -- and which of the two parties is now being dragged down the path of progress by the other.
It wasn't always this way. In the latter part of the 19th century, a significant number of Democrats worked diligently to do whatever they could to preclude African Americans from voting, while it was the Republican Party -- Teddy Roosevelt's Republican Party -- that was the party of progress. The progressive Republicans were first to push for woman's suffrage, while the Democrats, led by Woodrow Wilson, and the Tory Republicans opposed. However, the progressives prevailed, and our nation was uplifted.
It wasn't until the stock market crash of 1929 (yes, I hear a gong sounding somewhere, too, thinking about the potential parallels) that the Republicans lost their way. The banner of progress for American was picked up by the Democrats. However, by the second half of the last century, the Republicans had regained their progressive stance, and the Republicans were the ones who supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 more strongly than the Democrats did.
These were pivotal events -- meaning, the most significant instances. There were many other events that constituted smaller bits of progress, but aggregated together, the vast array of smaller bits make even these two pivotal events look modest. Our nation's strength has been how it has embraced, and capitalized on, progress.
I'm uneasy with the use of the term "change". Pick up a pen and wiggle it back and forth. Every second or so, its position is changing, but it isn't making progress. Progress means going from where we are to someplace else. Why not just stay where we are (or oscillate back and forth)? Because the passage of time erodes the foundation under any specific place. The only way for American to maintain its vibrancy is to always be on the cutting-edge.
So what happened to the Republican's century-old belief in progress? There are some Republicans who still see the value, but too many powerful Republicans now only look back, and relish the idea of how things used to be. They seek to either hold things steady, or even roll things back. They are reactionaries instead of leaders.
So here is the challenge for Republicans: List the next five pivotal events of progress for American society -- events as significant as giving women and minorities the right to vote; and as significant as securing equal pay for equal work. Which bit of disenfranchisement will Republicans work towards obviating? Which persecution within our society will Republicans oppose next? Can the Republican Party turn back towards the path of progress? or is it stuck in "reverse"?
The Republican Party is arguably the leader with respect to fiscal responsibility. Can it regain its status as a leader with respect to social responsibility?
It wasn't always this way. In the latter part of the 19th century, a significant number of Democrats worked diligently to do whatever they could to preclude African Americans from voting, while it was the Republican Party -- Teddy Roosevelt's Republican Party -- that was the party of progress. The progressive Republicans were first to push for woman's suffrage, while the Democrats, led by Woodrow Wilson, and the Tory Republicans opposed. However, the progressives prevailed, and our nation was uplifted.
It wasn't until the stock market crash of 1929 (yes, I hear a gong sounding somewhere, too, thinking about the potential parallels) that the Republicans lost their way. The banner of progress for American was picked up by the Democrats. However, by the second half of the last century, the Republicans had regained their progressive stance, and the Republicans were the ones who supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 more strongly than the Democrats did.
These were pivotal events -- meaning, the most significant instances. There were many other events that constituted smaller bits of progress, but aggregated together, the vast array of smaller bits make even these two pivotal events look modest. Our nation's strength has been how it has embraced, and capitalized on, progress.
I'm uneasy with the use of the term "change". Pick up a pen and wiggle it back and forth. Every second or so, its position is changing, but it isn't making progress. Progress means going from where we are to someplace else. Why not just stay where we are (or oscillate back and forth)? Because the passage of time erodes the foundation under any specific place. The only way for American to maintain its vibrancy is to always be on the cutting-edge.
So what happened to the Republican's century-old belief in progress? There are some Republicans who still see the value, but too many powerful Republicans now only look back, and relish the idea of how things used to be. They seek to either hold things steady, or even roll things back. They are reactionaries instead of leaders.
So here is the challenge for Republicans: List the next five pivotal events of progress for American society -- events as significant as giving women and minorities the right to vote; and as significant as securing equal pay for equal work. Which bit of disenfranchisement will Republicans work towards obviating? Which persecution within our society will Republicans oppose next? Can the Republican Party turn back towards the path of progress? or is it stuck in "reverse"?
The Republican Party is arguably the leader with respect to fiscal responsibility. Can it regain its status as a leader with respect to social responsibility?
