By Ray DiLorenzo
MSNBC reported that the election marked the end of progressivism. It may or may not be true, but there is no denying that the Democrat Party was hijacked by the extreme progressives and took a hard turn to the left.
The early Progressive era was originally a movement born of the excesses of the early 20th century: social activism, low wages, women’s suffrage, unsafe working conditions, child labor, food safety, and the environment. Its objectives were to eliminate the problems caused by industrialization, immigration, and political corruption. It had nothing to do with modern Democrat Progressivism.
It did well, but with some bumps in the road. In 1901, the Socialist Party was established, now known as the Social Democrats. The party sought a sort of political realignment to organize labor unions, civil rights organizations, and other entities into a coalition. Sound familiar? That idea merged into your modern Democrat Party. Social Democrats as a political party don’t have much of a voice today because most of them are now rank and file Democrats, making the Social Democrats more of an organization than a political party.
Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY), 26th president, was a staunch progressive when the movement was one of reform of working conditions, women’s rights, and political corruption. He believed that combining progressivism with conservatism was the most effective approach.
Despite being progressive less the conservative approach, Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ), 28th president, and his wife, Edith, held a radical stance on race. They fired all of the Black staff in the White House, and subsequent policies of resegregation sent race relations back decades. I say ‘they’ because Edith assumed the role of de facto president for the final 18 months of Woodrow’s term, following a stroke that rendered him incapacitated. The Wilsons believed that Blacks were not eligible for the reforms of the early progressive era.
The Democratic Party’s reluctance to endorse the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, was undoubtedly a setback, but it was ultimately successful due to the strong support from the Republican states. Out of 36 states that ratified the amendment, 26 were Republican.
When Kennedy was president, liberalism was a positive place to be. At the time, being liberal meant focusing on individual freedoms and the government’s role in protecting those freedoms. JFK played an active role in securing the rights for Blacks that everyone else enjoyed. The Democrats fought him tooth and nail. Many older Democrats stay in the party because they think JFK’s spirit still exists there. It doesn’t. JFK would be considered a conservative today.
The early progressive movement did manage to better regulate industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. They felt only government regulation could make the changes. The government did respond but was reluctant to overregulate or cease laissez-faire. When the Democrat Party absconded with the label, it took a mighty radical left turn starting in the 60s and 70s. It became a cultural change movement. Why?
Firstly, a majority of Democrats gave up on Christianity. A giant step was when the Supreme Court in 1962 decided that prayer in school no longer had a valid place. I grew up in the New York City public school system. No one today would accuse them of being conservative, but in the early 60s, our junior high school had an auditorium program every Wednesday where school plays and such were presented. The program always started with a student, having been chosen the day before, reciting a verse of their choice from scripture before the entire school. The Christian kids normally would recite from the New Testament, while the Jewish kids would recite from the Old Testament. I don’t remember any complaints or resistance.
Believe it or not, accept it or not, humans are spiritual beings. They have a natural tendency to look up and wonder who they are in the universe. It is a natural law that when a void is created, it must be filled. Since our government no longer supports our spiritual nature, that void must be filled with something else to believe in. What progressives wanted was for government to replace what they felt was an invisible, faceless God with a visible, tangible government that they said could care for and protect you.
LBJ was one of the most nefarious politicians. His ‘Great Society’ aimed to ensnare the poor, especially Blacks, on welfare, getting them to “vote for Democrats for the next two hundred years,” as explained to a senator on Air Force One. ” Gradually, the reliance on government evolved into a dependency. That reliance was not a natural process but a deliberate course of action Democrats took to get people ‘hooked’ on the government’s ‘benevolence.’ It destroyed the Black family.
The Democrats wanted a one-party government, and they opened Pandora’s box to get it. Since the Dems made a pact with the Devil, more and more people found themselves rendered completely dependent on government. With the help of an education system that gave up on teaching and embraced brainwashing, several generations have now been distracted to oblivion with the government’s acceptance of every form of vile human corruption. And that’s the Devil’s due.
What Democrats do not understand is simple. They no longer reflect the values of most Americans. Americans don’t find feminine products in boys’ bathrooms appealing. They’re not interested in men competing with women in sports. They don’t like our borders to be a chaotic free-for-all. They certainly don’t give a hoot about drag queens in public libraries or anywhere else. To Americans, sexual fantasy should be a private matter, not in your face. Americans think that transgender people don’t need surgery; they need a psychiatrist. And most Americans don’t want abortion anytime, at any stage of the pregnancy. Despite having the most abundant natural resources, the vast majority of Americans find it frustrating that they must purchase them from a foreign country at exorbitant prices at the pump.
It has been a wonderful change to see and hear Donald Trump speak of God without sounding superfluous. And please don’t give me that ‘Trump is a sinner or criminal crap.’ In God’s sight, we are all criminals. God chooses who he wills and shows his power by what he can accomplish when He is with him or anyone else.
Is progressivism dead? As of Nov. 7, 44 states have shifted toward Trump. According to US News, a strong majority of Americans support the former president, but Democrats are still currently mobilizing their forces. What is it the Democrats don’t like? A secure border? Cheap energy, reasonably priced food, and no war?
We must regain our common sense and reestablish our moral compass, lest we face the same fate as numerous other powerful empires that have endured far longer than our meager 248 years. Unfortunately, when confronted with the choice between good and evil, too many choose Barabbas.
