Progressives

Progressives

Thomas Allen

In “A Tale of Two Americas," Chronicles Magazine of American Culture (July 2021), pages 10–11, Bruce Frohnen describes progressives and compares them with traditionalists. These two represent a fundamental divide in character that has led to a political divide in America. Nevertheless, only one of these two “is capable of self-government in a free constitutional republic”: the traditionalist.

Americans fall into two major groups. One group is the traditionalist, who is “centered on family, faith, and freedom.” The other group is the progressive, who is “dominated by abstract ideals of the administrative state.” “The first is a constitutional order of limited, decentralized, separated powers that protect the more fundamental institutions of local life. The second centers on ‘diversity, inclusion, and equity’ implemented by a centralized government that protects people against disease with lockdowns, crime (and ‘domestic terrorism’) with a surveillance state, poverty with a welfare state, and against all kinds of dangers to life, limb, and self-esteem through a seamless web of administrative agencies and rules.”

This progressive new world order began during the Progressive Era, gained a foothold during Wilson’s New Freedom, and accelerated during Roosevelt’s New Deal and especially Johnson’s Great Society. Progressives have indoctrinated people into believing that America is “irredeemably racists, sexist, and homophobic.”

Under progressivism, order, safety, prosperity, and justice depend on a bureaucratic elite of “experts” telling everyone how to live their lives.  Consequently, these “petty commissars have replaced independence and public service with fear and loathing as our necessary virtues, rendering roughly half our people unfit for and even hostile to our inherited constitutional order.”

Frohnen writes, “Progressives feel justified punishing supposedly disloyal Americans who try to defend electoral integrity, personal responsibility, and institutions such as the family.” Progressives are convinced that traditionalists are not suited for the new world order that they (the progressives) have built —and rightly so.

Progressives believe in training (forcing) people to trust and depend on technocrats to control their lives. Thus, technocrats decide what school children attend, what businesses stay open, what is said on social media, and just about everything else.

By contrast, traditionalists believe in a constitutional order that rests on independent people who are left to live their lives within their families, churches, local associations, and communities. Generally, they love and fear God and are mostly churchgoers. They marry, spend time with their families, work hard to support their families, and participate in their communities. Furthermore, they value integrity over advancement.

In contrast, progressives have ceased living and valuing the lifestyle of the traditionalists. If they go to church, it is one that teaches the prosperity gospel, the social gospel, or some similar nonscriptural gospel. “They value comfort and status, but see manual labor as a burden.” Also, progressives focus on self-improvement and support the “currently approved opinions on race, gender, climate changes, and public safety.” Even if they are married and have children, their family is secondary.

Although many progressives are decent people, they “have no real attachment to America’s constitutional order even denying that to has a right to exist.” They promote a “living constitution,” which politicians, bureaucrats, and especially judges can twist and mold to fit their personal prejudices and biases. Consequently, they reject the rule of law and free government. Instead, progressives advocate the unlimited power of the government — a government powerful enough to enforce any program that the progressive elite desires, such as, disarming the people, establishing socialized medicine, and silencing anyone who opposes the progressive agenda.

Moreover, progressives seek to transform the country by destroying what is left of free and self-governing people. To accomplish this goal, they use massive immigration of nonwhites (most of whom are unskilled laborers who are dependent on governmental support) and no-work welfare. Further, progressives use public health policies to destroy people’s independence by destroying their livelihoods. Antiwhite programs are also used to transform America into a technocratic state ruled by an elite of “experts.”

Traditionalists are found mostly outside New England, the Mid-Atlantic States, the Upper Midwest, and the West Coasts. Progressives predominately inhibit these regions . While traditionalists are more common in the Red States, progressives are more common in the Blue States.

Frohnen writes that American has three options to choose from:

1) restore traditional values and, with them, America's constitutional order; 2) accept continued political dominance by a new culture, a new, unconstitutional order, and a new, unfree people; or 3) split these United States into two separate political entities, with some remaining political ties, such that each culture and people can go its separate way in peace.

His preference is option one followed distantly by option three.

One option that he does not mention is a civil war where the traditionalists and progressives battle each other with arms for control of the country and the federal government. If the traditionalists prevail, this option is less destructive than option two. If the progressives prevail, fewer people will be around to enjoy their enslavement.

Appendix.

The following compares the progressive approach to COVID-19 with the traditionalist approach:

Progressive: Force everyone to be vaccinated with an experimental drug and with no exemptions.

Traditionalist: Freedom of choice whether to be vaccinated or not.

Progressive: Favors vaccine passports.

Traditional: Opposes vaccine passports.

Progressive: Force everyone to wear a mask.

Traditionalist: Allow each person to decide whether to wear a mask.

Progressive: Make vaccination a requirement for a job.

Traditionalist: Opposes discriminating against the unvaccinated.

Progressive: Require vaccination to enter a restaurant, theater, sports arena, school, etc.

Traditionalist: Opposes discriminating against the unvaccinated.

Progressive: Favors lockdowns.

Traditionalist: Opposes lockdowns.

Progressive: Favors closing down churches.

Traditionalist: Favors leaving churches open.

Progressive: Favors imprisoning people in their houses and not letting them leave without governmental permission.

Traditionalist: Favors allowing people to leave their houses as they desire and without governmental permission.

Progressive: Only allow vaccinated people to travel.

Traditionalist: Favors freedom of travel for all.

Progressive: Favor denying medical treatment to the unvaccinated.

Traditionalist: Opposes discrimination against the unvaccinated.

Progressive: Charge the unvaccinated more for medical treatment and insurance.

Traditionalist: Opposes discrimination against the unvaccinated.

Progressive: Favors censoring information that contradicts the official story.

Traditionalist: Favors allowing open, rational, civil discussion of pros and cons.

Thus, the progressive approach to COVID-19 is highly controlled and highly restricted. Politicians and bureaucrats (self-appointed “experts”) should boss the people and force them to do whatever the politicians and bureaucrats want them to do. Contrariwise, the traditionalist approach is one of freedom and nondiscrimination. Traditionalists trust the people to do the right thing. Unlike the traditionalists, progressives do not trust the people especially themselves; instead, they trust politicians and bureaucrats.

Copyright © 2023 by Thomas Coley Allen.

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