...by statements like "and just who defines 'Progressive'," can blur our progressive vision.
But, just in case you really don't know, here you go:
I believe that progressive values are traditional American values, that progressive principles are fundamental American principles, and that progressive policy directions point the way to where most Americans really want our country to go. The job of unifying progressives is really the job of bringing our country together around its finest traditional values.
CONSERVATIVES believe in...
STRONG DEFENSE
FREE MARKETS
LOWER TAXES
SMALLER GOVERNMENT
FAMILY VALUES
PROGRESSIVES believe in...
STRONGER AMERICA
BROAD PROSPERITY
BETTER FUTURE
EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT
MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITY
» A stronger America is not just about defense, but about every dimension of strength: our effectiveness in the world, our economy, our educational system, our health care system, our families, our communities, our environment, and so forth.
» Broad prosperity is the effect that markets are supposed to bring about. But all markets are constructed for someone's benefit; no markets are completely free. Markets should be constructed for the broadest possible prosperity, and they haven't been.
» Americans want and deserve a better future — economically, educationally, environmentally, and in all other areas of life — for themselves and their children. Lowering taxes, primarily for the super-rich elite, has had the effect of defunding programs that would make a better future possible in all these areas. The proper goal is a better future for all Americans.
» Smaller government is, in conservative propaganda, supposed to eliminate waste. It is really about eliminating social programs. Effective government is what we need our government to accomplish to create a better future.
» Conservative family values are those of a strict father family — authoritarian, hierarchical, every man for himself, based around discipline and punishment. Progressives live by the best values of both families and communities: mutual responsibility, which is authoritative, equal, two-way, and based around caring, responsibility (both individual and social), and strength.
The remarkable thing is just how much progressives do agree on. These are just the things that voters tend to care about most: our values, our principles, and the direction in which we want to take the nation.http://www.infoamerica.org/teoria_textos/manifiesto_lakoff.pdfNGU.