Sustainability means living within our means, engaging in practices that can be maintained indefinitely. On issue after issue, progressives prioritize sustainable practices whereas “conservatives” (ironically given the label) do not.
Perhaps the most profound challenge of this century is powering our lives in ways that don’t fundamentally threaten public health and our environment. Progressives are leading the charge to promote efficiency and move from reliance on dirty, finite fossil fuels to fulfilling our energy needs through clean, renewable technologies such as wind and solar power. “Conservatives” have fought the transition to a clean energy economy every step of the way, preferring to protect oil company profits at all costs.
The recent collapse of our financial markets and bursting of the housing bubble have shown that much of the wealth generated in the past decade has been illusory, based upon speculation and fake paper assets rather than real value. Progressives have been fighting for sensible market regulations and investments in critical infrastructure that will grow our economy for the long haul instead of rewarding short-term gains that can’t be maintained. “Conservatives” would rather cut taxes for the wealthy and leave future generations holding the tab.
Progressives favor reining in health care costs, protecting ecosystems that support clean air and clean water, engaging cooperatively with the international community to secure our place in the world, promoting agricultural practices that produce healthful food without damaging chemicals, and countless other policies that insure our health and safety for generations to come. At each turn, we face vocal opposition by right-wing “conservatives” who seem to think we can burn through resources and relationships without consequence.
Our Common Values
We all have our favorite issues. But, what binds us together as progressives is a set of common values that differentiate us from the right wing reactionaries.
Community
A central progressive value is that we’re all in this together. We believe that we’re all better off when we work collectively to solve big problems. We respect individual liberties, but don’t think that means it always makes sense to go it alone.
Fairness
Progressives take fairness seriously. This means everything from opposing arbitrary discrimination and fighting for real equal opportunity to making polluters pay for the damage they inflict on our environment and promoting economic policies that ensure everyone pays the true cost of their lifestyle choices.
Security
Security is different for progressives than for neoconservatives. Sure, we want to be safe from terrorists. But we also want a safer world for everyone. And, we want the basic safety nets that allow us to pursue our dreams without constantly worrying about whether we can afford to take our kids to the doctor.
What are your progressive values?
Community, fairness, security, and sustainability are just the beginning. Together, we can build our list of common values so it’s clear to all Americans that we have a coherent vision, not just a random mix of policy preferences.
