We've been asking ourselves the question, "What is Conservatism?" And looked into our past to figure it out. So ... shouldn't we learn more about progressivism too? You'll be shocked and amazed. Today we'll start with political correctness.
The History of Political Correctness.
The following video (about 22 minutes) gives a detailed answer to the question, "Where did Progressivism come from?" H/T Smitty.
Now, click on the title below, and watch Bill Whittle on Pajamas TV.
MSNBC & The Great Liberal Narrative: The Truth About The Tyranny of Political Correctness.
For more information about the history of political correctness, please make sure to read the following articles.
A Brief History Of Political Correctness by Pat Dollard.
In parallel with the programme of economic globalisation, euphemistically called 'economic reform', is an ambitious programme of social globalisation. While economic globalisation transfers ownership of the world's economic assets and the control of a single integrated global economy into the hands of monopoly capitalists, the social programme delivers control of the world's people, including their thoughts and actions, into the hands of global monopoly socialists. The aim of the social programme is to completely remake human society, indeed human nature, to make them conform to leftist ideology.
National governments undertake to implement this programme by signing various treaties and agreements at the United Nations. Representatives are then sent to regular UN conferences, from which they return with agendas for implementation at national level. For every treaty there is a UN agency which ensures, through regular inspections and assessments, that national governments implement the terms of the treaty. To understand the programme and how it all fits together, one must first understand socialist ideology.
An ideology is a kind of story, a fantasy about the world intended to justify political action. The story need not be true, in fact in the case of socialist ideology it isn't. Its purpose is not to explain the world in any objective sense (which distinguishes it from a genuine theory), but to motivate people to take political action. It's like a faith, a political faith. If the believers are required to destroy an existing social order, as they are in this case, the ideology portrays that order as 'outmoded' or 'unnatural'. Similarly, if the purpose is to overthrow the position of certain classes in the society, those classes are portrayed as evil, accused of 'discrimination', 'wrongs of the past', and so forth. The purpose of the ideology is to stir up hate for the existing order and the people that support it, and instill a belief in the true believers that they have been chosen by destiny to lead the human race to utopia.
The Progressive Era by William L. Anderson.
One of the most enduring set of myths from U.S. history comes from the political and social developments in what is called the “Progressive Era,” a period lasting from the late 1800s to the end of World War I. (Of course, one could argue, convincingly, that the Progressive Era never has ended.) The prevailing story told in textbooks, the editorial pages of the New York Times, and the typical classroom holds that this was the time when people began to use the mechanism of government to create the conditions for a better life for all and to begin the arduous process of reining in the excesses of capitalism.
Socially, the Progressives were humanitarians who sought to better the lives of ordinary people, with their greatest “triumph” being passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, which ushered in the era of Prohibition ...
Last, the Progressive Era trumpeted science and the “enlightened” Social Gospel, which became the religion of choice for religious skeptics who questioned the core doctrines of the Christian faith. From the implementation of “scientific” principles to govern politics, business, and social relationships, Progressivism helped to create a rational basis for modern society. From the creation of the Federal Reserve System to the Sixteenth Amendment that brought about the national income tax, Progressives were able to do away with the impediments created by the U.S. Constitution, which according to them stood in the way of progress.
While Progressivism has captured the hearts and minds of modern intellectuals and others, there is another story to tell about this era, a much darker tale than what generally is told. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that Progressivism helped to destroy, not preserve, the constitutional order. Far from ushering in the social peace, justice, and prosperity that Progressives promised, Progressivism helped to create the conditions for the Great Depression and helped plunge the country into one war after another. Perhaps the only positive thing we can say about the Progressive Era was that it did not do all of the damage that it could have done.
Putting it all into perspective ...
Obama's Plan to Desecrate 9/11 by Matthew Vadum.
The Obama White House is behind a cynical, coldly calculated political effort to erase the meaning of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks from the American psyche and convert Sept. 11 into a day of leftist celebration and statist idolatry.
This effort to reshape the American psyche has nothing to do with healing the nation and everything to do with easing the nation along in the ongoing radical transformation of America that President Obama promised during last year's election campaign. The president signed into law a measure in April that designated Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service, but it's not likely many lawmakers thought this meant that day was going to be turned into a celebration of ethanol, carbon emission controls, and radical community organizing.
The administration's plans were outlined in an Aug. 11 White House-sponsored teleconference call run by Obama ally Lennox Yearwood, president of the Hip Hop Caucus, and Liv Havstad, the group's senior vice president of strategic partnerships and programs.
The plan is to turn a "day of fear" that helps Republicans into a day of activism called the National Day of Service that helps the left. In other words, nihilistic liberals are planning to drain 9/11 of all meaning.
With the help of the Obama administration, the coalition is launching a public relations campaign under the radar of the mainstream media -- which remains almost uniformly terrified of criticizing the nation's first black president -- to try to change 9/11 from a day of reflection and remembrance to a day of activism, food banks, and community gardens.
"The organizing term is to 'go dark.' You don't tell the press, don't tell people you think will tell the press," said the source.
The Progressives have gone after Vadum about that article, since before it was even published! Keep up with it all by follow his post, "Monumentally dumb, even for The American Spectator."
