The Artlessness of Progressivism
I’ve been gone for a long time but not without good cause. I’ve been watching the world and dealing with life, and none of that as of late has been good. The world is a different place than it was a few short months ago and most, if not all of that has everything to do with the recent general election. Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has put into place several executive orders that shed light on our current social standings. The abrupt left has been shattered in terms of sanity and quality of life. They have raged on and on, and in the spirit of dissent, they have shown their true colors. One of the more critical things that I’ve noticed is that there in the center of America is this chasm of despair, dissidence, and division. We thought, with the quiet right, that things were okay, but what it seems like is that the left is the side that kept this division intact, primarily because they’ve always gotten their way. At least they have for the past 8 years.In retrospect, the past 8 years have been some of the most life-changing years Americans have experienced. I was in a conversation recently, and I realized that Americans have been slowly conditioned away from our way of life and have been ushered into a new way of living that is progressive as progressive gets. That’s what we’re calling it now. We’re calling it “progressive.” Isn’t that such an interesting term. Like if you're not progressive you’re not making progress. As the right continues to build upon the founding fathers the left attempts to dismantle it all.I was also told something else. I was told that in spreading my opinion, I was, in fact, spreading hate because what I believe contradicts what someone else believes. But I want to get back to the statement I made earlier about the progressives. I haven’t heard that word outside of the history books, but it seems to be making a comeback, this time with a vengeance. The word first resurfaced with when I heard it spoken by Barack Obama. He said something along the lines of America was becoming more “progressive,” and to that effect, was better off. I’ve heard it a lot since then from people I know and people I don’t, in fact, Former Secretary of State Clinton used it quite avidly during her campaign. I bring this up because of something else that was said to me. They said I my outlook and opinions were “old fashioned.” That confused me because I wasn’t aware there was a new fashion.Many people on the right will tell you that the country was founded on God, but they get that part wrong—a lot. The men who founded this country weren’t all Christians and saying otherwise might garner you a dirty look or two. Now, while they weren’t all Christians, they were conservative in nature. But that’s for another day, today I want to focus on this progressivism so for that let’s have a little history lesson.Progressivism was actually an era in time. It was during the year 1890 and lasted until the time leading up the Great Depression (the 1920s) (They could be related, but I won’t speculate). Progressivism is said to have been responsible for women obtaining the right to vote but was also responsible for the disenfranchisement of blacks. It was stated that people in the south would buy blacks just so they could control their votes and in turn control elections. Interesting huh, don’t worry, it gets better.Progressives were said to have pushed for people to have more control over the government, which is a conservative stance but the leaders of the progressive movement were Williams Jennings Bryan, Former Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for president three times running and Dr. Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States. He was known for The Federal Reserve and Trade Commission Acts and the Revenue Act of 1913 which reinstituted the federal income tax. He was also responsible for the Espionage Act of 1917, and he went before Congress to impress upon them the importance of passing the very bill that would allow women to vote—hello women’s suffrage.The key thing about these two individuals is that they were both democrats through and through and yet they had some of the strongest conservative beliefs. In fact, Wilson himself was a minister and later became a member of the Columbia First Presbyterian Church (which is in my hometown and still standing).My point is we don’t fully understand the progressive movement yet; politicians are using it to bait us into compromising our beliefs and ethics because they want to see America go somewhere that American isn’t quite ready to go. Today, progressivism is being billed as a social justice type deal where you get anything you want if you cry and protest hard enough or if you cry the infamous words of 2016, "OFFENDED!"This all came about after a string of Facebook post where I lost the respect of some people whose friendship I value. As a Christian, there are things that I just cannot get behind, and there is nothing wrong with that. Real Christians don’t hate people for the choices they make, they are sad because they are aware of where those choices will lead them. They speak out because they don’t want to see them go there and while some Christians or people who claim to be Christians vehemently lash out verbally, we are all not like that. But if you think you can be a Christian and at the same time live "of the world", or stand idly by, you are going to be in a world of hurt when you have to answer for your life. Did you fight the good fight or did you conform to the ways of this world? Many people get the illusion that the Bible places restrictions on how you should live, but in actuality, we can’t strap on a bag full of sin and expect to cross the threshold into heaven. It really doesn’t work that way. So, I’m not going to compromise on my beliefs nor will I stand idly by and watch sin run rampant, nor will I stand next to a person who claims to be a Christian all the while supporting the very things God instructed us to fight against. I’m going to hold firm to those conservative roots because I don’t believe people should live off the government and I don’t believe the government should be all up in my business. I’m going to continue to speak out against the travesties no matter how big or small, and when it’s all said and done, I will stand before God and say I fight the good fight, I have finished the race.Stay Victorious My Friends