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Welcome to ProgressiveValues.org

inspiration and information to develop and communicate a progressive worldview and narrative

that will transform America - and contrast with other worldviews -

site includes WiseThoughts.com and SpiritualPolitics.org 


 

NEW Posting - Pages of quotations

 

 

We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from fear, the hatred, and the mistrust….We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.  Thurgood Marshall

 

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June 29, 2010

 

Liberty and justice in 2010 and beyond
by Phyllis Stenerson

 

On July 4 America commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 that proclaimed independence of the thirteen united states from British rule and created a new nation.

 

The Declaration of Independence is among the most closely scrutinized documents in history. The founders had widely varying opinions, some of which are a part of written history, others lost to time. Facts and opinions fill countless volumes. New interpretations are emerging continually, sometimes as critical academic study, often to serve varying political agendas. Origins of some of today’s major points of controversy about what kind of a country America is and should be can be traced back to the founding.

 

During the first decade of the 21st Century, America became the most deeply divided it has been since the Civil War while facing a plethora of critical problems. There is now deep concern that the very fabric of the nation is being torn apart.

 

If ever there was a time for all good people to ask what they can do for their country, this is it. One of the underlying problems is a woeful lack of civic literacy leaving far too many citizens lacking confidence to participate actively and vulnerable to misrepresentations. Strongly increased civic education and engagement are desperately needed now. An idea – people who are knowledgeable and experienced in politics and government can teach classes in the community that are fact based, not ideological. The purpose would be to strengthen American democracy, not promote partisan politics.

 

The Declaration of Independence, as it was finalized and signed on July 4, 1776, stands unchanged as America’s moral foundation. To provide context for dialogue, I offer a very brief history, with humility and full awareness of differing perspectives. We start with the opening words, among the most powerful in history:

 

The Declaration of Independence
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

 

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…

 

Thomas Jefferson was the primary author and drew upon a range of sources with major influence coming from the European enlightenment philosophers who advocated the primacy of reason over revelation. He also drew from the moral teachings of Jesus he extracted from the New Testament of the Bible. Jefferson’s choice of the words --“Creator,” “Nature’s God” and “Divine” -- reflected his universalism and were not specific to any one religion, although Christianity was the dominant religion of the time and religion is not mentioned in the document.

 

Democracy, both the idea and the word, originated with the Greeks in the 5th Century BC. Dêmos means people and krátos means power, with equality and freedom being basic principles.

 

The Declaration of Independence launched America’s experiment in democracy with the power of ideas as expressed in this foundational document. The Constitution, the other foundational document, was adopted on September 17, 1787 forming the legal basis for the new nation and representative democracy as the form of government. The first ten amendments were adopted immediately and collectively form the Bill of Rights with 17 additional amendments adopted over the years to reflect the changing times.

 

“I never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence" said Abraham Lincoln in Independence Hall, Philadelphia on February 22, 1861

 

Democracy in America evolved over time with many twists and turns in its trajectory. The industrial age was strong when the 20th Century began. There was vast income disparity as the “robber barons” prospered and others lagged far behind. By the end of the 1920’s the economy was in turmoil resulting in the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, created the New Deal with the passage of laws to correct problems that led to the Depression, relieve suffering of the poor and strengthen the economy. Widespread prosperity with a thriving middle class followed World War II.

 

In the 1950’s there was a general consensus on the balance of liberalism (also known as the left wing) and conservatism (also known as the right wing). The Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate Republican, and a mostly collegial Congress set the tone for the post-war decade.

 

The 1960’s brought turmoil and changes that reverberate today. Barry Goldwater, a Republican, campaigned for President as a radical conservative intent on severely limiting the role of government and was solidly defeated by liberal Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. Defining events of that decade include the Vietnam War, civil rights movement, hippie counter-culture, women’s movement and assassinations of John Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy.

 

Upheaval of core assumptions about the essence of American culture and democracy ignited a backlash from the right wing. Well-financed organizations and institutions were founded to promote conservatism and discredit liberalism. A tactic in the conservative strategy emerged to make religion a driving factor in politics for the first time in American history. The Supreme Court decision of 1973 legalizing abortion was used as a catalyst to bring evangelical and fundamentalist Christians from the margins of American politics into the mainstream on the side of the ultra-conservatives. This newly activated segment of the electorate was commonly called by the name of one of its major organizations, the Moral Majority.

 

Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th President of the United States in 1980 largely as a result of this strategy. In his inaugural speech in 1981, Reagan famously declared: “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” This sound bite has been repeated incessantly, most recently at Tea parties restated as “less government.” It can arguably be described as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Disagreements over the roles of the federal government and influence of religion continue to be major issues dividing the country today. A basic question has always been the balance of liberty and justice with an assumption that government inhibits personal liberty and enhances universal justice. Conservatives call for less government at the same time they demand strong action on things like the environmental disaster in the Gulf Coast. A revisionist history is being promoted by the far right wing that says America is a Christian nation based on the Bible and is a republic requiring a minimal federal government, instead of a democracy with a strong central government.

 

We’re in a turbulent time that needs less violence-tinged rhetoric and much more education, critical thinking and truthful discussion. A basic question for this Independence Day is how each of us can exercise our responsibilities as citizens to elevate the level of discourse and strengthen, perhaps even save, democracy in America.

 

This essay is adapted from an editorial I wrote published in July 2010 issue of the Uptown Neighborhood News, Minneapolis, MN

 

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Believe We Can Transform America -the progressive narrative - a work in progress - introduction, framework, concept summaries of components that include relevant quotations, articles and excerpts from selected articles sorted by components of framework.
 
Sample quotatations illuminating the progressive narrative:
 
Worldview - "For progressives, a crucial guiding principle in regard to public policy is to secure the common good while protecting individual liberty to the fullest extent possible... Conscience is at the heart of progressivism because conscience is not just a feeling but a palpable urge toward improvement—a call to action or engagement..." Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite full text
Spiritual Politics - "My call for a spiritual revolution is not a call for a religious revolution. Nor is it a reference to a way of life that is somehow otherworldly, still less to something magical or mysterious. Rather it is a call for a radical reorientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self. It is a call to turn toward the wider community of beings with whom we are connected, and for conduct which recognizes others' interests alongside our own." 14th Dalai Lama
Progressive Narrative - "History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." Napoleon Bonaparte
Transformation - "Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society – its worldview, its basic values, its social and political structures, its arts, its key institutions – rearranges itself. Fifty years later there is a new world. And the people born then cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born. We are currently living through such a transformation." Peter Drucker

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Articles from Unitarian Universalist and related perspectives

 

For articles and commentary on progressive values, worldview and narrative

click here - For more excerpts from articles click here

         

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ProgressiveValues.org

is in the concept stage of becoming a non-profit organization and wants to "merge" with a well-established progressive non-profit so more people can be reached with the progressive vision for America's future. SpiritualPolitics.org and ProgressiveWorldview.org have recently been aquired to provide increased depth in promoting progressive values as the basis of public opinion and policy.

 

Social Entrepreneurship Opportunity 

Paideia LLCis a not-for-profit-only micro-business founded and owned by Phyllis Stenerson, entrepreneur and progressive activist. The company creates and markets Progressive Values communication products. Paideia is seeking "partnerships" to help these communication products reach Americans nationwide.

 

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The Network of Spiritual Progressives-Minnesota created a poster stating the principles of spiritual politics that is being given to elected officials to inspire decision making grounded in progressive values. To print out a free download, click here. Originals can be purchased with all proceeds going to NSP-MN. Contact Phyllis@progressivevalues.org. The poster reads:

Principles of Spiritual Politics

Leading from the heart.

Recognizing our oneness.

Governing with generosity.

 

The Constitution with all amendments including the Bill of Rights

 

Progressive Values - some ways progressive values can be articulated

 

Selected Quotations

 

Commentary by Phyllis Stenerson 

 

Books - recommended reading

 

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Paideia - Broadly defined as training or teaching, but not in the sense of learning a trade. Greek paideia, according to Xenophon, was “the process of educating man into his true form, the real and genuine human nature.”

Dr. Cornel West: “…I think in many ways it is the ultimate question: What is truth? How do we understand truth and what are the ways in which we wrestle with truth?...Plato always understood truth as tied into a way of life, as a certain mode of existence. And so what he’s trying to get us to enact is Paideia which I think at the end is really at the center of any serious philosophic project…I would just characterize it as moving from the superficial to the substantial, moving from the frivolous to the serious, and then cultivating a self to wrestle with reality and history and mortality and, most importantly, promoting a maturation of the soul.…philosophy becomes more a way of life as opposed to simply a mode of discourse…a philosopher is a lover of wisdom. It takes tremendous discipline, takes tremendous courage, to think for yourself, to examine yourself…Courage to think critically. Courage is the enabling virtue for any philosopher—for any human being, I think, in the end. Courage to think, courage to love, courage to hope…”. Astra Taylor interviewing Dr. Cornel West, KillingTheBuddha.com, November 15, 2009 more

 

Web site home page updated 2-15-10

 

Fair Use Notice: These pages contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C. § 107.




 

Believe Again in America, quotations from diverse voices 

with more than 300 quotations plus bios and the Bill of Rights

 

$10 each

order / more info


Note cards and postcards

 

 

Postcards with quotations to influence progressive public policy

Set of 8 - $10

order / more info

all proceeds go to the Network of Spiritual Progressives-MN - special prices on larger quantities

 

Postcards with quotations from women

Set of 10 - $12

order / more info

 

Postcards with quotations about peace

Set of 10 - $12

order / more info

 

Note cards with quotations about education

set of 6 - $9

with envelopes

order / more info

 


 

Principles of Spiritual Politics Poster

Leading from the heart.

Recognizing our oneness.

Governing with generosity.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                    




www.ProgressiveValues.org

Phyllis@ProgressiveValues.org
Paideia (pu-dye'-uh) is an ancient Greek philosophy
of educating for citizenship to create an ideal society.

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