I wrote recently about how Republicans Are Dogs, and by implication, Democrats Are Cats. In a general way, I do think the analogy holds up, but where I see a significant divergence is with Progressives. I know, Progressive is the New Ultra Liberal. The term Progressive sounds more modern more educated and by inference, more socially advanced. The term Liberal became too pejorative, too passive, too attached to less activist leaders like Martin Luther King, JFK and Jimmy Carter. There are still some more moderate and less obsessive mainstream Democrats, who view the world as bigger than themselves, with room for disagreement, discussion, and possibly compromise. Progressives marginalize them as relics of the past. I believe most ‘Democrats’ still view themselves as open minded, inclusive, peace-loving and engaged. They embrace marriage, in its broadest sense. Most Democrats have Republican friends. You have seen cats and dogs that are affectionate with each other? Well, there are many Republican/Democrat couples, Mary Matalin and James Carville for example. Their life/political strategies are diametrically opposed, but they respect each others intellect, and give space to their differences with humility. Where Progressives differ from mainstream Democrats is that they aren’t interested in being inclusive, tolerant or engaged. They are singular, insulated and elite. Progressives reject marriage, period. The institution of marriage, for example, to a Progressive is a prison sentence, and the job of raising children is demeaning. Progressive writer Amy Glass thinks women are fooling themselves to think raising children is an important job or that managing a ‘family household’ is anywhere as difficult as building a professional career. “Men don’t care to “manage a household.” They aren’t conditioned to think stupid things like that are important…Women will be equal with men when we stop demanding that it be considered equally important to do housework and real work. They are not equal. Doing laundry will never be as important as being a doctor or an engineer or building a business.” It makes me wonder, where was Amy’s mom during her formative years? Her anger and resentment and dismissive attitude toward any woman who isn’t ‘career’ oriented gives the impression she suffers from a sense of abandonment. Nope, as carefree and independent as they profess to be, Progressives aren’t Cats. Progressives are more like Black Widow Spiders. They live in, and are perfectly happy to stay in, their home spun world. Their web of insulation allows them to ignore accountability, judgment, and standards. In fact, they associate ‘standards’ with a bourgeois straight jacket, especially for women. They may hook up with a partner for purely selfish reasons, but the relationship is doomed right from the start. At some point, the Spider becomes a Black Widow. It is hard to name a strongly Progressive couple who have maintained a life-long relationship. In her piece called ‘Successful Women Don’t Fall In Love,’ Amy ‘The Black Widow’ Glass gleefully states "I am in love with myself, in love with building my work, which will outlive me, and in love with proving people wrong, the ones who told me what I couldn't do– be happy and secure and the center of my own world." http://thoughtcatalog.com/amy-glass/2013/12/successful-women-do-not-fall-in-love/ |
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