Let’s talk about post-progressive politics, the approach that we advocate and we believe is necessary if we are to move beyond our insidious culture wars and dated, ineffective political system.
Post-progressivism is progressive in the sense that it bravely denounces the status quo and advocates change and advancement, but doesn’t get caught up in the polarizing, deconstructive tendencies that standard progressivism does. It values one and all and attempts to understand one and all. It is not yet another fragmented political approach but one that seeks to integrate all current approaches into a larger effort and embrace.
Let’s look at three key principles of post-progressivism.
Life is Continually Evolving
We take solace in the fact that life is evolving. We’re all familiar with the idea that species evolve and morph in their biological and neurological make up, thanks to Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. But post-progressivism looks further afield with regards to evolution. We recognize that change and development is built into life itself and trickles down into humans. It’s undeniable that our species is advancing technologically, morally, spiritually, cognitively, and in many other areas. This has been occurring since the dawn of Homo Sapiens as we know it, hundreds of thousands of years ago. We trust in the upward movement of life and our species, even when in the short-term and on the surface things seem to be falling off a cliff. We see everything as the result of the ebb and flow of this all-encompassing expansion and continual elaboration.
Everybody is Right… and Wrong
Another key assumption is that everybody is right, and wrong. The Republicans bring a lot of truth to the party, but they also fall short in many critical ways. The progressives are right and wrong too. We see people’s beliefs, worldviews and values as a natural response to their environment and life conditions. They are operating on the genuine faith that their view of the world is true and complete, and that if only everyone else held it, we would live in a veritable utopia. Yet we also realize that because our beliefs, worldviews and values are context-dependent, they are also inevitably partial and fragmented. Thus we take into account both the beautiful truths and the remarkable shortcomings of any given value structure, regardless of their place on the political spectrum.
Everything Contributes
We hold it as a tenet that everything that occurs in our country and on this planet ultimately contributes to the evolution of our species. We hold this steadfastly, even when things seem catastrophic, even if we dislike the immediate circumstances and plot twists that befall us. Thus, although we strongly oppose certain realities, like the election and potential re-election of Donald Trump, we recognize that there is a greater wisdom guiding all of this, and that only when we look back in the years and decades to come will we realize the necessity of these plot twists. We trust that evolution is a force of nature that guides and envelops absolutely everything, and that our own blindspots and needs prevent us from seeing its wisdom operating in all events. Nothing is off the table: war, political upheaval, civil unrest, economic downturns, and all the other calamities, are equally as important and necessary as are the great, culture-transforming moments like the Civil Rights Act, the abolition of slavery, the end of the Cold War, July 4th, and so on.
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