Ames Progressive

When people approached me about writing for the Ames Progressive, I said that I didn’t want to associate myself with any label. I was faced with the question that if I wrote for the Ames Progressive would that necessitate I label myself a progressive? Recently I realized that I could, instead of boycotting the title, be constructive about the issue and write my opinion. After all, what’s a good publication that is not self-critical?

I, like most people, am tremendously disenchanted with politics. What frustrates me the most is that the political system is built to be adversarial, for the purpose of gaining power over others rather than vesting power in the people who are supposed to be served. Political labels are an essential tool in adversarial politics.

One might argue that a political label is an expedient used to communicate a value system. This may be its first purpose, but once it is put to use, a label becomes a dress people wear as long as it is fashionable and has a positive connotation among a wide enough constituency. Political labels can be used in a way that is intelligent and respectful but, as our political system is neither of these, the political label has the inherent politics of being adversarial and putting up walls.

Far from being reflections of society, labels themselves create false distinctions. If political labels reflected belief-systems, there would be nearly as many labels as there are people. Really they are a reflection of the political system, which again shows they are a tool of politics. The dominant dichotomy in American politics is between the liberal and the conservative. This distinction reflects the fact that the political system is dominated by two respective parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Although labels are worn as though they are solid belief systems, the meaning and use of a label changes tremendously over time. It was once a very liberal idea to support a citizen’s right to bear arms. Over time, this became a conservative ideal.

The Wikipedia article on Progressivism says the term is used, according to a progressive group, to “break free of the false and divisive dichotomy.” But the problem is that this too will be made to fit the form and function of a divisive political system. Right now, “progressive” has a benevolent, objective, consensus-building, grassroots connotation, but once political weight is put behind it, it will enter into the adversarial realm and the people who benefit from it will do all they can to deify it, and those who lose from it will do all they can to vilify it. The Ames Progressive may bear the advantage of appealing to like-minded people for the time being, but shouldn’t we try to appeal to everyone in the long term?

Of course, this is all my politics, and I choose not to use labels for the same reason that people choose to. I believe in finding consensus without compromise, something that putting myself under a label tends to hinder. I believe that once people stop using labels as tools to gain leverage against one other, we will all benefit. Maybe then we can use labels openly as tools for mutual gain.