What does it mean to be Progressive?

It is increasingly fashionable in politics today and regardless of which side of the political spectrum a politician or political commentator happens to come from, to speak in terms of “threats”.

When in December of 2007, Richard Mottram, a former member of Gordon Brown’s government in the UK, effectively attacked his government’s fixation on the threat of international terrorism to the exclusion of all else he had little constructive to say beyond highlighting several other threats besides terrorism. Instead of attacking the scare-mongering policies of the Brown government which, in keeping with the policies of Tony Blair, basically have succeeded in transforming Britain into an island fortress that positively bristles with anti-terrorism measures, Mottram elected to scare the public about global warming and weapons of mass destruction instead. I can’t say I’ve ever met the man but he doesn’t seem to be a terribly deep or creative thinker by the looks of things and hardly original for that matter.

The rhetoric of the early 21st Century politician is consistently dominated by talk of threats and the language of fear and has been since the earth-shattering terrorist attacks of 2001. Calling it the 9/11 syndrome would hardly be far from the mark and it certainly isn’t confined to neo-conservatives. Whether we are taking about fears about global warming, terrorism, rogue states, flu pandemics, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or whatever, these threats are continuously pressed home from politicians and commentators on the left, on the right, in the middle or wherever. Whether it’s in the media, during election campaigns, in the White House, in the British or Canadian Parliament, the Bali Conference on Climate Change, or any number of other political forums across the world the focus of the discussion is on the existence of threats, the causes of threats, and responses to threats.

War on Terror

They claim to be fighting terror, but by their actions and by their language all they succeed in doing is furthering it as well as the bleak cynicism that goes with it. The language of threats is now all pervasive, from the right’s constant warnings about terror threats and security threats to the left’s constant warnings about the threat of global warming, environmental degradation and human rights abuses. From all sides in the debate we keep hearing “threats” and the result is an increasingly bitter sense of pessimism among the general public around the world – the elite consistently fails to give them something inspirational to believe in.

Religion and Free-Will

It is truly essential that individuals who choose to believe join a religion by choice upon reaching maturity when they can be counted on to make a rational decision upon such important and life-changing matters. The imposition of a religion and its beliefs upon children not old enough to make this choice and choose their spiritual path for themselves leads to a potentially very damaging process of indoctrination along sectarian lines that is to be discouraged: for it can leave a lifelong scar. Belief must stem from free-will and this is especially crucial if religious violence and sectarian strife is to be combated effectively around the world.

Threats and Fear across the Spectrum

In criticizing the British government’s fixation on Islamic terrorism, former official Richard Mottram merely downplays the terrorist threat only to highlight other threats. The rhetoric of the 21st Century politician is consistently dominated by talk of threats and the language of fear: global warming, terrorism, rogue states, flu pandemics, weapons proliferation and so on. They have raised the ability to scare the public into voting for political parties with uninspiring and unimaginative platforms and leaders to an art form and when they criticize each other it is generally because some take certain threats as being more serious than others. Fortunately, declining voter turnouts show that more and more people are not fooled by politicians whose main point of disagreement is over whether terrorism or global warming represents a greater threat to Western Civilization.

The Myth of the "Self-Made" Man

"He is a self-made man, and he worships his creator."
- attributed to John Bright, speaking of Benjamin Disraeli

Fame is the peoples’ drug of choice and there is nothing in a society where capitalism reigns supreme that attracts attention more than a story of rags to riches. Millions follow the trends set by the next media icon, the next superstar to catch market attention and public opinion before fading from view to be replaced by yet another. People adore the celebrity, seeing them as the paragon of what is attainable in society - regardless of their actions they are looked up to and everything about them is constantly discussed. The public sees supposedly ordinary men and women rise, seemingly without help, to the heights of fame, luxury and refinement.

Good and Evil

"Injustice is a kind of blasphemy. Nature designed rational beings for each other's sake: to help - not harm - one another, as they deserve. To transgress its will, then, is to blaspheme against the oldest of the gods."
- Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations, Book Nine #1

For a human being, maintaining one's dignity in the face of countless challenges without slipping into alienation is perhaps life's greatest trial. Despite being inherent, dignity can be lost and the human spirit can succumb to lingering malaise and decay. In terms of good and evil it can generally be assumed that dignity represents good and alienation evil though this is a loose definition at best. Alienation is the degradation of ones humanity and while perhaps seemingly benign at first it is the catalyst for all manner of questionable deeds. For the alienated individual is disconnected from humanity, feeling less and less affinity with their fellow human beings. They will increasingly indulge in their desires and obsessions as a means of alleviating the pain of this removal. Excess and imbalance can be considered the root of evil, and alienation the root of excess. Those who obsess over something will inevitably commit questionable and ultimately outright evil deeds that are totally against human morality, such as murder, to satisfy their desires. These can range from an overpowering love of one's country, love of profit and wealth for its own sake, a love of fame and mass adulation, an over zealous love for one's religion and all manner of other examples of obsessive excess. Those who succumb to and come to be defined by their overpowering desires as opposed to their humanity will inevitably suffer moral degradation - Sometimes to shocking degrees.

Fortress Britain: A Lesson for the World

On Wednesday, November 14 the British government unveiled what amounted to plans for a full-scale fortification of the UK. With the terrorist threat as their rationale, the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown will proceed to introduce a number of ramped up security measures based on the recommendations of their “terrorism minister” Alan West: build blast barriers at airports and train stations, strictly limit public vehicle access, isolate Islamic preachers considered to be extremist in orientation while neutralizing their message, employ Internet providers to stop the online distribution of extremist literature, ensure that extremist literature is not circulated in public libraries and on university campuses, advise thousands of movie theatres, shopping malls, hospitals and schools on how to protect against bomb attacks, introduce new baggage checks at rail terminals and airports, as well as plans for building new public buildings such as stadiums and concert arenas to reduce the impact of explosions and shrapnel. Combine this with the previously announced expansion of electronic surveillance to include cameras in police helmets and additions to the already vast network of public surveillance cameras on streets and in public buildings across the UK, Britain is certainly beginning to look like a society under siege.