Progressive Priniciples According to Turtlesuds

I am not going to suggest that ProU actually consider my list of progressive principles. Instead, I am going to say that this is my own personal list, and that all of my blogs fit into these progressive principles. When defining things like this, broader terms encompass more specific ones, and I can see how my principles fit into the principles that already exist. However, by focusing specifically on my list, I hope to stimulate a drive for progress, even if it is only my own.

About ProU's current list, I am not so sure I get the term "Broad Prosperity." I mean, I know what it is, but I am not so sure it should be in the top 5 list. First, Shared Responsibility and Effective Government seem to encompass it, I think. I really do like Effective Government, but I won't include it my list for this blog. I wouldn't want ProU to take it away though.

So, here is my list. I guess I can say this is the list I try to live by, in order of most basic, individual steps toward progress, to the most collective.

1. Individual Freedom:

Could also be called, "Civil liberties". Before any human can progress they must be free to do so. If a person does not feel safe expressing their own individual freedom or taking advantage of civil liberties, they are in a state of oppression or repression instead of progression. I prefer this term to "Personal freedom," because personal freedom to me implies "not shared". It's subtle, i know, but "Personal freedom" sounds like, "It's mine, nor yours," and "Individual freedom" sounds more like, "My own." Another way to look at it is that personal freedom can be more easily confused with an individual's freedom at the expense of another's.

2. Promoting Tolerance:

My buddy Sahara pointed out that this idea has a negative connotation and I agree. However, much of our world is negative, and intolerance is one of the biggest reasons. I think it is a principle worthy of recognition. Intolerance is at the heart of most of the conflict we see going on in our world today. Even in America where people are supposedly "free" there is intolerance of religious and sexual orientations, skin color, ethnicity, and social class. Of course this happens all over the world. Intolerance of disease is rampant, whether it be obesity, mental illness, or AIDS. Intolerance of alternative family lifestyles results in discrimination, abuse and ridicule of children.

3. Raising Awareness:

This is one of the tools to promoting tolerance. It also can be a stimulus for change in peoples' perceptions, actions and reactions. It helps to put us in another's shoes for a moment, and forces a person to reevaluate our own ignorance or prejudice. It helps to bring attention to issues that can easily be overlooked, especially if they are issues that have to do with a minority group. Raising awareness empowers people to help themselves and each other. It points out failures in systems and institutions people assume are working just fine. If considered collectively, it can help agencies, organizations or governments effectively prioritize things like, dare I say, BUDGETS?

4. Shared Responsibility:

Implies that I do not end with me and that we are all in this planet together. I think that this could also be considered to include Effective Government. After all, government exists to promote shared responsibility. In fact, the most obvious place we can see the pain that happens as a result of a lack of shared responsibility is in the middle east. When people don't work together for the good of society, they leave themselves exposed and vulnerable. There is power in numbers, people. One person can only get so far without relying on someone else for something. If it weren't for shared responsibility the whole world would be subject to individual rulers who dictate to their scared and helpless subjects. This principle also encompasses the golden rule. It also points to the law of karma. If I am not doing my part to share responsibility, I will not be included in the rewards reaped by the group. If I work only for me and mine, I limit myself to only those rewards which I can create. Similarly I will have to fight and defend myself on my own if faced with oppression or terror.

5. Progressive Parenting:

This is my favorite. i know that some will think, "I am not a parent, that doesn't apply to everyone on ProU." True, until you step back and think about our responsibility as a species to the generations that are on their way who will be replacing us. A person does not have to be a biological parent to someone to live the principle of "Progressive Parenting." A person simply needs to think about how what is going on today will affect the world tomorrow.

If you follow me, it can be argued that all efforts to stop harming our planet are part of progressive parenting. Efforts to do everything I have already mentioned falls into Progressive Parenting. Progressive Parenting is taking the stance that, "What was good enough for my parents is not good enough for me, and what is good enough for me is not good enough for the children coming into this world." It is the way to a Better Future.

It is the acknowledgment that our time on this planet is short, and we will not survive to see the history of the world play out. We have a responsibility from our point in history now to learn from past mistakes and to dare to do something different than what we already know has failed.