American Progressivism and You
- averij98
- Jan 2
- 11 min read
Updated: Jan 18
By: Luther Bravo
Written With: Taylor Lousie
Every year is an election year here in America. Depending on where you live, the implications of that will vary drastically. Politics and politicians stay the same in some places, such as small towns in Arkansas or Vermont. In Ohio, every election can breed a new set of political leaders and policies. But, no matter where you are in America, a few things remain the same: your vote matters, money is ruining politics, and getting a politician who can enact progressive legislation by themselves is rare. But why is that, and is there anything we can do?
Well, first, what does it mean to have progressive policies? Progressivism is a political philosophy and movement seeking to advance the human condition through social reform. Progressivism is primarily based on purported advancements in social organization, science, and technology. President Biden's use of the Green New Deal is an example of progressivism in today's political context. The Green New Deal is employing over 20,000 young adults to participate in conservation efforts, such as planting trees and building solar panels to increase conservation. Another is the Build Back Better Act. This act is expanding universal and free preschool to 3 and 4 years, which will help improve education across the country. Provides tax cuts for families with children by expanding the Child Tax Credit. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy implemented Get Covered NJ, which extends health insurance coverage options for low-income New Jerseyans. Progressive policies help Americans live healthier and more fulfilling lives.
Progressive politicians are here to help everyday Americans. However, they are increasingly rare in today’s political scene. This is for a few reasons, the first of which is money in politics. Money in politics is done through lobbying, which is how individuals and organizations influence politics by providing cash in the form of campaign support for politicians. In the 2024 primary, AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, spent millions of dollars to unseat two members of Congress who stood in support of Palestine. First, AIPAC spent 9.9 million dollars to prop up a candidate to defeat Jamaal Bowman. This works because the more money a candidate receives, the more they have for ads, mailers, to pay people to go door-knocking for them, etc. The same situation occurred to Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush. AIPAC spent 1.9 million dollars endorsing her opponent to remove her from her seat. What these politicians did was call for a ceasefire in Gaza, which goes against AIPAC’s wishes. Politicians should only be replaced when their constituents are dissatisfied with their service.
However, it is essential to understand why replacing progressive candidates is met with little resistance. Understanding how the Overton Window moves to the right is imperative to getting more progressive politicians. The Overton Window is a window of policies accepted by the mainstream. Therefore, some policies are more progressive (left) and others are more conservative (right) of the Overton Window are not accepted by the mainstream. What moves the window right or left is the culture of society and the rhetoric of politics.
Due to the lack of transparency from politicians, Americans are left to rely on buzzwords and their feelings to piece together what is happening to our country. For example, we do not keep national records of police interactions or police brutality. Nor do we have any standards on how police across different states should maintain and report their record keeping. Therefore, when politicians come out and say, “We need to defund the police,” it can appear shocking to those who have not been impacted by over-policing. Without the statistical evidence, it can feel like politicians are just pandering, and that makes defunding the police left of The Overton Window. Which is why, despite public outcry from Black and Brown citizens, we have heard very little from politicians about actually doing something about improving policing in this country. This does not mean that police reform isn’t needed; it is, but it does mean there needs to be a shift in what the general public knows and feels about it.
This cycle of needing to change and being denied change makes many feel powerless. It makes many people of various groups think their voices and votes do not matter. Although that is incorrect, we must understand that is the goal of the current two-party system.
Simply put, a population that is tired and hopeless will not fight against the government. When there is a new crisis every day and some days every hour, how does one organize their thoughts on the issue, let alone a movement around it? It benefits the government that the people's grievances are so diverse, thus making it harder for them to come together. It creates an environment that encourages infighting as everyone tries to make progress on one issue over the other. It allows for divisive rhetoric to divide further those willing and able to make a stand. Others facing the brunt of these changes feel increasingly powerless and isolated as they struggle to keep their heads above water.
This hopelessness affects voters and politicians as well. Progressive politicians don’t just fall into the national scene; they must be supported on every level. Ballot measures can help bridge this gap by supporting politicians on every level and ensuring that policy is correctly implemented on the federal, state, and local levels. However, when we see what happens to politicians such as Jamaal Bowman , it can be difficult for politicians to stand out with their progressive ideas.
Ballot measures, as propositions, are a way for the people to vote on the laws of their community directly. Propositions usually are at the state and county levels. Since the overturning of Roe v Wade, there have been several elections to expand Women’s Reproductive Rights. For example, Florida will be voting on Amendment 4, which would add a state constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability. Cannabis has been legalized for recreational use in 24 states and D.C.; 18 out of 25 of those locations were made legal by voting. For example, Florida will be voting on the legalization of marijuana for personal use. The propositions can improve or drastically alter the rights of millions in this country.
Voting is also a way to show solidarity and build community. Every time we vote, we are voting for our community. Yes, we keep our interests in mind, but we also vote for the type of community we want to live in, whether those communities fund the local library or not. Whether the place we live will ban masks or not. For instance, Nassau County has banned masks for nonmedical reasons because they ‘conceal a person’s identity’ despite COVID-19 still being a threat to millions. When we vote, we show our neighbors that we stand with them. Before gay marriage was nationally legalized, it was legalized in different states because of voting. You are also for people who cannot vote themselves. This could be voting for hurricane relief for Puerto Ricans or better living conditions for prisoners. Not every proposition impacts you directly, but they do show what you stand for. By showcasing what is important to you and your neighbors, you can and will shift The Overton Window.
Your voice matters, and what you show up for matters. Showing up for what you believe in isn’t just voting; it is showing up for your community. Historically, progressive American campaigns and organizations started and focused locally. For example, The Black Panther Party created its own Free Breakfast program. This began in 1969 in Oakland at a local church and went from a few kids to hundreds in weeks. The Black Panther Party and its complimentary breakfast program grew nationally. The attention the program received put pressure on politicians to feed hungry children. The Black Panther Party was systematically destroyed and, thus, subsequently ended its Free breakfast program. The USDA School Breakfast program was permanently authorized shortly after. This is because politicians felt pressured by their constituents for failing to provide them with essentials.
One of the things to take away from this is how impactful localized efforts are. For progressives to be taken seriously in political spaces, we must build tangible relationships with our communities by solving problems that matter. There is a local organization in North New Jersey named “ Walk A Mile In Our Shoes” that focuses on regional efforts to reach their community. They have done shoe drives to help the refugees in their communities, they do volunteer days to help clean up schools and parks, and much more to engage meaningfully with their community. It is crucial that the public can see and feel the difference that comes from progressive ideologies and solutions. This is because people need to feel like there are people who care about them and their needs. This will energize them to show up to town halls to vocalize their needs to their political leaders. It encourages people to speak up on the issues that are impacting them and their communities. This is valuable because it brings more awareness, which can lead to policies that address those issues.
Another thing that political and social groups do to enact change is protest. Protesting is fundamentally American, so it is our First Amendment right. Although, in many states and surrounding many issues, the police, military, and justice system have been used to silence protesters- they are still integral to the process. The Uncommitted movement was a structured protest that used voting to show their resistance. The Uncommitted Movement was
mainly organized by Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Americans who could not stand by and watch the American Funded Genocide of the Palestinian people. They instructed people to vote uncommitted in their state primaries to show the DNC that they did not support Joe Biden. This got us Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate for the DNC. Again, during the DNC convention, they voted uncommitted to ensure that the Vice President candidate would be someone who was at least empathetic to the Gaza genocide. Organized protesting works to create meaningful progressive change in America.
Although every social and political group will not end in change on the federal level, they all matter. This is because it keeps the American public focused and energized on the issues that impact this. Without that hypervigilance from the mainstream, American Fascism will take over. Fascism, defined by Merriam-Webster, is” a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.” Fascist policies may look similar across regimes but ultimately, depend on the country they are in. For a policy to be considered “far right” has to be exemplary of that Overton window of the culture it is created in. In America, we can look at the overturning of Roe v Wade, allowing abortion bans as far right. This is because a majority of Americans support access to abortion. According to Pew Research, 63% of Americans support abortion in all or most cases. Therefore, we can conclude that a nearly complete ban on abortions, such as Texas’ Chapter 170A of the Texas Health and Safety Code, is far right if the values of the majority of Americans.
Another example of far-right extremism leading to American Fascism is Cop City. Cop City is a plan to create militarized training facilities for cops. Although it has gained notoriety because of the protests surrounding the Cop City that has been approved in Atlanta, there is more than one cop city. American Fascism 55 cop cities being approved using taxpayer money without an announcement. Cop City in Atlanta is why activist Manuel “Tortugita” Teran is dead. In January 2023, Manuel Teran was shot over 50 times by an Atlanta Police Department task force for protesting Cop City. Although it is not uncommon for protesters to be killed, it still goes against the First Amendment right to protest. When we speak about what fascism looks like in America, we must talk about the hypocrisy of American authorities.
Cop City is a fascist plan meant to continue to oppress Black, Brown, Disabled, and Poor Americans. This is in part due to the very goal of Cop City, which is to increase militarized policing. This is because militarized policing is most likely to impact Black people, people in poverty, and disabled people. Crime is often sensationalized when it comes to people who live at the intersections of these groups, such as poor Black people or disabled poor people. It’s also due to the new laws that prevent people from protesting Cop City. In September 2023, 61 movement activists were indicted on racketeering charges by the Georgia state attorney. Understanding that is more than a scare tactic; this is authoritarian behavior.
Americans have a right to protest, and these actions of getting them arrested and even killed violate that right. Fascism does not just happen overnight; it is ushered in through a series of laws, violent acts, and fear-mongering.
American Individualism is the tool that is being used to usher in American Fascism. This is due to a few factors, including the fear-mongering utilized to push the Overton Window to the right. One of the reasons so many people believe policing is necessary is because of the fear-mongering around crime, despite the FBI’s crime statistics showing that violent crime is down 3% in 2023 compared to 2022. Crime has been declining fairly steadily since 1993, according to Pew Research. Yet, you will hear about the need for increasing police, prisons, and security measures from politicians under the guise of “law and order.” When we listen to politicians talk about “law and order, “ some of us can recognize that this is coded language for the oppression of Black people, Native Americans, and Americans living in poverty.
American Fascism is marked by its reactionary nature. People are becoming disillusioned with the police due to the increased footage of police brutality and the inefficiency of the police in school shootings; let’s make militarized police training facilities. Women are having children later and focusing more on their financial stability; let’s overturn Roe v Wade and force them to have babies and give up their careers. Americans are becoming more accepting of LGBT, specifically trans people and trans youth; let’s put 100 bills into place that make it harder for them to access proper medical care. American Fascism is not a new phenomenon but one that is baked into the foundation of America.
We must remember that America was founded and continues to be an empire. This context is crucial when discussing anything connected to our social, political, and economic systems. Understanding that slavery was and through the 13th Amendment still is a powerhouse to the American economy is imperative to understanding Cop City. Knowledge that the genocide of the Indigenous people is essential to understanding our food insecurity and climate crisis. We must keep in mind that the changes we seek are radical as they change the foundation of the system we live under. Therefore, it is not about stopping fascism from happening in America but preventing it from spreading. Bringing people to accept this reality has proven to be a formidable feat.
On the one hand, people do not have enough information, and on the other, they are too tired to care. Some are still delusional, believing that what is happening will continue to skip over them. Yet, that is not true; the American Empire is coming for all of us. Therefore, you must take action and be accountable for the future you want. That means supporting progressive policies and voting on them when you can. It means supporting your community through mutual aid and localized programs. It means protesting for change when the powers are ignoring you. It means solidarity with your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers for a brighter tomorrow. Remember that no act
towards a brighter future is too small. American Fascism will only become a feature of the past if we are intentional about making American Progressivism the way of the future.
For American Progressivism to take hold, we must all do our part. For some of us, that will be organizing mutual aid and supporting their communities. Others will be working within the system to propose and implement progressive policies. There will be those who protest, whether boycotting or taking to the streets to be heard. We will stand in solidarity as we understand that liberation for all is the only option. We will use every tool available to us and create new ones to create the new foundation we seek.
Works Cited
“Where Do Americans Stand on Abortion?” Gallup.Com, Gallup, 16 Oct. 2024, news.gallup.com/poll/321143/americans-stand-abortion.aspx.
https://jacobin.com/2023/11/american-politics-left-wing-democratic-party-electoral-strategy-coalit ion-building
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/19/who-is-running-for- congress-in-Iowa-in-2024-here's-a-look-at-the-candidates/72948051007/
https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_House_of_Representatives_elections,_2024 https://www.270towin.com/2024-governor-election/
https://newjerseymonitor.com/2024/06/08/uncommitted-supporters-say-results-are-clear-warning -to-biden/
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