It is no surprise that politics and current events are common discussions in everyday American life. You might walk down your dorm hall and hear fellow students discussing the legality or immorality of abortion or walk past a couple of people in the Bookstore talking about the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.
It is interesting to find that most people also tend to put political labels on themselves. You might hear someone say, "I'm a Democrat," and another person say, "I'm a conservative." One political label in particular is worth discussing. Many people might find themselves saying, "I'm a progressive." Depending on who you are talking to, some people find this pleasing and others offensive. In mainstream America, progressives have been branded as people who have ultra-liberal and/or socialist ideals. However, I believe this is not what a true progressive is. If you were to take a minute and look up the word progressive in the dictionary, you would find that it simply means, "moving forward; advancing."
As a member of College Democrats here at Notre Dame, I am not afraid to admit that I label myself to be a moderate Democrat. Yet, if someone were to ask me if I consider myself to be a progressive, I would not hesitate to say, "Absolutely!" I am a progressive, not because of political views, but because I am interested in seeing America "move forward and advance."
Each day, Americans are given constant reminders of the bad shape their country is in and has been in for the last couple of years. Although we may have politically different ideas in how to solve our pressing dilemmas, I think we can all agree that the ultimate goal is to make this nation better for us and for our posterity. So, for those of you who are reading this who want to see America "move forward and advance," I urge you to ignore the pre-established labels, call yourselves progressives, and join other progressives in wearing blue on Sept. 28.
Trenton Spoolstra
member
College Democrats
Sept. 23
