Progressives and Free Choice

I have been looking into and doing a lot of thinking on the origin of some people's ideas that the principles enshrined in the Constitution are outdated. It comes down to the Progressive Movement which started in the late 19th century. I think the following quote captures the thoughts of Progressives quite well.

Seventy-two years ago, in 1937 at the height of the New Deal, Walter Lippmann, a repentant Progressive, noted that:

"[W]hile the partisans who are now fighting for the mastery of the modern world wear shirts of different colors, their weapons are drawn from the same armory, their doctrines are variations of the same theme and they go forth to battle singing the same tune with slightly different words....

Throughout the world, in the name of progress, men who call themselves communists, socialists, fascists, nationalists, progressives and even liberals, are unanimous in holding that government with its instruments of coercion, must by commanding the people how they shall live, direct the course of civilization and fix the shape of things to come.... [T]he premises of authoritarian collectivism have become the working beliefs, the self-evident assumptions, the unquestioned axioms, not only of all the revolutionary regimes, but of nearly every effort which lays claim to being enlightened, humane, and progressive.

So universal is the dominion of this dogma over the minds of contemporary men that no one is taken seriously as a statesman or a theorist who does not come forward with proposals to magnify the power of public officials and to extend and multiply their intervention in human affairs. Unless he is authoritarian and collectivist, he is a mossback, a reactionary, at best an amiable eccentric swimming hopelessly against the tide. It is a strong tide. Though despotism is no novelty in human affairs, it is probably true that at no time in twenty-five hundred years has any western government claimed for itself a jurisdiction over men's lives comparable with that which is officially attempted in totalitarian states....

But it is even more significant that in other lands where men shrink from the ruthless policy of these regimes, it is commonly assumed that the movement of events must be in the same direction. Nearly everywhere, the mark of a progressive is that he relies at last upon an increased power of officials to improve the condition of men."

Does the reaction to dissent and other ideas opposed to their own by the progressives back then seem familiar today?

I found this great bit of information in a piece posted by the Heritage foundation.

This is what it comes down to; progressives believe that people do not have the ability to choose what is best for them in leading their lives, therefore the state and the elite political culture should choose for them. After all, the state knows what is best for everyone and therefore can make a paradise for everyone all at once. What a load of crap! Free choice is our greatest God given gift. Although Progressives preach the touchy feely we are trying to help everyone and do it for their own good, they are intent on taking away that God given right. You can see the progressive thread in every major issue being debated on the political scene today; health care, cap and trade, junk food taxes, and economic stimulus.

DON'T LET THEM FOOL YOU!!

Remember that our rights come directly from God to us, we then loan a couple of those rights to the government to assist in providing for the common defense and providing an environment that allows us to determine our own destiny.

Central planning and collectivism for the common good has NEVER worked in history. The current crop of progressives claim they can make it work cause they are much "cleverer" than those before them. You will find them in both of the major political parties.

Read The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Federalist Papers, and I would even say Tocqueville's "Democracy in America". Although he wrote it for a French audience in the mid-19th century, it shows we are on the same path the French were back then. Frankly, that scares the crepes out of me.

Educate yourself and be active in your community so we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.