I had the opportunity to watch a "town meeting" featuring old luminaries of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. They want "their" party back. The names have been around for 30 years: Hayden, Ehrenreich, Guinier, Jackson, among others. It was very sad for someone who participated in the infamous 60's and shared some of the assumptions of those days.

The reasons why the progressive era fades away to nothing are pretty simple. The activist is only interested in 2% of the world's activity and doesn't understand his role. His role is not to gain power and "change society." His role is to offer up sharp, critical angles of attack in relation to a number of apparent problems. If he can do that well, do it truthfully, his critique will be pulled up and through the ponderous culture and make some difference. But it depends on two prime elements: (1)The need for a dynamic period of time such as the 60's which were revolutionary in a thoroughly inhuman way. The activists had a built-in advantage and used it well. (2) There is a plenitude of new ideas swirling in the atmosphere.

Eventually, the 98% of the world the activists denies, ignores, or forgets buries him and the era ends. The new ideas become stale, the atmosphere becomes trivial, the dynamism ends and a lot of good will moves its loyalty elsewhere.

These old progressives are trying to fire up youth with this staleness and its memory of the dynamic period; a contrived, semi-cult atmosphere of "us vs. them." No one listens. The progressive era is long dead and will not return for decades. It will return. It will happen in its own way, in its own time. One would think that the would-be progressives would try and lay the tracks down for new ideas that understand the possibility of new dynamics of a society different than the one in 1968. It could also evidence more joyful creativity as it perceives a bit of the future.

It's an axiom that a democratic society is judged by the quality of distance between its most substantial citizens and its meanest citizens. The paradox of this it that the quality of distance is irrespective of the amount of possessions, amount of custodial power, amount of esteem one may have. The single man or woman who displays the full attributes of a democratic life, living the most anonymous life, circulating freely through this life, growing through time in honor of life and freedom presents a far worthier example of the name "democratic" than a man led by the nose by power and ambition. The man of power and ambition sets the general tone to the awakening consciousness of youth but has to be overcome to get all the potential squeezed from the founding dream.

The truly democratic man fears no nation, fears no ideas, fears no contingency, is pleased by the variety of activity. He asks, Will this activity develop fully toward the opening of life? Will this activity close the door to the fulfillment? If so, why and what does the activity pivot on so its direction can be changed?

One of the chief problems is that "democracy" is easy to say and in the mouth of the wrong people becomes a word dangerously imbued with the perverse. The Nazi's and Communists always used the word freely. It's the act that proves a democratic person. That act is always continual development and continual offering back into the democratic culture, the richness one has gained as a result of this development. In that sense the theme of the democratic citizen is inexhaustible, more so under the pressures that envelope and depress the individual in this world.

One of the great pressures today is the assault of massive techniques of manipulation that intercede between the growing spirit and her conscience. "You are to produce and consume," so saith the manipulating techniques. It is nearly a taboo to discover the very foundations from which the democratic values flow.

The one way to fight this pressure is through knowledge. Every object, large or small, standing still or in motion leads to production and so a relation to all this is necessary to produce a democratic citizenry.

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David Eide
January 24, 2014