"An idea is a feat of association, and the height of it is a good metaphor." Robert Frost
When I interview people about progressive values, I've also asked them to create a metaphor of those values. Sometimes creating an image to represent some feeling or thought can shed some new light on it. It can illuminate some aspect that you may not have thought of before. I also find metaphors to be fun and creative. Here are several metaphors of what Progressive Values are like.
Progressive Values are like:
Mimi Kennedy - like a Progressive Flowing River versus Conservative Stagnant Pond
Well, a river comes to mind – slow, movement, beauty, but not in stasis. I would think of a right wing control as being a pond that might look great when it first starts and gets real stagnant and attracts mosquitoes and eventually dries up because there’s no living spring or flow to it.
I was actually thinking today that the donkey for the Democratic Party with the stubbornness should maybe go – now we’re ready to go for a racehorse. We got to get ahead of the game and stop just being stubborn. We got to go forward.
Scott Henderson - Progressive Aspen Grove versus the Conservative Lone Oak
Several metaphors come to mind. One is the conservatives would probably say they’re like the mighty oak, because they stand alone and stand up for the all the elements that might attack the oak. A progressive would say they’re more like a grove of aspens, because they’re all joined at the roots, and they spring up and can be very beautiful – their shimmering leaves in the fall, and the wind blowing through them. And they’re very strong, because if you kill one aspen tree, the rest are all joined at the roots, and they can still sustain.
Henry E Hall - like a Mist of Spray
You know, I’m not as artistic as some of your friends, but progressive values are like the spray of mist on the peak of the surf waves that as you are walking along, feeling alone in your own thoughts, you are reminded by this refreshing mist of spray, that reinvigorates you and reminds you that you are a part of nature, and that you must remain alert and ever vigilant.
JC Stiassni - like Beautiful Changing Trees
Something that’s unique, something that’s different, that is always continuously changing. I’d actually have to go with a tree. Because is always shedding, always changing. It’s beautiful, always changes colors. At any point it can change its ideology, and the thing about progressives which I love is that their ideology can be adopted to any topic they want to at any point. And I think it’s great. And that’s why I believe trees, because they can be beautiful, adopt, and are also able to remain stable, and their roots are in the ground. It’s strong – a very strong community. That’s what I attribute progressives to.
Mary L Jacobs - Progressive Butterflies versus Conservative Diamonds
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