So, I think that the majority of American people are actually a sleeping giant whose common values can at some point get mobilized and maybe we can have the government we always thought we should have again.
Edwin: What are your personal values in your own life?
Answer: I believe in having a humane life. I’m not extremely materialistic. In terms of the society I want to live in, I’m very uncomfortable when I see a lot of social stratification, injustice, and as someone who happens to have been born a white male, I’m very aware of my privilege, and I think I’m aware of the fact it’s a luck of birth that I was born with that. I don’t feel that should entitle me to anything extra. I feel therefore, I have a unique opportunity to try and promote all the privileges I have for everyone, if possible.
Edwin: Would you say that’s equality?
Answer: Yeah, I strive for equality, absolutely. Equality of opportunity in a much more real sense than I think is meant by maybe some Republicans. Equality of opportunity can start to sound like a very individual thing or philosophy, “where everyone is responsible for pulling themselves up by the bootstraps, and those who don’t, well, they had the same opportunity, and somehow they didn’t make it”, when there are so many factors that go into what opportunity really is, that a few simple laws don’t really fix it. We all have to take it on as our own personal responsibility.
Edwin: And what does that feel like as a sensation?
Answer: Well, as someone who grew up in Berkeley and went to Berkeley schools and public schools in the 60’s and 70’s, and I actually had a visceral sense of people of different economic stations and races -- really trying to understand what equality might be. And it was very exciting.
And I’ve been to a couple of high school reunions, and that feeling comes back. And it’s a wonderful feeling. A feeling where I and anyone else can walk through the streets and know that there’s more that we share than divides us. I think that’s how it is.
More on Equality
Equality definition
1. The state or quality of being equal.
Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals from birth. Generally it applies to being held equal under the law, the church, and society at large. In actual practice, one may be considered an egalitarian in most areas listed above, even if not subscribing to equality in every possible area of individual difference. For example, one might support equal rights in race matters but not in gender issues, or vice versa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egalitarianism
Some Questions To Ponder:
- What are your feelings about equality?
- How does the application of equality manifest itself in policies?
- Do you have a personal story or anecdote of how you learned some insight into this value?
- How does this progressive value differ from conservative values?
- How have conservative values failed?
Progressive Values Stories:
I am working on a documentary to answer the question, What are Progressive Values? So far, I have interviewed over 100 progressives and have placed over 350 video clips on YouTube. This is part of a continuing series of interviews and daily posts of progressives telling their personal stories about their values. See more stories at: http://progressivespirit.com/InterviewStories/ProgressiveValuesStories.htm
Edwin Rutsch
What Are Progressive Values? Documentary Project
http://ProgressiveSpirit.com
and Study Group
http://www.dfalink.com/group.php?id=2285
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