I didn't get many responses to my last post about creating a metaphor for progressive and conservative values. Come on progressives, be more imaginative. Let's make creativity a progressive value. I quite enjoy hearing and seeing the metaphors. When I individually sit down and ask progressives for a metaphor, after a little prodding,  they always come up with great metaphors.  Here are some more.

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"The greatest thing in style is to have a command of metaphor."  Aristotle

I didn't get many responses to my last post about creating a metaphor for progressive and conservative values.  Come on progressives, be more imaginative. Let's make creativity a progressive value.   I quite enjoy hearing and seeing the metaphors.   When I individually sit down and ask progressives for a metaphor, after a little prodding,  they always come up with great metaphors.  Here are some more.

Progressive Values are like:

Herman Blackmon -  Evolution

If I were able to construct a metaphor, it would not be a static one, it would be something that  would be changing and enduring and not seasonal, like human evolution, it's evolutionary in it's essence.

It's a trek towards..., by definition,  it's movement towards something in the future. Hopefully if you move and evolve, you get smarter and get wiser, more humane, and you become more civilized.  You hopefully hone the capacity to love  and interact and that kind of thing.

So, it would have to be evolution. Evolution is progressive.

Diane Strack -  Mother Earth


You can equate progressive values with Mother Earth in a way.  That comes to my mind, because the earth as it should be if it’s not eroded by wind or rain or something, is fertile and allows all things to grow, however, that are capable of growing.  And to me that’s what liberal values are.  It encourages people to be what they are capable of being.  You know, be your best self. 

Barbara A Levin -  the Delicate Oak Tree

Well, I know I’m delicate like an oak tree.  Well, an oak tree knows it’s principles and stands up straight.  Unlike the present Congress.  So, you know what your values are and you stand up for them.  Some people on the right do that too, but I have a problem with their values.  That’s the metaphor.

And the tree has deep roots.  Goes into the ground.  There’s your grassroots.  How’s that?  You like that?  Made it up on the spot.

William Francisco Grisolia -  Sailing Ships

Conservative values on one hand would like to see the status quo, they’d like more of the same.  They believe the ship is sailing and with minor course corrections we can sail on to progress in society.

Progressives on the other hand think the ship either is sinking or needs to turn around, or you need more ships, etc.  That’s the contrast with that simple analogy.

Richard J Wagner - Open Land
 
A metaphor for progressive values.  The term progress itself means improvement – continuously.  Not just the U.S., but everyone in the world.  We have a potential that is not even being beginning to be tapped because of repression and strife in the world.  People are expending energies in the wrong directions. 

A metaphor for progress would be working together to achieve prosperity, freedom and enlightenment and success for everyone.

Edwin:  If progressive values was a piece of land, what kind of land would it be?

Answer:  Open land, a land in which everyone was free to share resources in a fair and equitable way.  A land continuously improving, that wasn’t wasted away or overused.  A land regulated in a way where everyone could be ensured it would get better and better in the future.  Things would grow – instead of barren and dusty soil you’d have shade and streams and productivity.  That’s what progress means – improvement.

Ahjamu Makalani - Scale of Justice

I’m much more grounded in the reality in which I live.  When Eugene Debs went throughout the country in the late 1800 and early 1900’s, he made it clear that a chicken in every pot, a man is in prison, I feel you.  That’s what I’m talking about.  Having a connection in terms of social realities, and how we can improve upon our realities.

But I’m not very much in coming up in some kind of metaphors on what progressive values are.  I would say a metaphor for justice would be, what was it Plato said.  I remember about the scale with the woman who is blind, but given our reality I’d rather for the woman to take the blinds off and see the reality for what is, because sometime when you’re blind, you don’t have justice.  In fact, you have a great deal of injustice.  I’m not quite sure that’s an appropriate metaphor either.  That’s why I’m sort of stymied with that one.

Carol Hanelberg - a Flower

I’m very found of flowers, so that really struck me when you went down your list.  There’s a particular flower that I really like, it’s very pretty to look at.  I don’t know the name of it, but it’s purple, and the bush has narrow, pointed leaves.  So that’s what comes to mind.  I think of it as being perfect to look at, attractive, inviting,

Jason Theirs - a Flat Land