Who are my heroes?

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I Am A Progressive?

Many people say they are progressives, what the hell does that mean, who is a real progressive and what are the very fundamentals that must be present to be considered a progressive?

My first criteria would include that all human beings are seen as equals and maybe seeing others as brothers and sisters, not in a religious sense but for real. When I look at someone and I see an equal, the relationship may grow, but if I see someone beneath me in any sense of the word the relationship will never bear fruit.

One of the great progressives who comes to mind was President Teddy Roosevelt, a republican who said:

"The essential difference, as old as civilized history, is between the men who, with fervor and broad sympathy and imagination, stand for the forward movement, the men who stand for the uplift and betterment of mankind, and who have faith in the people, on the one hand; and, on the other hand, the men of narrow vision and small sympathy, who are not stirred by the wrongs of others. With these latter stand also those other men who distrust the people, and many of whom not merely distrust the people, but wish to keep them helpless so as to exploit them for their own benefit." (Not much in common with the "T Baggers")

There are many people who claim to be progressive and just make money off the ills of our present circumstances, you know who they are. They are politicians, have radio and TV shows and have never risked anything of real value to bring about change; they just make more money. There are those on the radio and TV who do care about the "Other" and do good work, they are called Cocktail Liberals. This is not meant to be a derogatory term, cocktail liberals do good work and support worthy causes, but almost never risk losing something of great value, like their job or being arrested at a protest, or just being shunned by their peers. They will say the right things so I give them much credit for that and wish them well, but they are not progressives. Tens of thousands who have lost or resigned their jobs because they could not support a system that is corrupted, they are my heroes. I often wonder if it would not be a great and noble thing to do, as a society, to create another memorial in our capital for our heroes who have suffered much in the name of Justice. That would be a place to visit, here would be the names of our present day heroes: Cindy Sheehan, David Swanson, Ann Wright, Ralph Nader, Dennis Kucinich, Bradley Manning, Mike Malloy, there are so many more, but I think you should have a feeling for who my heroes are; they are not cocktail libs, they are real progressives. Is my standard high? Yes and it must remain high because many who claim to be progressive damage the movement by their lack of action. Those who say let's march on a Saturday because we get more people that way should be in a non-leadership role, they do not believe in the people coming out, taking off work and as long as you don't expect people to sacrifice they will not---trust in the people is one of the foundations of being a progressive. Protests should take place on Fridays at the height of the rush hour, people should be inconvenienced. Leaders who tell you we must be polite should go and stay on a farm, milk some cows but for all our sakes don't lead a group of protesters; they should join a committee to run the next big parade, maybe the Easter Parade. Leaders that want to visualize peace should also go to a farm, turn it into a commune and let us know how you are doing every so often, say once a year. But please don't tell people you have the answer, you don't. The answer to our problem is like the song, blowing in the wind, because there is no one answer, we have not even started to understand why humans love to kill things. At the end of the day, a progressive has a fundamental love of their fellow humans, will sacrifice for someone they don't even know, will tell people they are wrong, and will laugh and celebrate the goodness that humans so often display. This is an essay of great hope, not the politician's kind of hope, but the real kind---the common hope of all people.

Authors Bio:
Short Bio

I was born in Brooklyn, New York in May of 1942. My first memory was the wonderful block parties that celebrated the end of WW2. I don't remember much but it was exciting and I could see how joyous people could be during a major event.

My cousin Danny and I lived near or actually in the same house for most of our childhood and shared great adventures together. We went from playing marbles to dating girls; it was a magical time in Brooklyn.

I attended Our Lady of Good Counsel grammar school, my early teachers were women and in the fourth grade we were taught by the Franciscan Brothers.

High School was the beginning of a journey that continues to this day. I wondered where I was going and why I was making the trip. I entered the Capuchin Seminary after the eighth grade to study for the priesthood. After 15 months I left the seminary and returned home. My studies allowed me to pick which Catholic high school I was going to attend. I lasted less than a year at Trinity High. One of the teachers excommunicated me from the Catholic Church because I thought birth control was a good idea.

After leaving Trinity, I started full time work, and completed high school at night; I was only sixteen and already lost in the world. I worked at Dictaphone for about four years and played on their softball team. I loved sports and was a good center fielder.

In 1962 I entered the Navy and spent nine years traveling around the world, including two tours in Vietnam. In 1970 I openly opposed the war and asked to be released.

In 1971, I was given an honorable discharged and once again I was looking at a whole new way of thinking. I was married, entered college and in 1979 finally received my Bachelor of Arts from the College of New Rochelle. I went to work at Long Beach Naval Shipyard and retired from civil service in 1995. I was a Union Official most of my time at the yard but did take a supervisory position for the last three years of service.

Since retirement I have been a substitute teacher in Nevada and teacher's aide in Oregon. My two great loves are my four grandchildren and my wife Pat.

Since arriving in Portland in 1999, I have been part of the protest against the Bush Wars, torture and what I see as a loss of our liberties. I am the co-founder of Individuals for Justice, Veterans Against Torture, member of Vietnam Veterans Against War, (VVAW.) I support the Veterans for Peace, Coed Pink and the fight for Single Payer Healthcare. I have been arrested three times, once in Gordon Smith's office, again outside of Congressman's Blumenauer's office, and the last time protesting AIPAC.

My favorite books are: Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, How To Know God by Deepak Chopra, almost anything written by Stephen King.

My favorite movies are: The Shawshank Redemption, Wolfen, Lawrence of Arabia, The Quiet American.

My preferred hobbies are: Enjoying time with family and friends, listening to music and creating things with my hands. I love to write, and completed a play called, -"The Trial of George W. Bush.-"-