Editorial by Louis Ackerman

Growing up, I was regaled with tales of the Freedom Riders, my grandfather road the buses from up north all the way down South, even as far as Southeast Texas, while fighting for civil rights. This was before he became a civil rights attorney in Washington, D.C.

I remember crowding into the home of family friends as my father led discussions on environmental protection and what they, as citizens, could do to protect their community. I remember proudly marching with thousands of people in Washington, D.C. with my mother in support of the homeless. I was raised on progressive ideas by people who came from humble beginnings. My parents never received a cool million dollars from their family to get things started. My parents worked hard for what they got, they earned every penny and instilled those ideas into their kids.

If you want something, you should work for it, earn it. At the same time they also pushed service to the community because not everyone faced the same struggles. What comes easy for me is a battle everyday for someone else.

That is at the core of what progressivism is here in America. We all work hard, we all want to move forward and it will inevitably be easier for some. We have a responsibility to work for the betterment of everyone and that should also be reflected in our leaders.

Snowflake. Libtard. Crybaby. Progressives in America have been called a myriad of names over the years and in the past twelve months, it has gotten even worse. With the election of our current President with anti-intellectualism and polarization at an all time high.

I am a Progressive and I am proud to say so. I take every opportunity to educate people on what exactly that means. I do this because, as a former President said, we are not as different as our politics suggest.

We all, at the end of the day, want the same things. We want a safe home for our families. A comfortable job for our breadwinners. A welcoming environment for our community.

Part of the problem we face is that Progressives and Liberals have allowed others to define them. The reason I write this column is to help everyone in Southeast Texas understand what a Progressive is and why it is so important to realize that we are all progressive, to a point.

The Declaration of Independence says that governments are created to protect our lives, our liberty and our pursuit of happiness. In America, we hold that creed very dear and as long as you are not hurting someone or infringing upon someone else’s rights, you should be free to enjoy all of those things. Progressives absolutely believe in this ideal and believe that progress can be any pursuit that reinforces that ideal.

As a Progressive, there is only one key idea that we are beholden to and that is the truth. We push for THE answer in all things, not just an answer. As a Progressive, when I look for answers whether it is in politics, economics or science, I am looking for facts. I want to know what the experts say. I want to know what studies have shown and what research has been done. Empirical evidence and reason should be the standard for any legislation we pass.

Being Progressive is not about emotion or feelings. Being Progressive is about embracing the truth and facts of an ideal in order to make an educated assessment. It is about advancing society as a whole. Progressives abhor stagnation because stagnation negates growth. More often than not Progressives are pushing for new legislation because we find answers that we did not have before or, simply, current legislation was written to favor a single entity, be it a corporation, industry or elected position.

Progressives fight for the progress of society and the escalation of everyone. Everyone getting a hand up. Everyone prospering, everyone moving forward.

Because of this, Progressives transcend typical political ideas like liberalism and conservatism or Democrats and Republicans. Progress can be achieved through a number of ways and Progressives concede that the answer can come from anywhere.

We Progressives are here to stay. We are here to fight for everyone and ensure that we prosper as a nation. We are here to stand against special interests and financialization. We are here to ensure that We The People still have a voice. We seek accountability in politics and reason in the decisions that are made by our politicians.

It has been too long since the system has been in service to the people and it is time for that to change. That is why we fight, that is why we stand.

As a Progressive, I firmly believe in civil discourse with everyone, including dissenters. I prefer to engage with people who disagree with me because I may learn something. If you surround yourself with people who always agree with you then you will stagnate in an echo chamber of your own opinion.

To that end, I will answer any and all questions that any readers have, just send me an email at setxprogress@gmail.com, my name is Louis Ackerman and we will keep moving forward.