21st Century Progressivism

Blog

  • Popular Culture Manipulates the Public

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    A neoconservative attempt at self-perpetuation can be seen in two of the Star Trek series. According to David Greven, the Enterprise series is the first Trek series to openly break with Trek’s core liberal values. Regardless of whether this was intended to manipulate, this is just one influence driving American culture to the right. It’s likely that popular culture manipulates the public.

    “Enterprise appears to be a Trek series for those who felt Trek had undergone an appallingly ‘sensitive’ makeover in its incarnations of the late-80s and 1990s… “

    Restore America and Star Trek

    This break had a purpose.… Read the rest

  • The Poetry of Democracy

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Harold Kaplan said ‘humanist aspirations’ are the dominant American intellectual tradition. 1 But an abstract notion of democratic humanism is only part of the story. Kaplan explains democratic humanism in the context of writers of the American classics: Emerson, Thoreau, Cooper, Poe, D. H. Lawrence, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Twain, and Henry James. They composed the American classics and the poetry of democracy, and in their works we see hints of the strange continent that confronted them. Kaplan deciphers their experience through the historical context, their own letters and the works of European sympathizers.… Read the rest

  • Was the Enlightenment Democratic?

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Was the Enlightenment democratic? According to Harold Kaplan, Americans do not question the effects on the United States of the Reformation and the Enlightenment. He wrote:

    “We do not question that the twin roots of American national history were the religious revolution, which broke the Catholic hegemony, and the secular Enlightenment, which finally broke the traditional political structures, monarchical and hierarchical, of Europe…” (p. 14)

    ((Harold Kaplan, Democratic Humanism and American Literature, University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1972, p.
    … Read the rest

  • Erdogan Defends Gaza

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    When Recep Tayyip Erdogan defends Gaza, he is one of the few leaders in the Middle East to openly criticize Benjamin Netanyahu for his callous bombing campaign. In addition to providing hope for Gaza in her ongoing trial, Erdogan also reminds us that the Levant has seen better times. Palestine was under Turkish rule for four hundred years prior to the days of the British Mandate of Palestine. Apparently, Erdogan has not forgotten this long-lost child of the Ottoman Empire.… Read the rest

  • Gaza’s Natural Gas Field

    Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Gaza's Natural Gas Field

    Control of gas and oil supplies is the main weapon of Israel’s U.S. ‘protectors’. It appears this is the motivation for the bombing of Gaza. The story of Gaza’s natural gas field and the U.S. military are missing in reporting of the bombing of Gaza. A natural gas field was discovered off the Coast of Gaza in 1999 by BG Group, a multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. And this gas field is not the only one on Israel’s radar.… Read the rest

  • Christian Zionism Explains Everything

    Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Christian Zionism Explains Everything
    The Dictatorship of Christian Zionism

    If you’ve wondered during the last twenty years at the overheated rhetoric of both Israel and the Western powers, Dr. Stephan Sizer will connect the dots in a video entitled The Historical Roots of Christian Zionism, It’s Theological Basis and Political Agenda. According to Sizer, Christian Zionism is the culprit behind the militant turn. Christian Zionism explains everything.

    What do I mean by everything? From the policies of the George W.… Read the rest

  • Peace is the Only Choice

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Five parties are involved in the carnage in the Middle East. They are Israel, the United States and her allies, the Zionists, AIPAC and Hamas. It’s no surprise that it’s complicated. All of the parties have real reasons for being there, however in some cases the real reasons are not stated outright. I believe this is largely due to the long history of the Jewish people and the way they were shaped by their experiences. Many factors have gone into the present turmoil, but there are two sides to every story.… Read the rest

  • High Expectations for Israel

    Reading Time: 9 minutes

    Are these high expectations for Israel realistic?

    High Expectations of Israel
    Traditional Hasidic Clothing
    Ameteur007

    We are outraged about the behavior of Israel toward the Palestinians. At the same time, atrocities that are happening in other parts of the world don’t demand our attention. Apparently, we have high expectations for Israel. The question is, are these expectations realistic?

    My own opinion is that they are not realistic. How can they be? For one thing, it is difficult to see Israel and her enemies clearly.… Read the rest

  • Ukraine is a Lost Cause

    Reading Time: 2 minutes
    Ukraine is a lost cause
    The Destruction of Ukraine

    Jeffrey Sachs says Ukraine is a lost cause. Please watch his interview regarding Ukraine. The United States’s maneuvering has led step by step to war and the destruction of Ukraine. The entire Russia/Ukraine War is the result of a U.S. regime change venture, courtesy of U.S. neoconservatives, namely, President Biden, Victoria Nuland, Anthony Blinken, and Jake Sullivan.

    When Victoria Nuland first discussed replacing the Ukrainian president, she was motivated by the fact that President Yanukovich had passed a neutrality agreement to head off war.… Read the rest

  • Prayers for a Divided Land

    Reading Time: 7 minutes
    Salvation

    There is grave disorder in the halls of our government. It is a kind of disorder that can’t be set right by judgement, scolding and condemnation. It can only be addressed with blessings and prayers. This is a desperate call for blessings and prayers for a disputed land. Nothing less will do. But first we must describe the problem.

    In 2016, progressives presented a new direction for the United States. It was based on the reality of climate change, diminishing farmland, pollution of water resources, and a growing population.… Read the rest