When considering American political ideology the clearest definition of progressive principles is a populist view of ‘justice for all’ being critical above all else and that corporations are not persons and the needs of corporations do not supersede the needs of the populace. It can be argued that principles and practices advocating progress or reform can be claimed by both liberals and conservatives. However, change and reform, both key components of progressivism is, in my opinion, antithetical to hardline concepts of either of the main political parties. Therefore, it is my personal position that a true progressive, one who advocates for reform and change to bring justice for all cannot, by definition, be tethered by a strict, one-size-fits all party line.

Einstein famously defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. He also said words to the effect of, “problems cannot be solved by the same thinking that created them.” In the face of growing evidence that we, the American people, are politically doing the same thing over and over again and somehow expecting different results while the average worker sees their quality of life diminish daily means to me, a progressive, that we must start thinking and doing things differently.

Progressives must think out of the box, suspend their belief systems and step out of their comfort zone and examine possibilities beyond the norm. For me this means, amongst other things, shaking things up by promoting and encouraging third parties and sometimes deciding not to play the game by the rules written by hardliners but to instead establish new rules and devise new playing fields.

The Egyptians changed the rules and are now rewarded by watching their tyrannical dictator stand trial for crimes against his people. Marching in the streets of DC to protest expensive occupations of foreign countries and protesting the destruction of endangered native forests or loudly objecting to the formation of exclusionary county advisory committees are all components of a progressive’s toolbox and all a necessary part of change and reform. Change rarely happens by playing strictly by the establishment rules or allowing oneself to be corralled into a convenient box or “free speech zone”. Reform takes courage, nerve and imagination. Change requires action, innovation and truly progressive thinking. As things become more desperate and as need is the mother of invention we will see more progressives emerging in the coming months and years.