Contrary to what Beck, Limbaugh, Palin, Hannity, Coulter and the rest of their ilk would have us believe, the opposite of "progressive" isn't "conservative" - it's regressive. You're either in favor of progressing as a civilization (becoming more civilized) or you're in favor of regressing as one (becoming less civilized).
I have many, many conservative friends. I simply could not be friends with anyone who espoused the regressive stances on issues like same sex marriage and Don't Ask Don't Tell that have somehow become hallmarks of the modern day political divide in this country.
Not one of these conservative friends has ever spoken in favor of such mean-spirited, bigoted and divisive wedge issues that the Republican party establishment uses to divide and conquer (at least not to my face).
With the rise of the religious right in America during the last 30 years, we've witnessed an all out war on science not seen since the dark ages. A whole cottage industry has sprung up devoted to convincing Americans that climate change is a myth and that the Earth was created 6000 years ago. Reasonable minds can disagree on the causes of climate change, but not the fact of it. Reasonable minds cannot disagree, however, on the age of our planet or whether cavemen ever rode dinosaurs. They did not. Not even close.
The modern-day conservative movement has become all about the bastardization of the word "conservative." It simply does not mean what those who purport to be conservatives would have you believe. Conservatism does not require you to check your brain at the door, yet more and more people seem all too willing to do just that in order to remain in the good graces of those who depend on your unflinching ignorance and lack of imagination to advance their own goals - the dumbing down of America.
Tune in on any given day to Rush Limbaugh to hear him rant against "intellectuals." Watch Glenn Beck rail against "progressives" and inexplicably liken those who adorn that label to members of the third reich. These people make their living by openly advocating against both intelligence and progress - ideals to which any reasonable person should aspire, not condemn.
So my question is: Why is it that so many soulless people are getting rich off of blurring the distinction between conservative and regressive while, at the same time, stalling the advancement of our once-great civilization?
