A progressive’s perspective, the role of government

I call myself a progressive.

To me, being a progressive means that I value the positive role government plays in our lives.

This isn’t to say I believe government is perfect or that I believe it has all the answers. Rather, it is a glass half empty, glass half full perspective.

I believe we formed our various governments in the United States not begrudgingly and only as a necessary evil, but rather, as a realization that reaching our true potential as a society takes our collective action, organization and cooperation.

I believe we have formed our governments to lay the ground rules and to level the playing field for everyone regardless of wealth, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or lack thereof. We live in a world that is constantly changing, and as such, I believe that while our forefathers were brilliant in their creation, they could not have foreseen every present day challenge to our society.

This means we must not accept our government or society as is, but rather strive to make our government the most effective and functional it can be and make our society as just and equitable as possible. When my friends ask me what I think the purpose of government should be, I always tell them the same thing.

I say I believe the most government should do is level the playing field for everyone, make sure that my rights do not intrude on yours and do the things only a government (and not an individual or business) can do best. They nearly always agree and tell me my position is a very moderate and reasonable one.

Beyond this starting place however, we may disagree to a very large extent as to whether our government is acting within or beyond the definition I set.

To me, the size of government is a nonissue. The issue in my mind is whether the  government is fulfilling its duties to the people effectively and fairly. If fulfilling these duties necessitates a large government, so be it.

If fulfilling all of the duties means we’ll have a small government, that is fine too.

The problem with conservatism today is that it has not defined its mission as improving people’s lives first or by making government more efficient or effective. Conservatives have defined their mission as one to simply reduce the size of government.

To me, that’s like saying I don’t want to write an editorial about anything in particular, I just want to write an editorial that is less than 100 words. If I set out with only that goal in mind, I could probably write 100 words very quickly.

Whether those words are coherent or worth saying doesn’t matter. I’m likely to meet my goal, but I’m just as likely to write a terrible article. What we’ve seen with the modern conservatives is they’re willing to get rid of nearly anything and everything, regardless of the merit or effectiveness or popularity of the program.

For what noble goal are they destroying these effective programs? Small government.

We need far less talk of small government on the right and far more talk about making government work.

After all, both parties at least acknowledge the basic need for government.

Let’s start there, at our common ground, and find ways to improve government, not destroy, cripple or disable it.

­— cdbabcoc@indiana.edu