General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why Hasn't The American Left Convinced More Americans To Vote For More Progressive Candidates? [View all]Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)largely gone backwards. At the moment progress on economic and even foreign policy issues do look like a lost cost - But things can change and change quickly
I grew up in a world where all Help Wanted adds even from major city newspapers were strictly segregated - Help Wanted Women - Help Wanted Men. Very few people even thought at the time that things could or would ever be different. I grew up in a world where it was liberal to believe that homosexuality was a disease that should be treated as opposed to criminal behavior that must be punished. Almost everyone thought that way and very few people imagined the world would ever be different. You would have had trouble counting on one hand the number of even the most liberal and progressive of elected office holders that would have said publicly that gay people were normal and should have full equal rights. Even most gay people thought there was something wrong with themselves and would certainly have never foreseen the day when 58% of Americans believed that gay people should have equal marriage rights like everyone else.
The ark of history moves slowly and unevenly and sometimes takes steps backwards - but in the big picture - it moves always toward progress . - At some point we may see equally dramatic changes - just as incredible on the economic front and even the foreign policy front that we have seen on the social issues front.