Southie Progressive Magazine

Our Common Values: Unity, Hope, Love, and Empathy

Amanda’s Realization that tribal behavior is not just a conservative trait

Amanda Ruth inspired me to write this. My fiancé is the panacea for the the un-American group identity selfishness that Trump has infected not just the right wing, but the liberal movement in this country has somehow gone astray from its empathic roots.

Liberals now subscribe to a tribalistic mentality. We ask selfish questions like, “What can you do for my little group?” As a political scientist who payed some attention in government 101, this group/identity politics has no chance to advance the selfish agenda of some of these left wing groups are impoperly described as Progressive Movement. Yet there loss of values prevents the Progressive Movement from healing. With identity politics on the rise in the Democratic Party, as well as the use of the word social democracy that candidates have been using to position themselves further to the left of their primary opponent as a facade. Political scientist will notice that they do not define what social democracy really is. It is nothing more than a ploy to win a primary. Yet we should be focusing on winning the midterm elections with a substantial majority, and if Trumpism cannot stop political careerists from using phrases that will scare off the most popular demographics in midterm elections, then they truly deserve to be called unpatriotic. President Obama never had to label himself, thus he never put himself at risk of having a whole demographic (Grandma’s demographic–grandma who equates socialism with the Cold War and communism) punish him at the polls. It’s Democrats started being pragmatic about language, which is an incredibly important aspect of a campaign, then they would realize that they they now face the arduous task of trying to win moderate votes in places where the term social democracy or socialism is just not accepted

I no longer see myself as a member of the liberal-wing because of this clannish bevahior that is damaging our country and the soft power Obama developed.

The current left wing movement in this country in the Trump-era is a selfish group that think they are politically entitled, and they are just as guilty as the fascist wing when it comes to identity politics.

My generation built a movement that elected a black man with the name Barack Hussein Obama. We had the demonstrated to the rest of the world that we embrace diversity and empathy, and that we are not so ignorant as to judge a man by his name or skin color. We showed the world that we truly believe that, “all men are created equal,” not just white men. We proved to the world that these words are not hollow, antiquated beiefs–we truly believe that what makes this country great are the principles that are summed up in the timeless creed:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

If you are born in the United States or born to an American, and you believe in these words–words inspired by God–then you are an American.

In today’s universities, the use of dialogue, also known as the Socratic method has virtually disappeared. Students are now inculcated with the belief that the rights of groups trump the rights of individuals.

Our founding documents never mentioned the rights of groups. It was always understood that all citizens have a duty to protect the rights of their fellow citizens, particularly minority rights.

The anger on the left cannot destroy what has been the common thread that all liberals have subscribed to since the genesis of this great country, and that common thread is the virtue of empathy. We have a duty to our fellow citizens to protect their rights, not just our on.

It isn’t about what one can do for LGBTQ rights, for feminism, for organized labor, for Black Lives Matter and other liberal leaning organizations. That is the selfish behavior that is antonymic to our God-given rights, and the duty that is inseperable from these rights.

We must fight against the tyranny of neo-fascist Trumpism that endangers the God-given rights of minorities in this country; The Founders wrote the Bill of Rights to protect us against the tyranny of a president who is a tyrant, a traitor, and who tramples on our Bill of Rights.

We will only succeed when we realize that love for our fellow man leads to empathy, which leads to unity. Unity can lead to more political victories and accomplishments than myopic and ineffective tribalistic political strategies.

When we shed our tribalistic and selfish motives; when we live up to the duties of a citizen of a democratic republic, revolutions happen. And it is time for Americans to contemplate this quote by Thomas Jefferson:

“The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time by the blood of patriots and Tyrants.”

, , ,

Posted by:

Paul Adams MSM

I grew up in the Old Harbor Housing Development in the Irish American neighborhood of South Boston. Currently, Southie has gained fame for being the home of gangsters, powerful politicians, and as the toughest inner city neighborhood in America. It is the home of Speaker of the House McCormick; but it’s the home of three housing projects as well. It’s the home of Senate President Bulger; but it’s also the home of Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger—the most infamous gangster of our generation. I survived the streets of South Boston by learning to defend myself in a boxing gym with national champions and professional boxers. I still box to this day. I also am very blessed to come from a family that values education and demands top academic performance. Out of my Irish grandmother, who has her high school diploma, she had a daughter that put herself through nursing school as a single mom (my mother); out of four grandchildren, I went to Boston College High School founded in 1864 by the Jesuits as Boston College, and the girls went to Fontbonne Academy. Both are college preparatory schools run by the Jesuits and the Sisters of Saint Joseph, respectively. These Catholic orders inculcate their students with the belief that we are meant to be of service to others. Three of the four have Bachelors Degrees. One has a graduate degree, and I am a graduate degree candidate at Suffolk University in marketing. My BA is in political science. I ran a multiplicity of Boston campaigns. I managed campaigns and was field coordinator. However, as field coordinator, my role was that of a campaign manager. I developed the theme, message, and strategy. The candidate and I start off with a SWOT analysis, and go from their. It requires tremendous trust for a public official to put her reputation in your hands, to trust you with their deepest, darkest secrets, and to develop a working relationship, so that the candidate does not need to be a campaign manager. Not all candidates are political scientists who grew up in politics and knew that campaigning was one of their callings. I remember taking on a campaign managing role in one of my campaigns en medias res, and it was a campaign manager’s worst nightmare: I had an articulate, courageous, progressive candidate from a great Latino family, including a father who was a Boston Public School teacher. However, he knew not how to campaign. I proudly took over that campaign. That candidate went on to serve as the Boston Coordinator for Kennedy’s U.S. Senate bid. I ran a presidential campaign for a labor union, and I needed to utilize my Southie street smarts to come out with the win. I worked for the Obama ‘08 Campaign as a co-founder of South Boston for Obama. I then worked for him for a year in NH, where I got to meet and speak with him. I served in two branches of government. I worked for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (public defenders), and, as an Adams, who going all the way back to John Adams, believed that the keystone to free society was fair and proper representation under the law for all people, no matter the court of public opinion. I also worked in the legislative branch for a statesman named Senator Hart. I did constituent service work, which was so rewarding. I got to give back to a community that gave me the opportunity to achieve my dreams and goals. As an undergraduate at Suffolk University where I served as the President of the Pre-Law Association and graduated with a 3.4 GPA, I was honored to be given a scholarship to study the effects of fascism and communism on Central Europe after writing a paper about my own family’s tragic experiences in Poland during Nazi occupation. I completed an independent study with a brilliant political scientist, Kenneth Cosgrove, PhD., author of Branded Conservatives, opened my eyes up to the ways in which conservatives successfully utilize modern marketing techniques to win elections. They shifted the country to the right with their use of marketing strategies. I am currently an MSM (Masters in Science in Marketing) candidate at Suffolk University. I am proficient with Wordpress and Squarespace; Google Analytics; social media advertising campaigns; and other forms of marketing like STP (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning). This site will be the home of my new blog that will discuss politics and marketing. I hope my life experience and my education in these fields creates a healthy dialogue that can lead to higher truths.

3 responses to “Amanda’s Realization that tribal behavior is not just a conservative trait”

  1. Christopher Leahy Avatar
    Christopher Leahy

    You are coming along Paul! Nice perspective. very thoughtful. it’s important moderates win out and form s bridge of dialogue between to activist groups.

  2. Paul Adams Avatar
    Paul Adams

    Christopher, I’m working on a blog right now that is very critical of the candidates who think they can win by taking the Primary Playbook to an extreme. These socialists are nothing but spoilers who are too myopic to even consider that they cannot win a general election, even if the math shows that these are the folks with the greatest chance of success in the Democratic Primary. But what happens when one of these fools win the Primary? They are on the defense the whole time. I am not frightened of a word, but I am frightened that this word will drive the moderates, who D’s already have locked up (unless we nominate a self-proclaimed socialist), away from the Democrats. Democrats are awful campaigners. They get sucked into language traps, and by the time the RNC and Superpacs are done, the Democratic Party will be framed as communists. Why can’t we do what FDR did and talk about ideas rather than ideology. He didn’t have to subscribe to an ideology that would damage political capital; he didn’t have to unwittingly create political enemies by pigeonholing himself on the political spectrum. Just like other successful presidents, he argued the merits of the promulgation of his legislation. He didn’t walk into Congress using ideological phrases. He talked about the benefits of the legislation rather than acting the dogmatic political philosopher. The worst candidates are the philistines who through their myopia, plan for a primary win without a shot at winning the General. And that is my prediction. I think that the new extreme left, will never win this 2020 election; especially now that Republicans can actually say that Dems are now made up of anti-Semites, socialists, and disgraced politicians. Shame on the Democratic Party. I wouldn’t be surprised of we get Trump again. The Mueller investigation is going nowhere next week. The Republic is in peril. to is s shame that The United States could only\ manage 75 years of hegemony. We are not even in the same league as the Roman Empire or British Empire. And I blame the destruction of the middle class under Reagan: so went the tax base, the schools, and the actual need for a great school system in a democratic-republic. I love my country. But we have a Russian asset as president; the world order that has kept peace since WWII is falling apart; and we I don’t see any hope out here. I hate to be living though this great Republics downfall, but we have no one to blame but ourselves. Democratic-republics don’t just take care of themselves. Thomas Jefferson said, “a nation that is politically ignorant will never be free.” Yet we go to parties, politics is off limits. How can a healthy democracy function if the electorate doesn’t care, isn’t educated, and will vote for the a man with severe mental health problems. We are on our last legs. I refuse to give up.

  3. Tommybed Avatar
    Tommybed

    Tattoo You, released the following year, fared better both critically and commercially, as the singles Start Me Up and Waiting on a Friend helped the album spend nine weeks at number one.
    As a period of mourning, Keith, switching from drums to guitar, gradually resumed writing music for a new album.
    Click here for Chapter 2.
    http://shakalkreemalaramaralsarana.info/full-album/index72.php THE BYRDS THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS Boston Tea Party – 23rd February 1969 John York Clarence White Gram Parsons Gene Parsons Chris Hillman Chris Ethridge Roger McGuinn Sneaky Pete Kleinow.
    By convention, errors have type error , a simple built-in interface.
    We don t take a cut from the door.

Leave a Reply

About Me

My name is Paul Adams and I have

Recent Posts

Newsletter

%d