Failed Conservative Values: Barack Obama on Status Quo versus Change

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Apr 27, 2008 3:38 PM EDT

Linked to groups: What are Progressive Values? Study Group, East Bay for Democracy, California for Democracy, Courage Campaign, Take Back Red California, San Francisco for Democracy, Courage Campaign

I  have news for the forces of greed and the defenders of the status quo;
your time has come and gone. It's time for change in America.   Bill Clinton  
 

In his Pennsylvania primary speech, Barack Obama talked about change and how the Status Quo resists change. As I interview people about what are Progressive Values and about how Conservative Values have Failed, the interviewees repeatedly talk about the conservative fear of change and the promotion of the status quo.

We start off with this exploration of the Failed Conservative Value of the Status Quo with Barack Obama's speech on change versus the status quo.

 Failed Conservative Values: Barack Obama Status Quo v Change
 http://youtube.com/watch?v=IBCaqdH1FDY

Barack Obama: I also know that real change has never been easy, and it won’t be easy this time either. The status quo in Washington will fight harder than they ever have to divide us and distract us with ads and attacks from now until November.  

But don’t ever forget that you have the power to change this country. 
 

You can make this election about how we’re going to help those workers in Logansport; how we’re going to re-train them, and educate them, and make our workforce competitive in a global economy.

You can make this election about how we’re going to make health care affordable for that family in North Carolina; how we’re going to help those families sitting around the kitchen table tonight pay their bills and stay in their homes.

You can make this election about how we plan to leave our children and all children a planet that’s safer and a world that still sees America the same way my father saw it from across the ocean – as a beacon of all that is good and all that is possible for all mankind.

It is now our turn to follow in the footsteps of all those generations who sacrificed and struggled and faced down the greatest odds to perfect our improbable union. And if we’re willing to do what they did; if we’re willing to shed our cynicism and our doubts and our fears; if we’re willing to believe in what’s possible again; then I believe that we won’t just win this primary election, we won’t just win this election in November, we will change this country, and keep this country’s promise alive in the twenty-first century.

Status quo, you know, that is Latin for ''the mess we're in." Ronald Reagan

http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/06.11.19.StatusQuoReduxCOL.gif
 

Failed Conservative Values: Mary Jacobs the Status Quo

Edwin:  How would you compare Progressive values with Conservative values?

Mary Jacobs:  it’s really hard to get into that kind of thinking, because I don’t consider them very respectful of other people’s opinion.  I think they respect their opinions, those of the status quo, respect money, power, influence, and the more money they have, the more they expect to be respected.  I got divorced from that.  He wasn’t even a conservative.  There was that element of people saying, well, you should respect this person, because they did this, and made this much money.  And you can’t help being caught up in it.  But it’s more like envy.  I don’t think they really respect people, maybe people of their own blood.  It’s much more tribal with them. 

And I think the conservatives are much more insular than progressives.  Like my dad, [progressives] kind of look out at the bigger picture that all of us are a big family, rather than “Mine – don’t touch it!”

Failed Conservative Values: Kevin Fish on Fear of Change

Kevin Fish: Progressive means change for the better.  The conservative attitude is we don’t change.   Conservatives stay the same, regardless.  They are very insensitive, heartless, very naïve and in denial.  Some conserving is good, but you can’t go too far.  And the conservatives go too far.

They’re afraid of progressives.  They’re afraid of change for the better.  There is some kind of a fear.  It’s hard to explain, whether it’s paranoia or fear.  They figure let’s keep things the same regardless.  They are not being very realistic.  And so they think progressives are – we are going to be in danger if we change

Failed Conservative Values: Henry Hall  the Status Quo

 Henry Hall: In my mindset and experience as an individual.. the conservative individual is more for the status quo. They're not interested in change.  They're more willing to see things slow, slow down.. A progressive is in more than a hurry.  Progressive would like to see things move along at a faster clip. They have a longer range term concept.. They have a longer vision and concept. They can visualize how change is going to impact positive  change in the community.

Conservative is more concerned with tradition, looking back to see how things were done in the past. Where the progressive is more willing to experiment and take a risk. Whereas the conservative wants to stay away from the concept of risk or change itself. 
 

Failed Conservative Values: Tony Hale on Fear of Change

Tony Hale:  Not having conservative values myself, I have to project on them why I think they have their values the way they do.  I think that conservative values are based on a belief that the past, the way things happened in the past, are better than the way things will be in the future.  Conservative could be termed conserving the environment, you could have that argument, that it’s a conservative viewpoint, but it’s not.  Conservative values are values that wish to limit things, because they are afraid of change, accepting everyone into their sphere of acceptability, afraid of accepting everyone into society.  They’d like to keep people out of the inner circle of acceptability.

To me that’s a kind of Balkanization, a mind that wants to separate people, to marginalize individuals; it’s to me a conservative perspective.

Failed Conservative Values: John R. Michael on Fear of Change

John Michael: Conservative values are people who are set, just like in the 60’s it was father against son, brother against brother , because a lot of people were afraid of change.  The conservatives are afraid of change.  They want things basically as they are.  They are comfortable in their business, even if their business is polluting us.  They need to change.  So, I’m here to rev the evolution.

Progressives are for change, or positive change.  As I said, we have wind and solar power, so we don’t need nuclear.  There’s enough nuclear waste as it is.  And we don’t need to bomb other countries into submission. 

Failed Conservative Values: Tony Tiscareno the Status Quo

Tony Tiscareno:  Conservative and progressive values are a lot different.  Their beliefs as opposed to our beliefs are on one opposite end to the other.  As far as what a progressive is trying to get accomplished, again, it is the freedom of rights and things like that, freedom of choice, freedom of all kinds of different things. 

And I think the conservatives are pretty much comfortable with the status quo, in my opinion.  They don’t want to make waves.  They think government should stay out of the business of the people.  But then again, they don’t want to support anybody as far as agencies, individuals, or whatever the case may be. 

We as Democrats believe that we need to help each other out.   And to help each other out costs money.  And where are you going to get this money?  Well, the only way you’re going to get this money, and right now the people who are providing this money are middle-class working people through their taxes. 

 And I think that is one of the differences.  One does not want to spend what the other one doesn’t mind spending for certain causes.  But on the right side, they do believe in those causes, but they want us to take care of them as individuals. 

Failed Conservative Values: John Stone King the Status Quo

John Stone King: I just think that there are good ways to talk about conservative values.  The kind of conservative values that we are seeing so much of nowadays just involve shutting down all of the kinds of things I am talking about.  A good conservative seems to me someone who moves ahead slowly so that they don’t lose anything. 

The conservatives we are talking about now are trying to go backwards and not gain anything at all.  That’s my feeling.  And I think everybody loses when that happens.<font size="2">

I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.  
Niccolo Machiavelli

Are Progressives Correct ?
Are progressives correct that conservatives are afraid of change and for the status quo? Or is it that conservatives are all for change if it is in the direction of the traditional Failed Conservative Values of authoritarianism, hierarchy, fear, greed, indifference, demeaning, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, self-centeredness, etc? Or are conservatives just against change toward the traditional progressive values of, empathy, caring, equality, community, justice, etc? As the quote from Ronald Reagan implies, he was for change, just as Newt Gingrich  and  the Conservative Contract with America was for a change. But a change towards what values?
 

More About  Status Quo

Status Quo
 - the existing state of affairs
- situation, state of affairs - the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time;
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/status+quo

At Wikipedia
Status quo is a Latin term meaning the present, existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they currently are.

Politicians sometimes refer to a status quo. Often there is a policy of deliberate ambiguity, referring to the status quo rather than formalizing the status. An example of political ambiguity is the political status of Taiwan. Clark Kerr is reported to have said, "The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed," meaning that the status quo cannot simply be decided against; action must be taken if it is to change.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_quo

 

 

Some Questions To Ponder:

- What does change mean to you?
 - What does the status quo mean to you?
 - If Conservative Values haven't Failed, why would we want change?
 - What do you see as the Failed Conservative Values we want to move away from?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a319/mikeinwny/FreeBuffalo/statusquoBuffalomed.jpg

-  What are the Progressive Values we want to move toward?

More Progressive Values Stories:

Edwin Rutsch
What Are Progressive Values? Documentary Project
http://ProgressiveSpirit.com 
and Study Group

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