Proving my point
Annnnnd... I just found case in point on my rant about lazy and cowardly religious folk: I have a devout LDSer arguing that while she may "disagree" with some parts of church policy, and vote against such things when they come up in civil law, she can't do anything to change church policy.
Translation: "I want the benefits of calling myself progressive without having to actually make any effort on a personal level to change the sources of oppression."
Y'know, Anglicans and Episcopalians managed to make some fairly large-scale changes in their church's policy on queer folk. Same has happened with Methodists and several other denominations. Granted that LDS, Catholic and SB are a hell of a lot more entrenched in this stuff (given that a significant portion of their theological dogma pertains to the notion of "breeders for God") but they've made changes over the years, too. It CAN happen. And when it does happen, it's because rank-and-file adherents were brave enough to stand up to church leaders and tell them that those policies were wrong.
I understand inaction when there's great personal risk involved. If one might lose critical financial or other support for taking a given political stand, I'm not going to demand that they martyr themselves for a cause. But if the only potential consequence is that uberconservative Aunt Edna may not invite you to Thanksgiving next year? You're just being a lazy, selfish ass if you're not working to change hurtful policies.
If you want to call yourself a progressive, or say you're in favor of gay rights or women's rights or whatever, then you have to walk that talk. Voting is great, and so are donations, rallies, etc, but it can't end there. Those things are just first steps, not the whole race. The core of progressive thought is that we're all in this together, and we all have a responsibility to care for those weaker than ourselves. Laziness and cowardice have no place in this movement.
Translation: "I want the benefits of calling myself progressive without having to actually make any effort on a personal level to change the sources of oppression."
Y'know, Anglicans and Episcopalians managed to make some fairly large-scale changes in their church's policy on queer folk. Same has happened with Methodists and several other denominations. Granted that LDS, Catholic and SB are a hell of a lot more entrenched in this stuff (given that a significant portion of their theological dogma pertains to the notion of "breeders for God") but they've made changes over the years, too. It CAN happen. And when it does happen, it's because rank-and-file adherents were brave enough to stand up to church leaders and tell them that those policies were wrong.
I understand inaction when there's great personal risk involved. If one might lose critical financial or other support for taking a given political stand, I'm not going to demand that they martyr themselves for a cause. But if the only potential consequence is that uberconservative Aunt Edna may not invite you to Thanksgiving next year? You're just being a lazy, selfish ass if you're not working to change hurtful policies.
If you want to call yourself a progressive, or say you're in favor of gay rights or women's rights or whatever, then you have to walk that talk. Voting is great, and so are donations, rallies, etc, but it can't end there. Those things are just first steps, not the whole race. The core of progressive thought is that we're all in this together, and we all have a responsibility to care for those weaker than ourselves. Laziness and cowardice have no place in this movement.