Welcome
Hello and welcome to The Progressive Dictionary. My goal with this site is to help develop and organize useful words and frames to create a practical political vocabulary for American progressives.
Look around, see what you think of the terms I've come up with already, and please tell me what you think of them (both to help improve them and to let me know that somebody's reading this!). You can leave comments on every page or send me an email at fang2415 at fangjaw dot com.
The Progressive Dictionary
Progressive people have firm principles. Progressive ideas are deeply moral. But conservatives are easily able to make an exclusive claim to principle and morality because they have something that progressives lack: the language to make their values clear and compelling in every issue they discuss.
This glossary is my attempt to propose the beginnings of a progressive lexicon. The words I propose are true to my beliefs and values. They are designed to effectively stop right-wing spin in its tracks. They are ways to use progressive values to call a spade a spade.
Read the full Introduction to the Dictionary
Translations
Many issues in American political discussion are currently defined by words that have been created to strengthen a conservative view of the world. The words below describe those same issues using forward-thinking values. They can redefine the natural direction of the discussions in which they are used. They are meant to be issue-defining frames that help establish deep progressive frames.
- Criminal (alt: Extremist criminal, Terror criminal)
- Use in place of: Terrorist
- Free and fair market
- Use in place of: Free market (e.g., to improve competition)
- Lawless market
- Use in place of: Free market (to let wealthy people and
organizations do whatever they want) - Occupation of Iraq
- Use in place of: Iraq war
- Investments
- Use in place of: Taxes
- Progressive
- Use in place of: Liberal
- Government of the people (by the people, and for the people) (alt: Useful government, Effective government)
- Use in place of: Small government
- Lincoln said that the American government and the American people are the same thing. Reagan said "Government is the problem". Lincoln should win that shouting match. Why don't we hear his words more often than Reagan's?
- Grownup foreign policy
- Use in place of: Tough foreign policy
- Military commander in chief (alt: Chief military commander)
- Use in place of: Commander in chief (to describe the president)
Rallying cries
Words to repeat. These words use values that are at the core
of progressive government. Use them whenever you can.
- Government of the people, by the people and for the people
The true idea of American government.
- Government of laws (alt: Rule of law, Nation of laws)
See also: Lawlessness
Help build the dictionary!
These are issues about which progressives need to communicate better. For a lot of the issues below, I can't even think of a way to name them except using conservative-framed words. So I need your help! If you have an idea of what words can place one of these issues in an effective progressive frame, please leave a comment on the relevant page. When we find words that work for that issue, I'll add them to the lists above.
If there are any words that you'd like to see added to this section, please click the "add new comment" link at the bottom of this dictionary.
- Abortion -- I believe this is really a medical rights issue. Is that the best frame to support progressive values for this issue? If so, what words should we use to evoke it?
- Moral relativism -- it just occurred to me that we never hear the term "moral absolutism". Would using that phrase be a good way to make clear the obstinacy of conservatives who trot out this old phrase any time somebody suggests looking at things from a different perspective?
- Moralizing -- I just used this word in a post over at Rockridge Nation and realized that it hits a lot about what's wrong with conservative bullying bang on the head. In spite of that, I can't think of the last time I heard it used in American political dialogue. I can't think of any particular uses for it though (or for moralizing minority, which I also like). Can anybody think of a few issues that could use this one?
Free and fair market
Submitted by fang2415 on Sat, 2008-02-16 20:27.As usual, conservatives have done a number on us with the way they talk about economics. They talk about "the free market".
This phrase does double-duty for conservatives: it not only glorifies the lawless, monopolist-dominated marketplace that conservatives advocate; it also reminds us of that other great thing that we all love and that conservatives seem to think they own -- freedom. If you don't like letting wealthy people and organizations use their wealth to keep others from gaining wealth, not only are you obivously wrong, you must also hate freedom!
Military commander in chief
Submitted by fang2415 on Fri, 2008-02-15 20:52.The presentation of the President as "The Commander-in-Chief" (or "Our Commander-in-Chief") has become more and more overpowering recently, especially during the presidency of George W. Bush. The open-ended use of the phrase evokes a frame that presents the President as the Boss of America and all Americans, and legitimizes the view of a dictatorial President with appropriately limitless powers.
Moralizing
Submitted by fang2415 on Fri, 2008-02-15 20:36.I just used this word in a post over at Rockridge Nation and realized that it hits a lot about what's wrong with conservative bullying bang on the head. In spite of that, I can't think of the last time I heard it used in American political dialogue. I can't think of any particular uses for it though (or for moralizing minority, which I also like). Can anybody think of a few issues that could use this one?
Dictionary status
Submitted by fang2415 on Thu, 2007-10-25 15:35.Just a quick note here to say that dictionary development has slowed at the moment; traffic has been fairly low so far and I haven't had much time to update the site recently, so it may not change much in the coming months. I will continue to add to the site when I can, especially if I see that there's some demand. In the meantime, please feel free to post any comments on anything that interests you, or send me an email at fang2415 [insert an at sign here] fangjaw [insert a dot here] com.
Moral relativism
Submitted by fang2415 on Fri, 2007-07-27 00:34.It just occurred to me that we never hear the term "moral absolutism". Would using that phrase be a good way to make clear the obstinacy of conservatives who trot out this old phrase any time somebody suggests looking at things from a different perspective?
Abortion
Submitted by fang2415 on Fri, 2007-07-27 00:31.I believe this is really a medical rights issue. Is that the best frame to support progressive values for this issue? If so, what words should we use to evoke it?
Lawlessness and lawless markets
Submitted by fang2415 on Wed, 2007-07-18 20:24.Imagine a professional football league with no referees. Teams play in this league for a while and realize that they can tackle illegally. They can join arms and run over any opposing players in front of them. If a team has a particularly agile or intelligent player, the opposing team just forms a circle of heavy hitters with the ball inside and walks forward. Eventually, teams realize that this also is unnecessary; they can simply have strong players injure the clever ones, after which they won't have to worry about them anymore.
Government: Of the people, by the people, for the people
Submitted by fang2415 on Mon, 2007-07-02 19:07.What is government?
In 1981, Ronald Reagan used 12 brilliant words that burned themselves so deeply into the American public consciousness that they are still a fundamental rallying cry of American conservativism and shape many Americans' understanding of what government means.
During the first hour of Reagan's tenure as the highest-ranking spokesman, servant, and guardian of the American government, he said: "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is our problem."
