Throughout the history of this country, there has been an ongoing battle between those who seek to change the existing order and those who desire to keep the status quo. Progressives vs. Traditionalists, liberals vs. conservatives — call either side what you wish; however, this battle has defined American politics and social history for the last two centuries.

It is through the uneasy relationship between these two forces that we have forged a country that is arguably the fairest and freest in the world. However, there are some who feel that the work of progressives has created a nation with loose morals and wayward direction. These critics claim to be traditionalists who look back with nostalgia to a time before progressives began corrupting the cultural purity of our nation.

In a recent guest commentary, a columnist claimed that “Within the past four decades, the progressive movement … has been the source of change for the worst in our culture.” However, before we accept this accusation, how about actually looking at some of the work that has been the result of progressive influence in this country?

Four decades ago, racial and sexual attitudes in this country were quite different than those of the society we live in today. The idyllic world of “Leave it to Beaver” may seem rosy and pure on Nick at Nite; however, when one looks further, a different picture emerges.

Segregation still reigned supreme in the South, women’s bodies and social attitudes were regulated by a distinctly homogenous ruling class on Capitol Hill, and censorship was so great that a few wayward hip movements by Elvis were enough to send the nation’s conservatives into serious concern.

It was through the brave and selfless work of civil rights activists — progressives, mind you — that the horrible legacy of slavery was significantly lessened and this country was forced to face the racial tension that for decades we chose to sweep under the carpet.

Thanks to progressives, sexuality is no longer as closeted as our Puritan founding fathers may have preferred, and artists aren’t censored because of the paternalistic beliefs of those in power.

Women, agree or not, have the choice to decide what they choose to do with their own bodies. Those wishing to shun homosexuals because of personal religious beliefs have been forced to accept that, while they do not have to agree or condone this lifestyle, homosexuals are also members of our community.

As a result of the work of progressives, those who had no or very little voice in our society in the first 200 years of our country now have a larger influence than ever and are certainly not even close to as marginalized as they were several decades ago.

The previously mentioned columnist claimed that because we are a land founded on “biblical morals” and a revolution based on “liberty through God” we were destined to fare much better than the French Revolution, founded on “worship of liberty, that of reason,” and finds significant connection to our being the most successful and free nation in the world and our being “the most Christian nation in the world.”

Wasn’t one of the founding principles of this country to create a society with a separation of church and state, a country in which what governed the actions of its citizens was not based on religious beliefs but fairness and tolerance for diversity? And did this higher morality based on liberty through God stop us from condoning slavery or the genocide of Native Americans?

Certainly we are not even close to a perfect society. Teen pregnancy, alarmingly high poverty rates, the rise of violence — these are all very serious issues that challenge our society as a whole. However, to merely blame these problems on progressives is an unfair assertion.

A closed and traditionally orthodox nation has been proven to not be a country in which we can truly live up to the promise of “Liberty and Justice for All.” It took the work of many dedicated and strong people to make great strides toward fulfilling this promise, and it trivializes their contributions to this country to simply demean and blame them for our society’s “moral decay.”

Mike Kurtz ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in history and English.