ENOUGH ALREADY! I am so tired of seeing the phrase "moral values" on so-called progressive media sites, that I am seeing red. Republican red, that is, right here on these pages. Despite all the blogging about how we must reframe issues a la Lakoff, progressive bloggers continue to fall into the trap so neatly planted for them by republican theopoliticians and journalists.
STOP! Just because the mainstream media writes about "moral values" as if it was an issue owned solely by the right, does not mean that we need to do the same. Democrats and Progressives have moral values, too. Ours are just DIFFERENT. Instead of talking about "moral values," we need to speak loudly and clearly about what our moral values are and how they differ from those of the Republican right - not by specifying the policies we believe in, but by drawing a distinction between the kind of morality important to the right and the kind important to us. "Moral values" is just as inappropriate and misleading a catchphrase to describe how fundamentalist concerns in America have changed the political debate as "the war on terror" is to describe our conflict with Islamist radicals throughout the world. By allowing the right to own the so-called "morals" issues, we have ceded this fertile political ground unnecessarily and with disastrous consequences. When we begin to understand that right-wing morality differs qualitatively from progressive concepts of morality, we will be on the road to recovery.
Right-wing morality concerns itself with the behavior of the individual in society, while progressive morality concerns itself with how individuals in society BEHAVE TOWARD EACH OTHER. Look at the issues which have galvanized the right into action - gays and abortion. "Thou shalt not marry a person of the same sex," "thou shalt not have abortions," they command. These dictates derive, not from general moral principles, but from concepts of right versus wrong as determined by a particular reading of the bible. The right wing has taken the morality of sin and turned it into a political movement.
By contrast, progressive morality concerns itself with how we treat others. How shall we take care of those less fortunate? How can we ensure that people are treated equally? What is the most equitable way to apportion the costs of government among our citizens? Progressive morality then, is rooted in the general principles of compassion, tolerance and social justice. It cares less about how I choose to live my life than it does about how I act toward those around me. In that sense, it is more strongly aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ than is the theopolitics of his so-called "Christian" followers.
Changing the public discourse on this issue is more than past due. We must stop talking about "moral values" and begin talking about how our values differ. Progressive values are community-based and driven by concepts of virtue. Right-wing values are individual-based and driven by concepts of sin. How much more clear can that be?
PLEASE! Let's all make an effort to refrain from speaking and writing in the terms they want us to use. We must stop this "moral values" train and get off. The phrase "moral values" obfuscates the real issues rather than serving any clarifying purpose. Find your own way of talking about progressive morality and right-wing morality. But, by all means, do not continue to speak their language.
PS If any brilliant thinkers out there can come up with better ways/words to describe the difference between our concept of moral values and theirs, I would love to hear from you!