What is progress? Move forward or onward. Progress (progressive), not to be confused with the insurance company, is one of those buzz words like diversity, equity, and inclusion people use to describe the change or at least their awareness of the meaning.
The problem with progress is the measuring meter. There are many examples to be compared, civil rights, women’s rights, segregation, homelessness, mental health, and a never-ending list. In 2019, some would say we’ve traveled back in time.
I was sitting at the table with a group of intellectuals and one person described my city as progressive, more specifically, the faith community, and even more direct, the white faith community as progressive. They also confessed they’d only lived here for less than ten years.
I am the fourth generation, my children the fifth to live here so I realized my idea of progress is much different than someone coming from a place that might be further behind than this new region they’ve come to know as home (we’ll revisit this topic another time).
Although there are broad views of what it means to be progressive, one cannot argue individual growth. The positive intellectual, emotional, spiritual, economic, social, physical advancement noticeable by family, friends, and community is a testament of how far a person has come and that type of progress is commendable. So, kudos to all who fall into this category. Be grateful, like buds, you’re blossoming into beautiful flowers.
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