Lead, follow or get out of the way
The progressive challenge
You may have noticed that over the past few years that "liberal" has
become roughly synonymous with "pervert." This is especially true in South
Carolina, where people tend to be a bit more conservative than our
northern neighbors.
Since the carpetbaggers were driven out of the state 100 years ago,
being a liberal Democrat (there were no Republicans) meant you thought it
was okay for Negroes to vote for white people.
South Carolina Democrats never had to work for what was considered
their natural constituency - working people, blacks and women. Since most us
fall into one, or all, of these categories, it is fair to say we have been
under-represented. Most citizens don't even bother to vote, leaving the
dirty business of politics to someone else.
That is, until the Reagan Revolution.
For the decade leading up to the 1994 Republican Contract on America,
white conservatives organized around their version of God and country.
More importantly, they registered to vote.
They organized grassroots campaigns and took over school boards and
local offices. White, middle-class Republicans began reshaping politics in
their image. Business was good; big business was better. Government was
bad; big government was worse. Using church mailing lists, they registered
enough voters to become a slim electoral majority.
At the time, the strategy of South Carolina Democrats was to deny
their traditional base and go after the new conservative force. For their
efforts, they were creamed at the polls.
The Republican Revolution that brought David Beasley and the Christian
Coalition to power was really an abdication. Only 17 percent of the
voting-age population cast ballots for Beasley. Republicans didn't win
because their conservative philosophy represents the will of the majority
but because they organized and turned out their faithful.
Liberals, who generally believe in the inherent worth and dignity of
all people, tend to find politics distasteful. "Don't vote, it only
encourages them," they often say.
Conservative ideologues have gotten away with promoting lies: black
women are ever-pregnant and on welfare; homosexuals seek special
privileges and prey on heterosexuals and children; environmentalists
choke industry and send jobs abroad; feminists are destroying the family
unit.
Progressives have a hard job rallying their forces, since they are a
diverse lot with widely differing values and interests. Conservatives are
a homogeneous lot, able to endorse a narrower agenda. They are, therefore,
easier to mobilize.
The mistake of progressives has been their splintering into
single-issue groups. While issues of race, gender, sexual preference and
the environment all are areas of critical importance, single-issue groups
can seldom muster enough clout to protect their interests.
The progressive community has to learn a lesson from the conservatives
now making the rules: they must organize. They must begin, like
conservatives, to sing from the same hymn book.
Forming a coalition proved easier for conservatives. They are
predominantly white and middle-class. Many share a fundamentalist
religion. Caught up in the promise of the American Dream, they have no
class consciousness, and tend to blame the nation's problems on the poor.
While progressives have long been moaning about right-wing assaults on
the environment, civil liberties and reproductive rights, they have done
little else.
They can continue to whine, and get nowhere but marginalized, or they
can get to work and do something constructive.
With that in mind, grassroots groups across the state began putting
together a coalition last April. Calling themselves the South Carolina
Progressive Network, they moved on the recognition that the state's
progressive community could only benefit from a thoughtful, united front.
To date, 40 groups have signed on to the network. They reflect a broad
cross-section of South Carolinians, physically, secton of South
Carolinians physically, culturally and economically. Ideologically,
however, they aren't that different.
The network has the immediate ability to support and strengthen the
work of its individual member groups, which tend to have lots of
expertise, limited resources, and a propensity to share what they have.
The network, which has its own Web site, is creating an on-line
bulletin so progressive groups across the state can keep in better touch.
The network already is expanding the constituency of organizations
beyond traditional boundaries. Organizing efforts and press conferences no
longer need to be all-white, black, male or female, gay or straight.
A statewide conference is being planned for April to allow
representatives from member groups to get together and plan for a
healthier, more equitable future for South Carolinians. The conference
won't be all work. Members of the network are, by and large, a fun loving
and happy people who plan to celebrate their strength and diversity with
music and dance.
The conference will offer issues workshops that will draft short
position statements on progressive concerns. While many of the groups are
prohibited from supporting specific candidates or legislation, but like
the Christian Coalition, there is nothing to prohibit them from
identifying where politicians stand on issues and educating voters on
their records.
Network members have agreed that their initial focus will be on
fighting racism. They concluded that racism has a negative impact on all
of us. On Feb. 8, they will launch an aggressive and creative (it's got to
be!) campaign to remove the Confederate flag from the State House.
The network will be directed by representatives from the member
organizations who have formed a steering committee. The network
infrastructure is being tended by the Natural Guard Fund, responsible for
the paper you hold in your hands, among other things. The Natural Guard
has been fighting for social and environmental justice in South Carolina
since 1978.
There is no doubt that building a progressive network that can be a
player on the political stage is a tremendous challenge, but network
members believe that the opportunities outweigh the perils, and that they
owe it to themselves, their families and the future of South Carolina to
try.
For information about the Progressive Network, call 254-9398 or
1-800-849-1803. A network representative is available to attend your
group's next meeting.
South Carolina Progressive Network Members:
Baptist Ministers' Union of Spartanburg
(Spartanburg) Promoting the mission of Baptist ministers.
Bayside Tenants'
Association (Charleston) Protecting the interests of residents living in the Bayside Gardens community.
Beaufort County Coalition for
Choice (Statewide) Reproductive rights coalition.
Carolina Peace Resource
Center (Columbia) Focusing on community conflict resolution.
Common Cause (Statewide)
Political advocacy group working for judicial reform.
Downtown Residential
Neighborhood (Greenville) Promoting a sustainable downtown Greenville.
Lowcountry AIDS Services
(Charleston) AIDS service organization.
The Natural Guard
(Statewide) Working for political, economic, environmental and social justice.
Palmetto AIDS Life Support
Services (PALSS) (Midlands) AIDS service organization.
Parents and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays (Statewide) Support group for gays and their families.
Penn Center (Beaufort)
Developing African-American self-reliance and cultural identity.
POINT (Statewide)
South Carolina's alternative newsmonthly, dedicated to promoting progressive ideals and the arts.
Piedmont Peace Resource
Center (Greenville) Promoting alternatives in the areas of peace, justice and the environment.
Planned Parenthood
(Statewide) Promoting and protecting reproductive rights.
People United to Live and Let
Live (PULLL) (Charleston) Community activist organization working to combat racism and empower low-income constituents.
S.C. ACLU (Statewide) Civil
liberties organization.
S.C. Association for Marine
Mammal Protection (Surfside Beach) Environmental group.
S.C. Coalition Against Domestic
Violence & Sexual Assault (Statewide) Advocacy organization supporting survivors of sexual assualt and domestic violence.
S.C. Environmental Watch
(Statewide) African-American led environmental justice group.
S.C. Forest Watch
(Westminster) Works to protect the state's forest heritage.
S.C. NOW (Statewide)
Working for reproductive rights and improving the economic and political power of women.
S.C. Rainbow Coalition
(Statewide) Moving the state and the nation toward social, racial and economic justice.
S.C. United Action
(Statewide) African-American community organizing group.
Secular Humanists of the
Lowcountry
(Charleston) Working for the separation of
church and state.
Spartanburg Coalition for
Choice
(Upstate) Working to secure reproductive
freedom for women.
Tri-County CASA
(Orangeburg) African-American group fighting violence against women.
Tri-County Advocates for
Women on Boards and Commissions
(Mt. Pleasant) Dedicated to increasing the
number of women appointed and elected to judgeships, boards and commissions.
Upstate Progressive Voters
(Upstate) Educating and mobilizing the
electorate.
VOICE (Charleston) Political
action coalition with diverse support.
We Are Family (Charleston)
To encourage acceptance of homosexuals by their families, friends and society as a whole.
52%(Charleston) Grassroots
organization for the female majority.
The progressive community has to learn a lesson from the forces no making the rules: they must organize and work together. They must begin, like conservatives, to sing from the same hymn book.
