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The Duality of Progress · Meriel Wehner
The Duality of Progress
Written by Meriel Wehner Artwork by Zhuoran Cai & Nell Wedgwood
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‘Progress’ is tricky to define. Despite positive connotations, the word itself does not denote improvement – just change. However, the concept is a bit more complicated than a purely positive or negative shift; a dichotomy between the two is always inherent within its actualisation, pushing us to pursue the worst in response to the best, and vice versa. Growing from the same static moment, the duality of progress continuously regenerates as each side feeds off the other.
As an American, I have an extremely mixed relationship with my country. I want to be proud, but there have been unprecedented accelerations in intolerance, culminating in the now undeniable spectre of hatred dominating our sociopolitical atmosphere. America is at a crossroads and one thing is clear: if negative progress is not redirected there will be nothing left to save.
I grew up in Massachusetts, the ‘bluest’ state, but I come from an extremely conservative deep-south family. To me, America’s political divisions have always been painfully obvious, even if I didn’t comprehend the toxicity until 2016. One of my earliest memories is President Obama’s inauguration: my mother was so excited that she decorated a cake with the American flag to celebrate. However, that wasn’t the universal reaction. I was only six, but I distinctly remember hearing my babysitter say: “I hope you’re so happy when your taxes go up.” This was not an isolated comment, and as I got older it became harder to ignore. Visiting my grandparents’ house meant seeing a framed picture of them shaking George H. W. Bush’s hand, and saying I wanted to be a political journalist meant being told: “you can’t trust CNN [Clinton News Network]”; or my personal favourite, “you’re young, you’ll be a Republican once you’ve learnt more about the world.” That isn’t to say it was one-sided. I was probably the worst agitator, and I cannot deny that my own attempts to ‘redirect’ progress were destructive.
As both a family and a country we are deeply divided by the invisible line enshrined in 1861. Widely considered America’s darkest moment, the Civil War was primarily a reaction to progress, as the reality that a slave-owning America could not call itself the ‘land of the free’ rendered change inevitable. Regrettably, this was considered decidedly ‘un-American’ by many, and counterprogress manifested as an imperative to
preserve the integrity of the Old South, as fundamentally slave-based, at all costs. Despite their loss, America’s racism problem did not die with the Confederacy; abolition sparked its own counter-progress. This is not to call my family hateful or imply in any way that they would have been anti-abolition 150 years ago: they are good people who I love deeply. Nonetheless, the facts are simple, even if the situation isn’t. The magnitude of the dichotomy irreparably splintered us, and that symbolic chasm has been maintained for generations. We have significantly evolved since 1865 but, nonetheless, the last six years have seen such shocking regression that 54% of Republicans consider another civil war ‘likely.’ Simply put – the danger is real, and I am terrified.
It might be more palatable to think that this descent into hate speech and political violence began with the disgraced ex-President but, again, progress is reactionary. Barack Obama made history but he also made a lot of people angry. The 2016 Democratic nominee – a woman – further stoked the fire. To many, it was unacceptable that positions of power no longer belonged to the white man alone. The anti-progressive movement was ready, it just needed a catalyst who could interrupt social momentum. The disgraced ex-President, whose father was arrested at a KKK rally in 1927, fit the bill. He won in 2016 by voicing sentiments that had long existed, albeit in silence, in much of the nation. There is nothing special in what followed. MAGA developed a cult of personality, brainwashing the masses to be desensitised to violence and hateful rhetoric as ‘political discourse.’
Herein lies the issue – once in action, progress is hard to stop. Charlottesville, January 6, and the ‘Big Lie’ are all stages in a larger progression: the radicalisation of the Republican Party. Nonetheless, we shouldn’t give the disgraced ex-President undue credit: the far-right as a whole is responsible for fighting social progress through ‘culture wars.’ Policies like the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill unabashedly aim to resurrect intolerance and discrimination in response to the changing social atmosphere. America’s gun problem is another clear demonstration. Republicans blame crumbling ‘family values’ – progress itself is at fault and the solution is regression. Fear of losing freedom and life as they know it manifests as they dig in their heels to protect the constitutional, God-given right of any American (even a 17-year-old sociopath) to buy an AR-15 from Walmart and open fire on a kindergarten classroom.
It is natural to fear change but it is unacceptable to express anxieties through discrimination and violence. Instead, it must be recognised that positive progress is that which is positive for everyone. Hatred, while unforgivable, is learnt. Recognizing that kindness is the only way forward can dismantle negative progress before it does irreparable harm. We cannot prevent fear but we can overcome it.
