A progressive master narrative

More good stuff from Paul Waldman's Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success. Waldman points out that progressives have nothing that compares to the conservative movement's master narrative — the story of who they are, where they came from, what they believe in, and what they're fighting for.

The Conservative Master Narrative

After an era of decadence and weakness [the 1960s], strong and righteous Americans stood up for right against wrong. Despite the impediment of liberal apologists and appeasers, they defeated totalitarian communism, then turned their attention to releasing America from the shackles of big government and restoring respect for the family. Empowering entrepreneurs and liberating citizens, they cut onerous taxes and regulations, enabling Americans to live freer lives. But at every turn they are hindered by powerful liberal elitists who want to take Americans' money, waste it on programs for the lazy and the sinful, banish God from the nation, and tell us all how to live our lives.

Not a very appealing story, but a coherent one. Waldman goes on to say that progressives need to find our own master narrative if we want the various progressive groups to operate together as a real movement:

An animating vision of the future is what creates a movement that is more than a collection of disparate grievances, and here we arrive at what may be the greatest stumbling block to the creation of a true progressive movement. While the conservative master narrative has for years provided a unifying vision around which a diverse collection of people can rally, the left has been a coalition of people with a vague affinity and a support for one another's goals but nothing resembling a common purpose. Activists on the left consider themselves to be advocates for the environment, women's rights, workers' rights, or a whole series of causes, but few see themselves as something we would call "the progressive movement." Few would claim that such a thing even exists.

The creation of that movement requires practical steps and careful planning and organizing, but it also requires an articulation of an overarching story that tells us who progressives are and what they believe. We can call this master narrative "A More Perfect Union":

A New Progressive Master Narrative

Throughout our history, we have worked to make sure our society lives up to the ideals we all share: freedom, equality, opportunity. When we saw problems, we organized together for change, shining a light on injustice and unfairness and demanding that government do what is best for all of us and allow everyone to join in the blessings of our nation. Afraid of change and desperate to hold on to power, conservatives fought the changes with all their might. But the will of the people was too strong, and conservatives were defeated when they stood in the way of progress.

Today we face many problems, and conservatives still fight against the people's will. But America will continue its advance toward a more perfect union, one where every person has the same rights, the same security, and the same opportunities, where communities and the nation come together to solve problems, where no one is excluded from our nation's prosperity, where the government works on behalf of all Americans.

The conservative master narrative tells a story that begins in the 1960s, but this progressive master narrative crosses the scope of American history, seeing it as a continuous progression to realize the noble ideas on which the country was founded. It posits government as a force that, when it works properly, creates justice, security, and opportunity. The abolishment of slavery, the enfranchisement of women, the G.I. Bill, the creation of Social Security and Medicare, and the civil rights and environmental movements are all events driven by progressives that fit within this narrative.