I have been very disappointed to see “progressive” become a synonym for “woke.” If that continues, I will not be using the word “progressive.” Where does the silliness end? Anybody that knows me understands I am left-of-center on economics. The war of the 1% on everyone else is real. Monopoly capital has a stranglehold on America and we are becoming one of the most unequal economic societies the world has ever seen. But, does that mean that race is the paramount issue in America today? Absolutely not. Yet, a “progressive,” is expected to toe this racist woke line that white people are bad, that whites have much to make up for,  and shame on white people for not standing with radical black racists making truly bizarre demands. If we don’t accept this narrative we are threatened by the mob for a reservation on Cancel Island. Enough is enough.

Throw in the agenda of LGTBQGYVPWZRidiculous and I’m pushed away even more from progressivism. The “left” at one time was a term used almost exclusively to describe where one stood on economic issues. That day is far behind us. So, who wins from all the division? Answer: the uber-wealthy who are making out like bandits while attention is focused on these phony race and gender issues. It seems our elections are now decided – in major ways – by where we all fall in this phony woke crap from the so-called left. These people are engaging in a phony movement that will push the cause of liberalism back twenty years. I’ve had it. I will not hesitate to call out the Maoist cultural left which harms the cause of economic justice for all people.

Two recent articles seem to hit the target for me:

Andrew Sullivan on all this woke nonsense

An opinion piece on Bill Maher

Those two links sum it up for me. I am tired of being called a “conservative” because I despise woke Maoism.

In 2016, I wrote an article (A Few Modest Proposals) that lay out an aggressive agenda on economic issues…

– I still support a true National Health Plan. Public funds but private doctors. A variation on the Canadian model.
– I still support breaking up the big banks and ending their outsized role in American life.
– I still support a several-Trillion-Dollar plan to rebuild America’s deteriorating infrastructure.
– I still support ending corporate welfare (public money grabs of, by, and for the wealthy).
– I still support a massive crackdown on criminality. Communities must take every measure to stop crime and quit worrying about what color the criminals are. Safe communities and law & order should not be conservative issues or liberal issues – they are community issues.

This is where I stand. Don’t call me conservative – but don’t call me progressive either. We can all think as individuals, no need for boxed-in labels that say more about our intellectual laziness than anything. No matter what you choose to call me – just don’t call me “woke.”

– Mike Swickey