My Progressive Agenda

I've seen all good people championing the principles of political progressivism. They’ve made it their sole goal to remake society in a new and revolutionary image. Progress is the purpose. It’s what they’re aiming for, and despite mediocre marksmanship, it’s what they’ll get. But they’re missing something – something glaring. And I can only stop to wonder why.

When progressive politicians gather around crowds of teary-eyed supporters, sniffling and swirling their fingers in solidarity, they typically touch on standard, predictable, exceedingly palatable fare. They never waver from a set of pre-approved talking points. They stick to the script, staying on brand and on topic. What bothers me is how they’ve practically abandoned their roots. The term “progressive” that they wear with immense pride wasn’t always associated with righteous anger or the social-media-assisted defenestration of one's opponents. It was something that evoked the deafening blare of a Minimoog synthesizer or the repeated rumble of a drum machine. 

What’s missing today from the current political discourse is an unapologetic reappraisal of progressive rock. Instead, these people smooch the ring of atonal auto-tuners and bass-heavy sternum shakers. And for what? Who do you think first sent vocals on a Rube Goldberg journey from mouth-to-speakers? Why shouldn’t the modern left’s big tent extend to the realm of 70s prog rock? Since C-Span on the stereo doesn’t have quite the same effect as pumping up the volume on “Roundabout,” I did what any concerned citizen would. I mentally drafted Rick Wakeman for congress without his consent and while my ears were not functioning properly. 

Prog rockers welcomed a complicated future with open devil horns when most musicians thought that plugging in an electric guitar to a knee-high amp was the height of modern technology. Which is what is missing from most political campaigns today, too. Where’s the show? Where’s the spectacle? Where's the virtuosity? Smoke machines, strobe lights and unlicensed pyrotechnics would surely go a long way to achieving that – at least to the third or fourth row where safety glasses would have to be mandatory. Too many political exhibitions are boring events that would’ve fit right into the world before technicolor. Too much politicking, not enough production. Who’s designing these campaign posters, anyway? They are absent any imagination.

Going full prog rocker might be one way of getting progressive politics to finally resonate with older generations. Start with something they know and understand - like the Mellotron - and work from there. Now is the time to act and shift the conversation into more progressive territory. We’re approaching the precipice. Nearing the proverbial cliff. Getting…close to the edge.