Violence in Virginia
By Donna, Mike F, Judy, Mike H., Dan, Janis, Deb, Amos, Dr. Bill, and Kim, your PDA National Team | Press Release
We Can And Must Come Together In Peace
Today, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) feels saddened and alarmed by the events in Charlottesville, Va., where the Governor has declared a state of emergency. Groups protesting against plans to move a statue of a Confederate general attacked and injured several people. White supremacists, Nazis, and others brandishing Confederate flags, weapons, and shields drove law enforcement officials from Emancipation Park and the surrounding area—creating a chaotic and dangerously lawless situation.
PDA stands in solidarity with the peaceful protesters who challenge racism past and present. We deplore violence, and call upon President Trump to renounce his “Alt-Right” supporters—as well as any other White Supremacist, Neo-Confederate, Neo-Nazi and other extremists and hate groups who have voiced their support for him.
In 2017, it is high time to put away any and all symbols and statues that glorify the shameful legacy of slavery. It is time to move toward a truly inclusive society that celebrates and honors diversity over division, embraces everyone, and strives to achieve the lofty ideals upon which our nation was founded. That all people are created equal.
In solidarity,
Donna, Mike F, Judy, Mike H.,Dan, Janis, Deb, Amos, Dr. Bill, and Kim, your PDA National Team
There is no point waiting for Trump to reject his most fervent supporters, but one might hope that some who cherish American values remain within the elite of the Republican Party, and Charlottesville is a critical litmus test to distinguish them from those who pander to and try to benefit from extremism…be it racism at home or warmongering abroad. I am not suggesting a simplistic Democratic move to the right: we should not think of a continuum of political positions (right-left, conservative-liberal) but a circle, with violent extremists along one edge and those believing in dialogue to find positive-sum solutions along the other edge of that circle. Conservative vs. liberal differences over policy are real but not the core issue; the core issue is whether you resolve conflict through dialogue and compromise or through violence. If we avoid getting hung up on labels and slogans, we can find solutions that will receive majority support. One domestic example: view health care not as an abstract debate over “Big Government” but as a dialogue to achieve a healthy population. One international example: view the disastrous Yemen war not as “do we support our so very useful Saudi oil billionaires” but as how best to stabilize Yemeni society (before we provoke the rise of a new jihadi regime). Framing is critical to resolving issues, and we are currently, as a society, doing a terrible job of framing policy issues in a way conducive to resolution.
Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville is a perfect case in point: he essentially equated “all sides,” as though he could see no distinction between aggressors and victims, between the side that wants peaceful dialogue and the side that threatened the police and everyone else with guns. There is plenty of room on this issue for liberals and conservatives to find common ground: do the rich really want armed mobs controlling the streets of America?