A century ago this year, Theodore Roosevelt sought the Presidency of the United States not under a Democratic or Republican banner, but under the banner of the Progressive Party. The Progressive movement, he felt, was betrayed by the conservative William Howard Taft - one time his disciple and the man Roosevelt would, at the end of his own term, choose to succeed him as President. Taft, elected handily in 1908 as a model progressive Republican, soon turned to committing acts as president that Roosevelt found decidedly un-Progressive, even un-American. Taft, ever a taskmaster, was oblivious to the political ramifications his agenda would cause, focusing only on its end result.
Where do we, the Progressive Party of Taijitu stand currently? With branches in Taijitu and The North Pacific, the Progressive Party was one of the first political parties to stop being regional and start being global. Some say that this leads to the neglect of Taijitu - a region we raised through its new infancy. Right now, I'd say they're right.
Imagine, the Taijituan political movement, has used song to bolster its rhetoric. Perhaps there is a song more fitting for our party:
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles,
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest.
Has the Progressive Party squandered its powerful resistance, its movement for social and regional change, for a pocketful of mumbled promises to 'return when we can'? Are these lies and jest, simply designed to please our own ears? I can't make that judgement for anyone else but I will readily admit I have been neglectful, and I am sorrowful for it.
But the Progressive Party has no time to be sorrowful or to continue its neglect. Not since Sovereign Dixie has Taijitu's democracy been threatened as it is now. A bill has been passed by referendum giving sweeping powers to the Delegate while not even trying to define their limits or the Delegate's vaguely alluded to job - "restoring Taijitu".
Many old and current members of the Progressive Party fought Sovereign Dixie's tyranny under dictatorial rule. Perhaps it's time we fight this tyranny again. John Lennon, while decrying capitalism, lived in Manhattan. While decrying religion, he attached himself to every New Age and Eastern religion that drifted his way. While decrying possessions, he wore the finest clothes and drove the finest cars.
Is the self-posturing in the government any different? While decrying inactivity, the Delegate shuts down the Senate and Court to devote himself to the region's "rebirth". While decrying the Progressive Party's purported stranglehold on Taijituan politics, the Delegate shuts down politics completely. Perhaps this speech will mean nothing and the Progressive Party will not return to challenge the dictatorship forming on our doorsteps. Perhaps this is all in vain. But allow me to end with this:
In the clearing stands a boxer,
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry glove that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving."
But the fighter still remains.
Has our fight ended?
