REGRESSION: the act of going back to a previous place or state; return or reversion. (Dictionary.com)

To progress is to move forward. How many times in the past months have we heard the conversation about the need for our country to progress out of this deep recession, out of a world view which casts the US as angry and dangerous, out of a mindset that marginalizes segments of our population? Those who embrace this energy are known in the media as progressives.

But, given the political style of the 21st century (so far) wouldn't you know that the positive word progressive has been cast as a negative! There are some...seemingly many...in this country who see progress as a dangerous, expensive, foolish, immature, ignorant, or socialistic direction in which to move. You can choose which ever adjective suits you, or add another which fits for you.

Believe it or not, regression has become a popular stance. I find it hard to write that sentence. It is unbelievable to me that there are those, including many who play significant roles in the federal government, who believe firmly that it would be better for us to go back to "the good old days" rather than follow the path to progress. What ever happened to the General Electric motto: Progress is our most important product?

It is a fantasy to believe that we can return to former days when things were easier. Those who foster those fantasies are too busy Twittering their latest thoughts to colleagues or using their Blackberries to book flights home for the holidays. Not only are the "good old days" a piece of emotionally reconstructed history, but the limitations of those days would not be effective in meeting the challenges of the 21st century. Regression is a flaw in thinking and acting brought about by fear of change.

Social legislation which focuses upon race, gender, poverty, and health care cannot be replaced with legislation which denies the progress made in those areas. The people of this nation have embraced past advances in those fields in a way that makes them givens in our thinking.

One of my mentors has advised that we must not be about the process of patching a worn fabric, but that we should be focused upon building looms upon which future generations can weave the fabric required by the needs of those times. We must trust the leaders of the future to have the wisdom to meet the needs of those times with fabrics which speak to those needs. Our ability to foretell those needs is limited.

Regression is characterized not only by desire to return to the past, but by the willingness to embrace the status quo as sufficient to meet the needs confronting us. In too many cases, the status quo is the very source of current problems.

As Congress faces the difficult tasks of creating a new health care plan, concluding our involvement in two wars, healing a global fiscal crisis, and embracing methods of protecting our environment, it is urgent that a progressive agenda be enacted which carries us into the future. Regression at this point would serve only to continue and deepen our difficulties.