The Spokes Meet at the Hub

...it seems that one of the ways in which we must pro­ceed is to create a great­er pub­lic com­mit­ment to co­alition­al and col­laborative re­lationships ac­ross com­munit­ies and ac­ross the na­tion - a sort of multi­ple peo­ples' Con­gres­ses, if you will, that can com­municate with one an­oth­er on key is­sues and con­cerns, out­side of the li­mited and ego-driven arena of elec­tor­al politics.

Moreov­er, it seems that once we ac­cept the li­mits of the pre­siden­cy in its capac­ity to enact chan­ge that im­proves the qual­ity of our lives, we can be­come more ef­fective in putt­ing peo­ple pre­ssure on the pre­siden­cy with re­spect to local, state, nation­al and in­ter­nation­al con­cerns. His­torical­ly, it seems that most major chan­ges of poli­cy at the feder­al level, in the in­terest of the many, were made as a con­sequ­ence of the en­orm­ous pre­ssure put on Was­hington by folks on the ground.
~ from Awakening to the Limits of the Obama Presidency by Antonia Darder ~

Back in the days when I was a semi-professional progressive activist, one of my overarching critiques of our general movement concerned the fact that so many of my brethren allowed themselves to get so caught up in their own focus issues that they often couldn't or wouldn't see the thread that connected these issues together.

For example, labor groups were often at loggerheads with environmental organizations and vice versa. Each acted as if the other was trying to undermine their goals. From my perspective, however, their goals intersected. Both supported the idea of a robust economy with sustainable employment. The treehuggers merely pointed out that corporate business as usual only provided short-term job security, not long-term.

Another example involved the supposed chasm between [mainly straight and white] peace groups and those that worked on Queer, Latino and/or Black issues. What did all these groups have in common? Each wants to create a world in which people from different nationalities, ethnicities, genders, abilities and orientations are respected and valued. In such a world, war, oppression and discrimination become outmoded.

Whatever the progressive cause (the spokes), we all meet at the hub of mutual respect. When we respect others, we treat them as we would treat ourselves -- the Golden Rule.

For me, the Taoist philosophy could provide an excellent framework for fusing together the various elements of the progressive movement. While each group or individual would work on those issues that each group or person was the most motivated by, we would all understand that our separate actions lead to the same place.