Couple days ago, a relative of mine, contrasting himself with me politically, said that his politics were “progressive.” I said, “How can your politics be progressive when mine are?” I guess we all like to think of ourselves, and our politics, as progressive — as progress-tending.

Anyway, I got to thinking what a BS word “progressive” is, in so many cases. Also, it is a self-congratulatory word: “Oh, my politics are progressive!” — meaning that the politics of the rest of us are regressive, I suppose.

I like the non-pretentious use of the word “progressive.” On one of our NR cruises in Portugal the other day, Paul Johnson was saying that America would be — I think I’m quoting accurately here — “healthier, happier, and more progressive” without three institutions. (He then named Hollywood, Harvard, and the New York Times. I later wrote that the middle of those we could probably keep. I was pretty much with him on the other two, though.)

Also, this may be of interest: I was just in Norway, hanging out with my buds in the only Reaganite party there is there — the Progress party. The “progressives” here in America do not think of Reaganism as progressive, for sure.

Just one more thing: Today, I had occasion to look up the Socialist International, whose website declares, “Socialist International — Progressive Politics For A Fairer World.” Yeah, right. Don’t know about you, but I’d be happy going a week or so without hearing that word at all.