Progress means more than just moving forward.

In 1944, when America was in the middle of its biggest ever collective action -- fighting World War II on two different fronts -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt used his State of the Union address to talk about what the United States should be like after the war.

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[caption id="attachment_1117" align="alignright" width="259" caption="A second Bill of Rights"]<em><a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/images.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1117" title="images" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/images.jpg" alt="" width="259" height="195" /></a></em>[/caption]

"This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength,  under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them  the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury,  freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to  life and liberty. As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our  industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to  assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.</em>

<em>"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.  'Necessitous men are not free men' People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all — regardless of station, race, or creed.</em>

<em>"Among these are:</em>

<em>"The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;</em>

<em>"The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;</em>

<em>"The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;</em>

<em>"The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;</em>

<em>"The right of every family to a decent home;</em>

<em>"The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;</em>

<em>"The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;</em>

<em>"The right to a good education.</em>

<em>"All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of  these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.</em>

<em>"America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens.</em>

<em>"For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."</em>

Maybe if he hadn't died before he had a chance to implement some of these things, this would be a very different country right now. Imagine an America in which the government helped people who really need help, not one where low taxes and government subsidies go to people who are already rich and powerful.

It's a pretty good bet FDR wouldn't recognize today's Democrats. I'm pretty sure the last vote I cast for an FDR Democrat for president came when I voted for Walter Mondale in 1984. Most of today's Democrats would be in about the same place Dewey/Eisenhower Republicans were in the '40s and '50s.

I list my own political affiliation on Facebook as "Social Democrat," which doesn't really exist in this country. My own politics are more European these days, I suppose. I believe that Americans (we can argue about non-citizens another time) should have certain basic rights, among them:

-- The right to a job for those willing and able to work.

-- The right to a roof over their heads.

-- The right to adequate nutrition.

-- The right to basic health care.

-- The right to basic disability and retirement income.

I'm not talking about an equality of results, about <em>"from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."</em> I really don't have a problem with people getting rich, but I think everyone -- no matter how poor they are -- ought to have a basic right to a certain level of living. Food, shelter, education, health care.

If you don't, think about this:

Was it through something you did -- or earned -- that you were born into a family that could provide for you and give you a chance to get ahead. Was it through your basic goodness that you were born middle class ... or even white?

The children of rich people are always going to have it easy, but the children of poor people shouldn't have to work 10 times as hard just to be middle class.

Where do I stand?

I stand with the greatest American of the last 100 years -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt.