Open-minded and progressive...? (Portland, Dallas: middle-class, home, school)

[Redrover]

I have noticed a number of postings in the Oregon forums that mention a desire for a location that is open-minded and progressive. Just what exactly do all of you mean when you say this?

[HiggsBoson]

My opinion
Open minded = "someone who thinks like I do, or has an acceptable lifestyle or belief system".
I know people will disagree and say they are the opposite, but I have a feeling a Bush loving, global warming disputing, hard core Republican would have a different opinion about how open minded Portland is. Usually "open minded" is code for someone who is open to far left politics or alternative lifestyles. What it should mean is "I am really open to hearing points of view and ideas that contradict my own, and will try considering them objectively."

Progressive = liberal politics. "liberal" was turned into a bad word by the right, so progressive is the more appealing way to describe someone who is liberal.

[aalverson]

HiggsBoson-
I would actually agree with your point, and I am one of those "open-minded" people! haha. I think progressive is in fact a more valid term to use, although I wouldn't completely throw out the open-minded term. Just my opinion here, but I feel in general those "Bush loving, global warming disputing, hard core Republicans" are much less open to other ideas than are more progressive people. It seems to me that there is in general only ONE concept we "open-minded" people aren't open to....and that is very specifically the "Bush loving, global warming disputing, hard core Republican" way of thinking.

So I guess you could say we are less close-minded than perhaps others are. And yes, a large percentage of the Portland population is of this way of thinking. However, please take note there are MANY other towns in Oregon where this does not hold true.

[MtnSurfer]

Well,

As a Republican I find HiggsBoson's 'code speak' translation to be especially funny and to ring true. The whole concept of a 'free thinking progressive' seems like an oxymoron from my perspective. If that is 'open minded' I would hate to see what a closed minded free thinker is. LOL ...

On a more serious note I will probably be the odd ball in Portland as a conservative. But that is OK. I actually 'like' being around people who don't think just like I do. I grew up in a liberal beach community in S. Cal. which has become the melting pot of the world. There are so many religions and colors of people that I am used to diversity.

I live in Colorado Springs at the moment and it is the polar extreme to Portland politically. I actually would prefer more variety.

I just don't know how 'diverse' or truly 'free thinking' Portland will be. I hope it is not just a bunch of 'clone' free thinkers who never actually think or act outside of an 'accepted' box. Hmmm...

[aalverson]

MtnSurfer-
You will be fine in Portland! While it is largely more liberal politically speaking, I don't personally feel that those who hold different ideals are vilified. As long as you are open minded, which it sounds like you are....all is well!

I definitely do not feel Portland is full of clone free-thinkers. While most of my friends/acquaintances are on the liberal or democratic side, we still all have different opinions about issues. And we like to talk about them, which I think is important!

[MtnSurfer]

Thanks aalverson. I am glad to hear that. I am not one to move somewhere based on political persuasions. I just find Colorado Springs a little funny that way after moving here from S. Cal. When I say funny I just mean more people thinking and looking alike. It is a little trippy for an old California surfer.

I know every area also has its own subculture which can transcend party lines. I look forward to experiencing Portland for myself.

[Redrover]

What I find interesting is that there seems to be a propensity for associating George Bush with the word Republican. I know, I know, that is the party he professes to represent but he is SO NOT my idea of a Republican. Let me say right up front that I am a registered Republican and from Dubyah's home state. (And God help me, I even voted for him...) but that is where my affiliation with him ends. He so does not represent the values and convictions of what I see as the fundamental Republican party. But having said this, my designation as a Republican in no way precludes my belief in treading as lightly as possible on this earth - I strong support recycling, reusing, and protecting our environment in any way possible. (I am hard-core Republican though on the subject of abortion but I don't really see this issue as a political one with a party affiliation though.) I go to church regularly but take no issue with those who don't. I don't endorse gay marriage but I am unconcerned about gay partnerships. I believe there is far too much government intrusion in our lives but I support a strong military. I could go on but I think you get the idea. So, as a registered Republican (who doesn't like ANY of the leading candidates my party is running) why am I written off as not open-minded and not progressive? Anticpating a move to the Portland area (one of its smaller neighbors), I have to wonder whether I will be categorized on the basis of some pre-conceived notion of who a Republican is and why I am not really a "Portland" kind of person.

[aalverson]

Redrover-
You make some really valid points, specifically that one can be a Republican and NOT be in support of our current president. Personally, I think that it has gotten SOOOOOO bad since he's been in office that those of us who are not Republicans are in a serious state of blaming not only Bush, but all Republicans for our current plight. I am in no way saying this is right...only that I believe this is what has happened. It has become difficult not to vilify anyone who voted for him because he's so awful and in my opinion has done some serious damage to our country and people, much of it irreversible. While I personally disagree with your positions on abortion and gay marriage, I can respect your position nonetheless. And honestly, I think you will find a lot of that type of feeling in the Portland area. Particularly if you are looking, as you said, at one of Portland's smaller neighbors, you may not be so alone in your beliefs anyway. Don't necessarily believe all the hype you hear and read about how extremely liberal Portland is. There are all types here. (I am, however, speaking from my own naivety in that I've lived my entire life in Oregon!)

And by the way, since you don't like any of your party's candidates, how 'bout you vote for the Democrat when the time comes??

[cdelena]

You will find 'open-minded and progressive' translates to leaning pretty far left in the Portland area. Any doubts can be resolved by picking up and newspaper and looking at the editorial selection.

[GB1]

"Progressive" is partially true in Portland. Notions such as personal conservation and recycling make a lot of sense, and they're revered in Portland. Though, of course, those who lived through the Depression would just categorize them as old-school thrift, and poor folks everywhere are familiar with the notion of making do or doing without.

The mania for organics, farmers' markets, etc. is an outgrowth of the food movements in Northern California in the 1970s, as well as the way many Europeans have always lived for centuries.

Public transit, bicycle programs, and urban planning would also fall under the "progressive" umbrella, and all have their pluses and minuses, though they certainly have made Portland a more pleasant place to get around than, say, Dallas.

Where Portland falls down, however, is on its other crown jewel, "diversity." As a friend of mine once said, "Diversity in Portland means that everyone has a different tattoo," and there's some truth in that. It's overwhelmingly white and middle-class, and I have to think that a place that was truly progressive would come in all colors and belief systems without having to try so hard.

And, yes, with political beliefs so uniform, the most middle-of-the-road liberal positions can get demonized as right-wing sometimes...the same way that an overwhelmingly conservative area might find Mike Huckabee mainstream and John McCain to be shockingly leftist. The Portland Tribune, a paper slightly to the right of the Oregonian, is considered by many to be hopelessly red-state.