Progressives

The word progressive is a dynamic term. According to Merriam-Webster, there are 10 major definitions split over two entries. I guess the first thing that comes to mind when I think of progressives is the movement that took place around the turn of last century, during the Roosevelt and Taft administrations, with magazines like McClure’s and the muckrakers. Whenever I hear someone say “progressives” I think of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s outstanding book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism. That book was so good it made a flight from Washington/Dulles to Los Angeles pass by in the blink of an eye.

It is a versatile term. Back when I was flying, at unfamiliar airports, you could request a “progressive taxi.” Typically, as you roll off the runway, ground control gives you a series of “intersections” to get you to where you are going. They might say something like, “Take Charlie to Charlie 6 and cross 16-right to Bravo. Bravo to Bravo 4.” That can be a lot to remember, especially at an unfamiliar airport. In a progressive taxi, the controllers give you the first step: “Take Charlie to Charlie 6.” Once you reach the Charlie 6 intersection, they give you the next step. And so on.

It occurred to me that our car has something called “progressive” cruise control. I love this feature and use it often on our long drives. You set your speed, like any other cruise control, and then you set your distance in car-lengths. After that the car maintains the distance from the car in front of you, slowing when they slow, speed up when they speed up. When I use it, it is almost like we are tethered by a tractor beam

I was thinking about progressives because I got a new pair of glasses they other day. Like my old glasses, they have progressive lenses. Here “progressive” is a euphemism for “tri-focals” which itself code for “Jamie is getting old.” My vision changed a little in the last two years since my previous prescription. The new glasses definitely help.

One thing I’ve noticed: as my vision regresses, my use of my glasses progresses. I wear my glasses frequently these days. Because of that, as the kind people in my eye doctor’s office were adding the various features I had on my old glasses to the new ones (poly carb, anti-glare, blue-light blocking, etc.) I realized that I had an opportunity. For a while I’d been putting my sunglasses on over my glasses when outdoors. So I had them add “transitions” lenses to the mix. This is a progressive move on my part. It will help my look far less ridiculous when I am outdoors.

“Transitions” feels almost like a sibling of “progressives.” I like these lenses because the UV light darkens them and I don’t need my sunglasses in places where UV light is abundant. (Inside the car is not one of these places.) Of course, as soon as I got home I had to test them out. I went into the front yard, waited while my glasses adjusted, and then took a photo. I then went back into my office, waited for the UV light to die down and took another. There is a noticeable difference.

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Progressives seem to be a theme with me these days. I’ve got progressive lenses, and a car with progressive cruise control. I’m not flying planes any more, but I am working on progressively improving my habits.

Thinking about progressives makes me think about progress. That in turn reminds me of a joke I once heard:

If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress?