I don't like labels. I wrote an editorial about the impasse in the latest government bills on infrastructure and the headline writer labelled me a "progressive." The comments after the article immediately seized on that and sliced and diced it to try to prove their own position. Half the problem nowadays with partisanship is labels. Roads and bridges are crumbling. To want to repair them makes me a progressive? We need to take some measures to prepare for the effects of climate change. That's progressive? We need women in the workplace who need support to look after their kids. Wanting good child care makes me progressive? Am I a socialist for wanting to stamp out child poverty and build housing for the homeless? We need a fairer tax system where everyone pays according to their means. That's just fair. That's not progressive. I feel "survivalist" would be a better label for me. I want a free, well-regulated market economy. I want the rule of law and well regulated government institutions. The pandemic showed us we need a better healthcare system. I don't think that's progressive. Could we stop using labels and start asking whether what we are doing is good for America?