The dark forest
-The sacrifices I've made have pushed me far beyond my comfort zone—more than I ever anticipated. Like venturing into the woods to gather your own firewood, it's demanding work that most aren't willing to do. Your average college progressive, too confined by entitlement and predetermined narratives, would rather complain about the cold than make the journey into unfamiliar territory.
Holding progressive views is itself a privilege, not a burden. Our political consciousness needs breathing room for authentic development. You have a choice: remain confined by victimhood, or create space for thoughtful, sustainable growth while maintaining your integrity.
-Socialist services/non-profits are like a communal forest, planted and protected by our predecessors' progressive beliefs. Yes, this wood might burn faster than you'd like—social services aren't perfect—but they're sustainable and create space for transformation.
Yet what do I see? Progressives sitting in their cold apartments, using the bare minimum of private resources, shivering and complaining about how the right wing has made everything terrible. They'd rather blame conservatives for their cold room while a whole forest of resources sits unused, claiming they're "saving" it for others who need it more—a mask for entitled fears and delusions.
The painful irony:
They freeze in ideological purity while refusing to use the systems progressives fought to create
They talk endlessly about expanding services they've never accessed
They miss that using these services strengthens them and helps justify their expansion
Meanwhile, many who do gather from this communal forest either don't vote or vote against maintaining the very resources that keep them warm.
-Both liberals and conservatives trap themselves in narrow definitions of growth:
Endurance
Hard work
Achievement
Combativeness
These values are like trying to heat a home with Dura-logs—quick, showy, but ultimately unsustainable. True growth requires space to move beyond these constraints.
I stepped back from the suffocating proximity of competing ideologies, allowing for my own investigation. The quality of your growth isn't measured by how quickly you can burn through resources or how brightly your activism flares. I'm choosing sustainable development now—like choosing to gather wood instead of buying gasoline. The wood takes more effort to collect, doesn't burn as spectacularly, but provides consistent, lasting warmth.
To my fellow progressives: Instead of complaining that sustainable resources don't burn fast enough—while gathering none of them—learn to:
Build sustainable practices through direct engagement
Create room for personal growth beyond performance
Maintain space for reflection and questioning
Develop movements that can breathe and evolve
The goal isn't to create the most spectacular display of progressive values, but to build sustainable spaces and systems that can actually support long-term transformation.
