Progress

What exactly is "progress?" Webster's dictionary states progress as simply moving forward; however moving forward causes backward movement as well. Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, therefore positive progression must have a negative regression. At which point does the forward momentum overcome the backward drag? This point varies for each situation and each evaluator. To some, a situation is more progressive than regressive but that same situation is viewed by others as the reverse. Such is the case with industrialism.

The Twelve Southerners' Statement of Principles reveals the unnoticed regressions of something most commonly viewed as very progressive; industrialism. The majority of the human population sees new jobs, new possibilities, more stuff, and a higher quality of living when they think of industrialism. However, the Twelve Southerners see machine replacing human labor, human labor becoming repetitive and monotonous instead of unique, skilled, and enjoyable, and people becoming obsessed with consumption and "stuff" while dreaming of a higher living consumed in monetary desires. To the Twelve Southerners, industrialism is much more regressive than progressive and since this statement was written during the great depression, it has caught the attention of suffering industrial idealists and swayed their position. However, more people still find industrialism more progressive than regressive even after the great depression, which is why it is apart of America today.

My hometown, Acworth, Georgia is a big empty town changed by industrialism. At one point, Acworth had one major road and a few convenient stores. Homes were widely sparse, the roads remained clear, and the school hallways were narrow. As Atlanta grew, becoming a bigger home for corporations, sprouting larger buildings for more employers and shorter ladders for climbing employees, the surrounding suburbs grew to accommodate the new commuting masses. Acworth is one of these suburbs that exponentially grew for the sake of Atlanta. Trees were cut, homes were built, schools expand, more fire departments and police stations and schools and hospitals are set in place, more cars for roads, more traffic everyday, more pollution saturating our air, more trash filling our cans, less stars at night, less green fields of wild flowers and long lush grass, and less climbing trees for the young children to climb and adventure upon. More jobs, more money, more electronics, bigger homes, bigger yards, nicer cars and boats and motorcycles, more toys for your kids, more food for your table, and more monetary demands everyday. At what point does money replace or equate happiness? It doesn’t.