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I have no problem with the term "liberal," and I am very happy to use it. I also use the oft-derided term "partisan," since I support a particular political party and believe in the concept of collective action and solidarity in pursuit of a political goal.
But I like "progressive," precisely because of the vision of history it invokes. I really believe it when civil rights leaders tell us that "the arch of history is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that we have a vital role to play in making that so.
It seems fairly clear to me that there is a tendency on the right to look back to an idealized past and attempt to either recreate it or simply resist any further movement away from it. I want to get as far away from it as possible. Conservatives seem to me be people who already have power (social, political, and/or economic) and are trying to hold on to that power, whole progressives are people who don't have power trying to empower themselves (or trying to empower others). It's certainly not a %100 either-or, past-or-future, powerful-vs-powerless orientation, but it's close enough for the phrase to resonate deeply with me.
