--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I consider myself a progressive, so my…" description: "\"I consider myself a progressive, so my answer would be that we need to be progressive. For some reason the people in power in Mississippi still seem to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/jesmyn-ward-1426_dream_i-consider-myself-a-progressive-so-my-an_2803158.jpg" --- # I consider myself a progressive, so my answer would be… ![“I consider myself a progressive, so my answer would be that we need to be progressive. For some reason the people in power in Mississippi still seem to be invested in these very American myths."The individual is alone." "We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps." "We create success for ourselves…” quote by Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/jesmyn-ward-1426_dream_i-consider-myself-a-progressive-so-my-an_2803158.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/jesmyn-ward-1426_dream_i-consider-myself-a-progressive-so-my-an_2803158.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/jesmyn-ward-1426_dream_i-consider-myself-a-progressive-so-my-an_2803158.jpg) > “I consider myself a progressive, so my answer would be that we need to be progressive. For some reason the people in power in Mississippi still seem to be invested in these very American myths."The individual is alone." "We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps." "We create success for ourselves, and if we work hard enough then we will succeed and have success beyond our wildest dreams." I think that we need to do away with that kind of thinking and be more aware of history and how the history of this place bears in the present and how it affects people.” [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the myth of individualism and boot‑strap success, urging recognition of historical context and collective responsibility for systemic inequality. **In simple terms:** Individual effort alone can't fix systemic problems. Key Takeaway Acknowledge history, address systemic barriers. Themes history systemic inequality collective responsibility myths progressivism Mood reflective critical determined Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - Policy reform - education curricula - community organizing - public discourse - media representation Key Concepts Structural racism social justice historical memory Questions to Reflect On - How do historical narratives shape current policies? - What collective actions can replace boot‑strap myths? A Different Perspective Individual effort alone is insufficient without systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wildest dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildest-dreams/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) ## Related quotes > [“For the progressive, the answer is the centralized administrative state, where the individual is coerced in infinite ways, as willed by the machinery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/for-the-progressive-the-answer-is-the-centralized-administrative/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [Over the years, black leaders have been slow to recognize the need for a very, very progressive agenda. Anytime someone has talked about putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/over-the-years-black-leaders-have-been-slow-to-recognize-the-need-for/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [We need a very progressive and strong agenda to bring people into the political process because I worry very much about the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-need-a-very-progressive-and-strong-agenda-to-bring-people-into-the/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I consider myself a progressive. I have a passion for people who work. To me, this is about forward looking versus backward looking. Ideological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/i-consider-myself-a-progressive-i-have-a-passion-for-people-who-work/) [Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/) > [I'm not a political progressive, but I consider myself a progressive person. What makes me a progressive, in my opinion, is the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/i-m-not-a-political-progressive-but-i-consider-myself-a-progressive/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“What is a woman’s place in this modern world? Jasnah Kholin’s words read. I rebel against this question, though so many of my peers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/what-is-a-woman-s-place-in-this-modern-world-jasnah-kholin-s-words-2/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-vitter/i-continue-to-believe-that-if-children-are-given-the-necessary-tools/) [David Vitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-vitter/) > ['Portlandia' is the most fun show. When I get a breakdown of what the arc of the story is going to be, I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-maclachlan/portlandia-is-the-most-fun-show-when-i-get-a-breakdown-of-what-the/) [Kyle MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-maclachlan/) > [I wasn't prepared to get a mammogram until I was 40 years old, like I'd been told. I never in my wildest dreams expected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuliana-rancic/i-wasn-t-prepared-to-get-a-mammogram-until-i-was-40-years-old-like-i/) [Giuliana Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuliana-rancic/) > [I feel like I am not only my ancestors' wildest dreams but also my wildest dreams. Little-kid me is like, 'Girl, that's crazy. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinta-brunson/i-feel-like-i-am-not-only-my-ancestors-wildest-dreams-but-also-my/) [Quinta Brunson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinta-brunson/) > [When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-j-tipler/when-i-began-my-career-as-a-cosmologist-some-twenty-years-ago-i-was-a/) [Frank J. Tipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-j-tipler/) > [“You say you want to bathe when the waves subside. Is there an end to the endless mind? You say,“Let me quench my thirst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamayya/you-say-you-want-to-bathe-when-the-waves-subside-is-there-an-end-to/) Annamayya > [Even the wildest dreams have to start somewhere. Allow yourself the time and space to let your mind wander and your imagination fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/even-the-wildest-dreams-have-to-start-somewhere-allow-yourself-the/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Everything I've ever dreamed of, everything in my wildest dreams, is coming true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/everything-i-ve-ever-dreamed-of-everything-in-my-wildest-dreams-is/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have my very own school - no way. And I had no idea I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liang-chow/i-never-thought-in-my-wildest-dreams-that-i-would-have-my-very-own/) [Liang Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liang-chow/) ## More by Jesmyn Ward > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I think that voodoo as a spiritual tradition has been demonized for so long in popular culture. I wanted to write against that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-think-that-voodoo-as-a-spiritual-tradition-has-been-demonized-for/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [There's so much I love about home, but then there's a lot that I can acknowledge that I dislike about home. And acknowledging that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-s-so-much-i-love-about-home-but-then-there-s-a-lot-that-i-can/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“The dream of her was the glow of a spent fire on a cold night: warm and welcoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-dream-of-her-was-the-glow-of-a-spent-fire-on-a-cold-night-warm/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [The first writer that I think of immediately that I studied with at Michigan is Peter Ho Davies. He was really important to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-first-writer-that-i-think-of-immediately-that-i-studied-with-at/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like so much of what happened in the Delta over the decades since slavery was abolished seems much closer in the Delta,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-feel-like-so-much-of-what-happened-in-the-delta-over-the-decades/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Vines catch my arms, my head; we tear through until we break out into the clearing before the fence, the field, the barn, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/vines-catch-my-arms-my-head-we-tear-through-until-we-break-out-into/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Before all the little mean things she told me gathered and gathered and lodged like grit in a skinned knee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/before-all-the-little-mean-things-she-told-me-gathered-and-gathered/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [People give the South a bad rap. It's often stereotyped as backwards and close-minded and dogmatic, and all of those things have been true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/people-give-the-south-a-bad-rap-it-s-often-stereotyped-as-backwards/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [By the time I wrote my memoir, 'Men We Reaped,' I had been running from writing it for a long time. When the events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-i-wrote-my-memoir-men-we-reaped-i-had-been-running-from/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was a teenager, I was the only black girl at a small, private Episcopal school, where my tuition was paid by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-the-only-black-girl-at-a-small-private/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/she-was-the-murderous-mother-who-cut-us-to-the-bone-but-left-us-alive/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I hope people who read my books feel empathy for us and really see us as complicated people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-hope-people-who-read-my-books-feel-empathy-for-us-and-really-see-us/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was writing my first novel, 'Where the Line Bleeds,' which had young black men as its main characters, I was very invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-writing-my-first-novel-where-the-line-bleeds-which-had/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Lot of folks was in there for stealing food because everybody was poor and starving, and even though White people couldn’t get your work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/lot-of-folks-was-in-there-for-stealing-food-because-everybody-was/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Explore all 242 Jesmyn Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I consider myself a progressive, so my answer would be that we need to be progressive. 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