To Belle and Back

It must’ve been excruciating, not to mention overwhelming, to condense a hundred years of magazine writing into one publication. But the result, the May edition of The Progressive, founded and still based right here in Madison and edited by the extremely smart and dedicated Matt Rothschild, is a masterpiece—not to mention a collector’s item.

A powerful cover image of a white dove whose trailing footprints stamp peace signs across the page is a powerful introduction to a remarkable collection of excerpts from dozens of writers, activists, politicians and intellectuals through the years. Regardless of your personal politics, this magazine is worth reading for its historical significance if not its raw and uncensored social, political and economic commentary. At times it’s heady stuff, and in the “history repeats itself” category, many of the essays can be bitter pills to swallow.

The Progressive does not, has never and will never mince words, which is why the next three days of conversation and celebration are going to be so well attended. Starting with a concert tonight and ending with a star-studded sendoff by Robert Redford himself on Saturday night, the magazine’s 100th-anniversary fete is chock full of anti-Establishment fun.

While the Sundance Kid will have the last word this weekend, Yoko Ono nabbed the last page of the anniversary issue. A full-page ad featuring a small billowy cloud floating in the clear blue sky below her signature message, “IMAGINE PEACE,” graces the magazine's back cover. It’s simple, subtle and stunning—and, I imagine, it covered a huge chunk of the production costs!

With today’s report by the Wisconsin Women’s Council on a continuing gender pay gap—77 percent here and 79.9 percent nationwide—it’s clear The Progressive’s seasoned voice crying out for equal justice for all is as valuable in 2009 as it was in 1909. I’m sure the magazine’s co-founder and spirited suffragette Belle Case La Follette—and probably Yoko Ono—would agree on that.