solarpunk memes

The centrist position isn't to maintain the status quo. If anything, that's just the "normal" conservative stance.

Centrism (as opposed to moderates, liberals, or conservatives) seeks to choose the best options from what is currently politically available. That is, there is a recognition of the fact that progressives/conservatives, liberals/authoritarians, Democrats/Republicans do, by nature, often take extreme positions. Sometimes those are helpful, sometimes harmful. We vote accordingly.

Perhaps we'll manage to increase incidence of rank choice or similar voting structures, so that we can increase the number of parties and the range of expressible opinion. But in the mean time, we're a balancing force that (for example) will typically vote against fascists and against other problematic social dynamics, while voting for policies that further individual freedoms and are collectively good.

This is why you often see centrists (in other nations) playing the role of glue between otherwise disparate parties. Here in the US, it's more difficult currently to foster communication between parties, because the left doesn't see it's own authoritarian bent (nor how closely the ostracism of other ideologies tilts them towards fascism), and the right doesn't see how morally corrupt they have become (where they don't even care that they are following a leader who could lead them into fascism).