America has a choice to make. In little more than 40 days, America will choose its next president and seat its 111
th Congress. Unlike previous elections, where one might be tempted to remain disengaged, thinking that whatever happens, we will get a chance to do it again in four years, this election will, I believe, set the direction for the United States as a nation for a good long while. If the conservative politics of George W. Bush are allowed to exist for another four years unchecked, they will be so firmly entrenched after 12 years that they will no longer be a passing political stage, but they will have become our political culture. And that, I believe, is unacceptable. America is better than the failed politics of elitism, xenophobia, and fear masquerading as security. In this essay, I will outline what I believe. This is not what Barack Obama believes or why his proposed policies are better. I believe that Barack Obama and the Democratic Party are the best vehicle to deliver what I believe is a better America. That is why I am a Democrat. I have nothing against Republicans just because they are Republicans. I have plenty against people who stand in direct opposition to principles that I believe are the foundation of the America that I love, regardless of party. I invite you to read on, and I hope that you are persuaded to join with me in voting for Barack Obama and Democrats in 2008.
I believe that disagreement with the government and/or the popular point of view is patriotic and necessary.
I will let another American far greater than I make the salient point for me:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.” – Theodore Roosevelt, The Kansas City Star, May 17, 1918.
The idea that any criticism of the country’s policies with regard to the “War on Terror” and terrorist organizations in general are unpatriotic, that Americans are either “with us” or “against us” is preposterous and dangerous. Great minds of many generations have disagreed over the best way to handle American foreign policy. There is no such thing as “the way.” International relations are limitless in their complexity. George W. Bush and his advisers do not have all the answers. Not even close. And it is time to stop pretending that they do.
I believe that government should be responsible to its citizens at large, not beholden to certain interests.
This goes for both sides of the coin. I believe that corporations have too much of a say in today’s political climate. Likewise, I would not want other interest groups to get everything that they want either. No one interest should be able to dictate the course of government, or even a substantial part of government. Abraham Lincoln said it best in 1864:
“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”
I believe that everyone in America has rights.
Everyone in America has rights. Even criminals. I find it ironic that in many cases the same people who champion the 2nd amendment relentlessly are willing to so readily give up the protections guaranteed by the others because the government says they need to in order to be safe. It is true that the justice system in the United States is a messy business. Most of the time, the people that become embroiled in disputes about their constitutional rights are already involved in doing something that they shouldn’t. The adage “If you aren’t doing anything wrong, what are you afraid of?” rings true for a lot of people. But our system only works if everyone has a reasonable expectation of privacy and the freedom to express themselves. If it guarantees my freedom to write this today, the government must also guarantee the freedom of a Klansmen to write what he wants to write, or someone else to stand up and say that they hate America. We must rely on society as a whole to outmode these ideas. We can’t simply censor them away. For the government to begin dictating what is acceptable discourse is to start on the path toward the destruction of all that our founding fathers held dear. Likewise, the criminal justice system must guarantee the rights of everyone, from a kid caught with an ounce of dope all the way to a serial killer. These cases are not always sympathetic. Who cares if a mass-murderer has his rights violated? We all should. When we as a society punish someone for what they have done, up to and including taking their life, we owe it to that person, however reprehensible they may be, to be as sure as we can that we are right. And more importantly, we owe it to ourselves. It is one of the hallmarks of our Republic.
I believe that if your faith is as strong as you say it is, you can make room for other faiths as well, including the absence of it in others.
I am a person of faith and a Christian. I have been an active member of the United Methodist Church for my entire life. I believe that God exists and his work can be seen in the world every day. On the religious right, much is made of the fact that “America is a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles.” America has no state religion. It never has, and hopefully never will. While it is true that some of the early colonies had what can only be described as theocracies, the men who drafted the Constitution were of different minds on religion. John Adams was a Massachusetts Puritan, but he led efforts later in his life to amend the Massachusetts Constitution in order to guarantee freedom of religion. Thomas Jefferson, the man who conservatives so like to align themselves with for his position on states’ rights and individual freedoms, was an avid supporter of the French philosophes, people who believed that reason, not religion, should be the governing force of society. The religious past of this country is far more convoluted than many are comfortable admitting. Conservatives of the religious stripe seem to be intent on making the United States conform to their notions of how a society should operate. But it is not for them to say. It is for all of us to make our own decisions about what individual value system will guide our daily lives. If you can’t handle the idea that someone else might make a choice that makes you uncomfortable, I recommend you turn your gaze inward and ask yourself what about that makes you so afraid. If your faith is so easily shaken by someone else’s actions, is it really that strong after all?
I believe that science should be respected, and kept separate from religion
It is the primary function of science to increase humanity’s body of knowledge and therefore advance the human condition. Unfortunately, it is also society’s tendency to vilify scientists for challenging the status quo, particularly when they challenge a fundamental religious tenet or uncover facts that make life inconvenient for those at the top, a la evolution and global warming. I don’t pretend to know myself whether global warming is real or not. I believe that it is, but I myself can’t prove it to you. But this I know: there are people out there who have spent their entire adult lives studying it, and almost everyone agrees that the world’s climate is changing. The cause or how long it will take is irrelevant to me. If America can take steps to reduce its emissions of gases that besides being potentially harmful to the planet are also responsible for making our air less healthy to breathe, how can we justify doing nothing? Yes, it’s expensive. But do we want generations of Americans to look back on us and judge us fools for quibbling over dollars and cents when we could have done something to help them? I don’t. The environment matters.
As for evolution, I believe that religion of all types should stay out of the public classroom. Evolution is a scientific theory. Creationism is not. And for my money, neither is Intelligent Design. Public school teachers should teach evolution. They should evaluate children on whether or not they understand the theory behind it. Believing it is not a criterion and never has been. If parents want to teach their children their religious views about creationism at home so be it. No child should be penalized for expressing a disbelief in evolution. But they should learn about it.
I believe in capitalism and the free market, but also in common-sense regulation and a safety net for those the market leaves behind.
Capitalism is a wonderfully productive and prosperous economic system. I cannot imagine an America based on anything else. But capitalism has a downside, and we are seeing it all over America today as mortgage companies and brokerages that were heavy into mortgage-backed securities are collapsing under the weight of bad debt. The markets can soar to great heights of prosperity. But when the heights get too high, the ship of capitalism will inevitably right herself. And when she does, there are casualties. This is what the pure free-marketeers either forget or choose not to acknowledge about their “let the markets work” philosophy. When the markets “work,” people get hurt. And they don’t leave. They lose their houses and their jobs, but they don’t magically disappear. And what happens when the potential cost gets high enough, as it has recently? Even those free-marketeers are forced to step in and offer a bailout to keep many more Americans than usual from suffering the consequences. It’s the right thing to do. But it shouldn’t have to reach a crisis point before someone takes notice. And what of those who are not saved by the bailout, or for whom the bailout never comes? Government services are a lifeline for the casualties of capitalism. We need to give them the help they need to return to the market in a stronger position. Otherwise, they end up on our streets and in our shelters.
These are the things that I believe. Whether you agree with them or not, I feel that it is important in this election, as it has been in no other in my lifetime, for people to speak up and be heard. I love this country, and I have spent my entire adult life (what little of it there has been so far) in government service. I believe that we can do better. And that’s why I am voting for Barack Obama.
