American Liberal

I am a liberal. I am not ashamed of my beliefs. Let the debate with whichever individual or group begin.

I have a deep mistrust of unaccountable collectives. It does not matter what name an unaccountable collective goes by, be it Corporation or Government. If forced to choose, I will pick Government, because the power of the individual vote, bought and paid for with the blood and suffering of generations of American service people, is ultimately a greater guarantor of transparency than shadowy lucre.

I see the role of Government not as enemy, but as a power of all the people of this great nation to assure that no citizen is denied that greatness upon gender, ancestry, faith, or sexual orientation. Prejudice and bigotry are not American values. They are vices which destroy our nation from within as a cancer.

I know that America is the most exceptional and extraordinary nation in the history of mankind. We achieved this by opening doors, not closing them. By embracing new ideas and different peoples we stood toe to toe against every kind of totalitarian evil and won, with the knowledge that autocrats discarded. Leave walls and paranoia to North Korea…we know they don’t work for us.

I love my Nation, and support its defenders. This means that they must be called into action, not by questionable intelligence, but by irrefutable truth. The sacrifice of our all-volunteer military is not to be treated as a mercenary force for the prosecution of a personal vendetta.

I love my God. I have friends who come from every religious tradition. I have friends who are not part of any religious tradition. My God tells me to judge not lest I be judged. While I feel sad that some have not received the gift of faith, I respect and admire those who continue to do the right thing without the promise of an eternal reward. Oh, that all of my own faith should act so well.

I accept the patriotism and service of Representative Keith Ellison, a Muslim, and Representative Hank Johnson, a Buddhist, as coequals with Representative John Lewis, a Christian, and Representative Anthony Weiner, a Jew.

I embrace the concept of personal responsibility. This means that individuals, who have acted irresponsibly, particularly in the financial services industry, bear the brunt of their bad decisions. Fraud does not deserve continuing reward; speculation is a form of gambling unworthy of public support, and the best talent profits by building strong communities, not spurious investment instruments.

I believe in a free and unrestricted press. When six companies control a disproportionate number of outlets in radio and television, debate ceases to exist. Without debate, our nation strays far from the tradition that it was built upon.

I favor the right to keep and bear arms. I do not believe that a right exists to behave irresponsibly with one’s weapons. I also get that “well regulated” does not mean “unregulated.”

I support the right of labor to organize. I would not go to court without an attorney. It seems disingenuous to expect someone to make a financial decision of potentially millions of dollars, alone, without representation to counter an employer’s legions of accountants, attorneys, and managers.

I am not blinded by hatred for taxes. Our nation prospers with education, infrastructure, a justice system which is free from corruption, and shared responsibilities which assure us of clean and accessible air, water, food and medicine. Employers prosper disproportionately from a healthy, secure and educated workforce, and their responsibility is also disproportionate.

I love opportunity. I reject the notion that opportunity is something which should be limited to those who already have means. This nation’s founders shared a vision of a place where opportunity and prosperity would not be the province of idle nobility, a cosseted clergy, and miniscule enclaves of merchant and financiers.

So when bringing a debate about the future of the United States of America, remember who threw that first tea party. They were not Tories, Loyalists, or Conservatives. They were people like me.

They were American Liberals.