My Liberal Values - Democratic Underground

Timebound

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Sun Jun-26-05 03:47 AM
Original message

My Liberal Values

Edited on Sun Jun-26-05 04:17 AM by Timebound

I just spent an evening writing this on a blog, so I figure that I'll share it here too. Feel free to flame away...

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I've about had it up to here with people who tell me that I'm amoral because I'm a Liberal. People say I don't know what I believe in, that I have no morals. That I blow in the wind, ect.

Well, let me tell you, I do have morals. I have values that I hold near and dear to my heart. LIBERAL IS NOT A DIRTY WORD. So I've taken a little bit of time out of my day to let you know what my values are. It's important to note that I don't speak for all Liberals, just myself. Nothing is as simple as black and white (or 'us and them', if you're into Bush-speak).

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#1 - All Men/Women are Created Equal and Therefore Deserve Equal Rights

Yes, that's ALL men and women. Civil Unions for gay people but not marriage? Sorry, but I don't seem to remember that 'separate but equal' thing working back during segregation days. And it's not going to work now. And no, this is something I WILL NOT compromise, because the Constitution demands such a high standard.

#2 - When Your Fellow Man/Woman Needs a Helping Hand, You Should Offer It

For some reason, people seem to think that homeless people are out there by choice, that they're lazy, or bums, or that it's their fault. It's not always this simple. The same goes for a lot of drug addicts, prostitutes, and countless other people that live on the streets. Poverty drives people to do extreme things to survive. Abusive homes force wives and children to flee, sometimes when they don't have anywhere to go. And they end up on the streets.

We're not giving a handout, we're giving a helping hand. There's a huge difference. Has there ever been a moment in your life that things were so bad that you didn't know where the help would come from? Did you ever have a low point like that? Well, if so then you know what I mean. That's not a handout. It's a helping hand.

But how can our government give a helping hand when it's got such a huge deficit? (Of course, we essentially gave a handout to Haliburton. But I guess that's all right in Bush's book.)

#3 - I am Pro-Choice because I am Pro-Life

People don't seem to understand that banning abortion is not going to stop abortion. You ban abortion and death rates will go up. People will still have sex, women will still get pregnant, and if someone wants to get rid of that baby, they are going to find a way. They will throw themselves down stairs, they will starve themselves, they will use coathangers. Women will flee to backstreet clinics where they are not guarenteed of a safe proceedure, and then not only will abortions not stop, more women will die, leaving behind broken families. Of course, many of these deaths will not be attributed to abortion because hey, who wants to admit to breaking the law by performing a botched proceedure? Abortion needs to stay the way it is: legal, safe, and rare.

And another point, I am absoultely anti-death penalty. It is SENSELESS murder. An eye for an eye? We call ourselves the greatest nation on Earth, and yet we still hold such a vengeful value near and dear to our hearts? How can we possibly consider it justice when we repay murder with more murder?

The Greatness of a country is not determined by size or power, but by how we treat our prisoners. Some people say our system is too soft on criminals, but if you don't like it, why don't you go on over to El Salvador where your first drunk driving offense gets you executed by a firing squad? There are no second chances in many places across the world for crimes.

Our system is designed to rehabilitate people, not just throw them away like garbage. The guarentees of accused people under the Constitution were written because the Founders believed that everyone was entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They believed in the rights of each person. So our Constitution is for ALL citizens, not just a select few. And the Death Penalty is the untimate denial of American Civil Liberties.

The system may not work as well as we want it to sometimes. But I believe that it is still a good system. You disagree? Well then, please feel free to waive your rights when you're falsely accused of a crime.

One more brief point. If all you on the far Religious Right are so Pro-Life, then you SHOULD care about stopping the death penalty. I present to you two quotes from Jesus:

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

And remember, Jesus asked God to forgive his executioners, because they "know not what they do."

#4 - Spend Money RESPONSIBLY

The horrible liberal President Clinton (who had that sinful affair!) left us with a huge surplus and a booming economy. The wonderful illustrious saintly President Bush (God Himself told him to go to war!) has brought us a horrible economy and the biggest deficit in history. OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WILL SUFFER BECAUSE OF THIS. I don't think people understand how serious a problem this is. We are in deep trouble. Ask any economist, and he/she will tell you we are going to VERY lucky if the economy does not collaspe because of this deficit.

But hey, at least the gay people can't get married. Glad we got our priorities straight.

#5 - DO NOT LIE. AND DO NOT FLIP-FLOP ON A PRINCIPLE YOU PUBLICLY STATE BECAUSE IT NO LONGER SERVES YOU.

Downing Street Memo. As far as lies go, need I say more? (Google 'downing street memo' if you have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Oh, I'm sorry, that's your memory that's in error. But don't worry, I'm sure the current Administration will be glad to revise history faster next time. The White House, lie? Haha, never. < / sarcasm >

As for flip-floping on principles, one only has to look back to Clinton's affair to remember all those quotes thrown around about 'He lied, impeach him!' and 'His finger is on the Nuclear button and he lied, he shouldn't be left with that power.'

Clinton lied about sex, and no one died. Bush lied about Iraq and WMD, and untold thousands died (over a thousand of which are American. But those same people who called for Clinton's impeachment over a lie are mysteriously silent.

Quite the flip-flop, eh boys?

So lets sum this up. My Liberal Values:

#1 - All Men/Women are Created Equal
#2 - Help Your Fellow Man
#3 - Protect All Life and Give all Citizens their Constiutional Rights
#4 - Spend Taxpayer Money Responsibly
#5 - Don't lie.

Say what you want about me being a sinner, or about how amoral I am. I know what I believe in, and I am proud to be a Liberal.

I'm not bashing religion in this post. Some of the best people I know are devout Christians, and are people that would give the coats off their backs to someone in need. It's just directed at the select few that hide behind religion to justify themseleves, but do not honor the principles of 'their' relgion.

And I'm not anyone special, just a poor college kid trying to make her way through the world. I don't always do the right things (and I don't know anyone who does). But I will always try to remember to give my fellow man a helping hand when he needs one.

The world will never change unless we all remember that.

EDIT: Clarified the point about drunk driving in El Salvador. Sorry about that.