My Fellow Democrats
My fellow Democrats. We have an enormous history. We brought America through the Great Depression and the incredible tragedy of World War II. We were a united people who spoke and acted with one voice. We were a nation united in values. That is what made America Great and we were great. Then something ugly happened. We became bitterly divided by partisan politics. Liberals and conservatives got into in an all out “our way or the highway” battle. This is not what made America great. It was values, not politics, that made us who we are… The Democratic Parry suffered a huge loss when conservative Democrats, such as my mom and dad, were made to not feel welcome. Conservatives are everyday people who honor tradition, favor smaller government, and are cautious about change. But they hold the same values of “all people are created equal” and government “by the people, for the people and of the people” Progressives are open minded people who are willing to embrace change to make the government of all the people work for all the people. We have let the extreme right wing and extreme left wing make all the noise. Sad. Most of us are in the center. The great American virtue of compromise was the road kill on the super highway of politics.
My fellow Democrats, we have golden opportunity to return our party to a party of values, and our nation to a nation of values, not old style politics. America is hurting, divided by the ancient sins of racism, violence, poverty, gender, and class. We have become a nation of addicts addicted to media talk about racism, violence, and identity politics. (They all make for sensational breaking-news stories.) It’s a mess. The way out is going to be a rocky road but it is the only road worth traveling. As a nation, we need to reconnect with our “higher power,” not agendas and politics. One day, one person at a time.
When you wake in the morning, look in the mirror and ask yourself “How can I live my values today.” (Such as justice, compassion, respect, kindliness, integrity, honesty, peace, compromise, open-hearted, tolerant, etc.)
Then we can get over old-school politics and talk to each other…as Democrats and Republicans…progressives and conservatives, independents, and…Americans.
