Value(s)
While the circular firing squad is still forming and the first utterances of the corporate owned mainstream media tells us why Democrats are out of touch with "America" I have one small simple suggestion for our party: make clarity a priority. This isn't hard to do. Before I address that though, I need to address our fallen standard bearer first. It would be disingenuous for me to disown or disavow John Kerry now. Though, I wasn't an original supporter of his candidacy, I did eventually drink from his pitcher of Kool-aid. My parched palate, which hungered for honesty, integrity and commitment
was whetted and soothed.
But alas, his one point of weakness that one might point out was one of clarity that even this eventual die-hard supporter recognized. On January 20th 1961 John F. Kennedy defined our nation in a deft flurry of words that he, as only one of a handful of Americans in our history have been able to do. In his inaugural address he sent out a clarion call to a nation that barely elected him for a basic, shared American value: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." This was a call to be a contributor to the "American community."
This year "faith" and "moral values" was wielded
like a blunt instrument of the right to fragment a nation to its lowest common denominator and take the largest piece and ride that to victory with the help of a handful of smaller pieces. In a sense, Mr. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" was finally realized.
The Democratic/Liberal community was once again left to wonder what to make of this. The answer is simple. Make what we stand for even more simple and clear. The key to that lies in John F. Kennedy's call of civic duty to our "American community."
For the Democratic Party and it's liberal base, our message and meaning about who we are and what we value should be almost cryptically simple and crystal clear. Before that can be done one has to first understand the obstacle that stands before us: the basic concept of conservative religious doctrine. That doctrine, in essence not withstanding the dangers of over simplification, asks the individual to look inward at their own spirituality as a defining basis for their standing in the community. It's as simple as that. On the other hand, individuals that use their beliefs on the issues of poverty, justice, equality and compassion is an act of looking outward to define themselves as a measure of their standing in the community. That, in a nutshell, stands as a crux of our divide. Long-winded bromides about poverty, justice, equality and compassion making up the core value system of the Democratic Party will fall on the deaf ears of the religious conservative community. What needs to be redefined is our sense of American Community. That community, red and blue states together, is the quilted patchwork reality that faces us today. Before one can address all the other issues critical to our nation, this divide will first have to be crossed.
The Democratic Party is going to have to find a messge that will appeal to that hair thin thread that patches this national quilt together. In essence that message should be, if you are a contributor to your community, pay your taxes and strive to be the best you can, that contribution and you are to be celebrated and valued for what you are: a proud American. Simply put, this is the core value the Democratic Party has to reclaim. If you stand and point a finger and tell that contributor to our community you are not welcome, or you are not valued or seen in the eyes of a few or a select group based on their own personal moral code and faith, then it is they who are outside the mainstream of American values. We need to make it clear this is an act of exclusion from our American community and only serves to devaluate one's humanity. I believe the individual that looks inward for spirituality will hear and understand that appeal to humanity. The forefathers of our nation, who envisioned an American community based on a diverse cultural contribution to the whole of our national character makes up the core value and belief of the Democratic Party and it's liberal base. The humanity of this core belief will appeal to the outward and inward looking souls that make up this complex and diverse quilt work.
Our party needs to make it clear when the Republican Party tells you "personal character" or "personal moral values" as defined by that individual can be used as a litmus test for your standing in the community, they are in essence saying to you that the taxes you paid, the hard work you do for that community and yourself is to be devalued thereby devaluing you as a human being. The Democratic Party's job is to construct a message that reclaims this appeal to humanity and puts forth the word that our core value system is an "American value." The celebration of that contribution, no matter what your faith or beliefs is the core American value we all share. It's the thread that holds our American quilt together. We stand for community standards, not majority standards devaluing the contributions and the humanity of others. More simply put, the core value system of the Republican Party is based on exclusion as a principle of governing. No matter what your contribution is, you are not fit to be a leader in that community if you don't pass the litmus test of personal moral character as defined by that individual. The Democratic Party should appeal to our humanity as a whole by making it clear that your contribution makes you valued as a leader in every community. It's that simple. If we, the Democratic Party, can crystallize this message and beat it like a drum over and over in the mainstream media, the "compassionate conservative" will be hard pressed to distort a message so simple or attack it on it's merit.
DuvalDem