It all comes down to what you hold dear, what you are not prepared to concede for "the better good".
Ask yourselves what do you believe in, then tell me why for some need for 'reality based politics' why you are prepared to sell myself and others down the river.
Human rights are non-negotiable
I couldn't give a shit what the republicans will do if the final blocks of civil rights are put in place.
They are wrong both morally and ethically.
If you wish to concede to them for political expediency; quite frankly you are no better than they are, no matter what 'reasoned' arguments you wish to put forward.
When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.
Dorothy Thompson
Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom.
Marilyn Ferguson
DADT : Asks you to be someone else for part of the time.
ENDA: Gives you the right to be treated equally at work.
DOMA: Enshrines inequality in our private lives.
These are non negotiable issues: DADT and DOMA must be repealed. ENDA must cover all, with no exceptions; neither religious nor secular.
Torture and Abuse within prisons:
Again neither are permissible and amount to the same thing, again what is there to discuss? Neither at home or abroad should these be in anyway excused or condoned.
Habeas Corpus
Is a right, no matter where you come from; nor the color of your skin. Its not something to be given as a gift because you happen to be 'one of us', its a human right to know what the charges are against you, and the right to defend yourself in court.
The right to worship freely or not
The separation of church and state is a fundamental principle of our nation. Laws written with a specific religion and it tenants in mind, are by definition unconstitutional.
Equality in the workplace.
Equal pay for equal work, no delay nor exceptions.
Gender specific laws
In an equal society there is no need for these, even more abhorrent is using religion as a means to justify the control of the lives of others.
Wars of Aggression
Are war crimes, those responsible and those that enabled them to occur should have to answer for this crime. Everyone has the right to live in peace without fear.
There are no moral justifications for denying these rights, those that fight them outright and those that abet them through cowardice, no matter what higher principle they quote; are wrong.
Personally I will no longer vote for anyone that:
Does not hold these principles, without exception.
Those that pardon and refuse or to prosecute those that have broken these principles.
If this means the opponents of human rights have a temporary political victory; so be it. In the long run principles matter, not upholding them to me is the bigger crime.
I am so tired of hearing:
But, but, in the real world one must compromise to have these in the long run, because somehow the other side will use them against us.
Fuck.
Its because we let them get away with it we then have to justify our own weakness and inability to communicate, by using political expediency to do so.
It's no wonder we are at this point, the rabid right; the great upholders of all that is 'American', have waltzed all over our cowardice.
Stand up and be counted; or just get out of the way.
If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
Aboriginal activists group, Queensland, 1970s:
Ask yourselves what do you believe in, and you will be surprised just how many believe in the same things.
If you keep quiet and accept this twisted reality, it will only get worse not better. The right have nothing but fear and selfishness to offer, fight don't surrender.
Silence is not golden.
Of all forms of government and society, those of free men and women are in many respects the most brittle. They give the fullest freedom for activities of private persons and groups who often identify their own interests, essentially selfish, with the general welfare.
Dorothy Thompson
For me it's not a question of subtlety, our small community does not have the same rights most here take for granted, neither do the people that we call collateral damage or imprison without trial.
I will fight for as long as it takes, no backing down, no compromise. I refuse to be muzzled by fear.
It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America.
Molly Ivins.