While the shower was waking up my brain this morning, I came upon the following thought; we as progressives really and truly stand for all of us. We are the wolf pack. I will explain below.
Progressives are the wolf pack. Conservatives, Neocons, and the Tea Party are the lone wolf.
We don't spend time trying to invade the valley on the other side of the mountains; we protect our territory and keep a strong watch on it. Those lone wolves plan on invading Iraq and don't watch their own territory.
We welcome new wolves to the pack because it will make us stronger. We ask those new wolves to follow the rules of our pack, but all white, black, grey, and red wolves are welcome to the pack. Even if they howl using different notes, they join our pack's chorus. The lone wolf snarls and snaps at other wolves and can't stand to see any new wolves. The lone wolf asks all to howl in English only. The lone wolf would rather lose its territory than have a different colored wolf join it.
We make sure that all in our pack get to eat when we make a kill. Sure some wolves eat before others, but we work hard to make sure that all of our pack can eat and survive. We understand that if all in our pack are healthy and can eat, that we'll be a stronger pack for it. The lone wolf can't stand to see another wolf eat. The lone wolf would rather watch another wolf starve to death even if more of the kill goes to rot.
We think it is ok for our pack to make careful plans on when to have cubs. We think it is ok for the she-wolves in our pack to be in control of when is best for them to have cubs. The lone wolf doesn't want any thought to go into the cub making process. The lone wolf thinks he can mount any she wolf because he has the right to. The lone wolf doesn't care how many cubs don't live past their first year because that was just "nature's" will. Shame those cubs weren't stronger.
We don't abandon members of our pack if they have the will to live. We'll lick their wounds, bring them food, and know that healing a member of the pack is a better use of our energy than losing a member of our pack. If a member of our pack chooses to wander off and die, we respect that member's choice. The lone wolf would laugh and howl a cheer of approval at the sight of another wolf that is sick and dying. The lone wolf howls and heaps scorn upon another wolf who chooses to wander off and die.
We honor and respect our she-wolves who raise cubs. We help make a safe and clean den, we bring them food, and we understand that keeping cubs healthy and safe is the best way to make our pack strong for another generation. We all understand that we need to sacrifice to teach our cubs how to grow up into good wolves. We all give extra effort to cover for the she-wolf while she is taking care of the cubs. The lone wolf howls at the she-wolf for living off of the teat and not working at a real wolf's job. The lone wolf hopes that the cubs die in the den or can't make it as adult wolves because the lone wolf can't stomach the idea of other wolves growing up to join the world.
We only kill what we need to eat. We are good stewards of our territory. Our pack brings down only enough food to survive, so we can make another kill next week. The lone wolf kills everything it can catch. It eats only choice parts and leaves the rest to rot. The lone wolf cares not for other wolves, and howls at the idea that killing too much prey will lead to starvation next season.
I hope my analogy doesn't bore you. I hope my analogy shows means that progressives will make sure our "pack" will always be strong. I hope my analogy keeps wolves in our pack rather than following the call of the lone wolves in our nation that don't care a lick for anybody but themselves.