Values Question
Jul. 27th, 2006 07:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Most of you on my friends list are liberals in terms of your social and political philosophies. It has been said that the Left in the U.S. does a very bad job of articulating exactly what it is they hold as their moral values - that the idea of morals has been co-opted by the right, and leftists are seen as having none.
So, Liberals of my friends list - what are your values? What do you believe in, passionately, that sets you apart from people further right, especially the Religious Right? Comment here in sound-bite style phrases, and then those of you in the States could print out the answers and send them to your local democratic candidates.
So, Liberals of my friends list - what are your values? What do you believe in, passionately, that sets you apart from people further right, especially the Religious Right? Comment here in sound-bite style phrases, and then those of you in the States could print out the answers and send them to your local democratic candidates.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 12:19 pm (UTC)I believe that putting the corporation ahead of the individual is the epitomy of evil.
I believe all men are created equal, including those gay men and women who wish to marry.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 03:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 12:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 12:52 pm (UTC)I don't feel that my values are adequately represented by either party and even so less by the current administration.
I feel that politics are more about money than about how to run the government properly and for the good of the people. The only time I have felt comfortable with a president it was Bill Clinton. Yes, I know he had tons of scandals but I'm actually referring to his actions as president. I'm not debating here it is just how I felt at the time. I know that I don't trust the government as a general rule because every administration has some form of agenda and corruption. After 9/11 I felt strongly that we have the wrong man in the White House.
My values are not mainstream:
Same sex marriage should be allowed
Multiple spouses
More women and people of differing ethnicities should be encouraged in politics. Let's break up and shake up the old white man's club a bit. No one should be in office as long as Strom Thurmond was (January 1954–January 2003) How do you remain fresh & objective politically if you are in office this long?
We should never, ever enter war without a clear, decisive plan (did we not learn anything in Vietnam?)
Abortion should not be the main factor of a Presidential candidate's political platform.
Women should have a choice over their reproductive rights.
Religion should be totally kept out of politics, can we agree to disagree?
I'm sure I have forgotten something but I must go to work.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 12:56 pm (UTC)In any case, it still might be a good idea to send this stuff to a democratic candidate, who would have a better chance of winning than any third-party candidate.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 03:05 pm (UTC)Well said. I believe we need to abolish the two-party system altogether. It's failed us miserably. Like
Honestly, I believe the majority of Americans are on the fence on so many issues, and we've got too many people who simply follow whatever they think the crowd does. Our education system has stopped teaching children to think for themselves and our culture has taught that we should all strive to be the same on some level; that we need to be united against a common enemy (Nazis, Communists, Terrorists, etc.). The Right is great at telling us what the enemy is and making us afraid to speak up for fear of being accused of siding with the enemy du jour.
Sorry, I went off on a tangent there, but yes, I agree with you. Our party system here has failed us miserably. Now, I'll go answer your original question. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 01:44 pm (UTC)That's from The Te of Piglet (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0140230165/702-5485275-3920012?v=glance&n=916520&s=gateway&v=glance), by Benjamin Hoff.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 02:06 pm (UTC)So, again: what are liberal values? I have a few ideas, but I want the friends list to express theirs before I express mine.
related quote
Date: 2006-07-27 06:48 pm (UTC)Re: related quote
Date: 2006-07-27 07:49 pm (UTC)My personal philosophy is that the best help is that which helps people be self-sufficient after receiving it, which is why I support charities like Foster Parents plan and Heifer International. But this isn't a religious viewpoint - it's a way of getting the most bang for the charitable buck.
If American public policy took that idea and said, "God helps those who help themselves, so our job is to help them to that point of self-sufficiency," then i wouldn't have a problem with it. Instead, public policy seems to be that people must pull themselves out of the gutter before they're deserving of help - which is nonsensical to say the least.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 02:48 pm (UTC)My hands were cracked from a bad eczema flare up so there are typos aplenty. I apologize for that.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 03:46 pm (UTC)As for typos - most of my writing these days is done one-handed while nursing my baby, and i rarely catch typos before they go out. No worries.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 03:39 pm (UTC)I believe in the freedom to love who you love without restrictions being placed on that love. I believe two people should be able to marry regardless of their ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or especially their sexuality. To deny anyone the right to marry on the basis of a religious/spiritual belief goes against everything this country has stood for.
I believe war should always be a last resort and should only be engaged in after all other options have been exhausted. I think labeling the innocent civilians who die in wars as "collateral damage" is utterly horrific and devalues their lives as human beings.
I believe each child should be able to recieve medical care and education at little to no cost to his/her parents. I believe that public and government funded institutions should be free of any religion. I believe religion should be kept in the home and church and not in our schools, court houses, and/or government buildings. I believe that every person is entitled to follow any religious/spiritual path they feel is right, but their right to do so ends when it infringes upon my own rights and my own beliefs.
Finally, but probably one of my more important beliefs, I believe each and every woman in the world should have a choice as to what happens to her body. I believe women should have access to proper education regarding sexual health and birth control. I believe abortion should remain legal, safe, and an option for all women who find themselves faced with an unplanned pregnancy. I also believe that if birth control were easily accessible to men and women, far less abortions would be needed.
I hope that was coherent. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 03:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 04:59 pm (UTC)Blessings,
*C*
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 05:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 05:11 pm (UTC)Liberal values...
Date: 2006-07-27 04:15 pm (UTC)2. The middle class must be preserved, the government needs to take a bigger hand in protecting the wellbeing of the majority of the governed. Again this will benefit everyone. Look at all of the Latin American countries without a middle class. Who wants to need bodyguards all of the time ?
3. The government is there to protect the rights of all citizens no matter what color, race or creed.
I don't even consider these things "values" I consider them common sense.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 04:26 pm (UTC)I believe that if we had a little more economic equality in this country and a little more respect for our poor, then people, both rich and poor, would surprise themselves and everyone else with their capacity for good. I think it's the barriers that we erect between ourselves, saying "that's not my problem", "those people aren't like me", etc is the cause of a very large part of the evil acts that people, again both rich and poor, take, and that the way to begin breaking down those barriers is to begin enacting policies that respect -all- of our fellow man (and woman).
I also believe that we need to educate ourselves. I believe that the arts are what will help us to come together, and science will help us solve some of the persistant problems that have followed us out of the industrial revolution, especially in the environment and in medicine. Thus, we need to shift a lot of funding over the science and the arts so that we can begin really investing in a better future. We also need to really get serious about improving the schools, especially by raising teacher salaries up so that they're on par or close to on par with what highly paid professionals make. With a higher salary, it'd be possible to up what we demand of our teachers -- the extra pay would draw the very best and brightest to the field.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 07:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 07:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 07:56 pm (UTC)http://wyldraven.livejournal.com/201800.html
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 08:48 pm (UTC)Liberals are for equal opportunity. We're for helping the poor learn to be rich. We're for making sure every child has opportunities. We're for giving everyone an equal start. We're for helping people to walk again when they stumble and even when the fall. We're for making sure everyone has the opportunities they need to reach their greatest potential.
Everything else follows from these ideals.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 09:08 pm (UTC)