What do I believe in?
The short answer is that I am a
liberal populist. I am a strong believer in personal freedom, but
I understand that freedom comes with responsibility. I am not a
professional politician (in case you haven't already figured that
out).
So, what does that mean?
Let's start with the pledge of allegiance:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of
America, and
to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all."
This bit of prose has taken a lot of flak over the years because we
coerce children into reciting it in school. However, if you
really think about it instead of reciting it blindly, Francis Bellamy
really did a great job of describing what America is all about.
One of the things I had hammered into my head when I was learning how
to write songs was "beginnings and endings". In other words, what
people remember the most is the beginning and the ending. And
they tend to remember the ending more than anything else. That
means that, as a writer, you put the most important point you want to
make at the end. The pledge of allegiance ends with "liberty
and
justice for all." Note
that is not "liberty
and
justice for all rich white men" as most
Republicans would think. It doesn't even end with "liberty
and
justice
for all Americans".
I believed in that pledge when I recited in school and I still believe
in it. I believe liberals who avoid being associated with the
American flag are making a huge mistake. To the founding fathers,
the American flag stood for freedom, justice and liberty. This is
what liberals still believe in. We need to take our flag back
from the "of the rich, by the rich and for the rich" republicans who
are currently dragging it through the mud.
I believe in the Declaration of Independence.
I believe in the US Constitution -- including the Bill of Rights.
I believe in the concept of separation of powers. I believe the
various branches of government are constitutionally obligated to
maintain their power. In particular, I believe it is the
constitutional obligation of every Congressman to impeach a president
who is exceeding the constitutionally appointed powers of the
presidency. I pledge to work to impeach the President, no
matter what party they
are in, if the war in Iraq is not ended expeditiously.
I believe I should put my country before myself and my party if I am
elected to congress. I pledge to do exactly that.
I believe the United States has a right to defend itself, but I do not
believe we have the right to start wars to secure profits for large
corporations.
I believe that every major religion is doing God's work -- not just my
own religion.
I believe that sexual preference of the candidates should not be an
issue in this campaign; so, I am not going to publicly acknowledge
mine. But I will allow that I am not, and have never been, loose
with my personal affections.
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