Will the actual leaders of the Democratic Party please stand up? Can anyone put together three crisp paragraphs summarizing what American liberalism stands for? Is there a core doctrine that can be communicated by the troops in the field who have to stand up for liberalism? Why did we allow the word liberal to become an epithet?
I fail to detect any sort of local Democratic Party leadership in my area. Does anyone else have this sense?
At some point we have allowed relatively small numbers of conservatives to dominate our political system. We have fellow citizens who are dabbling in the intellectual cul-de-sac of fascism while under the rapturous influence of religious doctrines stitched together from the middle ages. You see, the Republicans have God on their side. When he has a free moment from his work keeping the galaxies spinning, he helps them win elections and preach the gospel of prosperity.
The 2012 presidential election is going to happen with outsiders controlling the message.
I support same-sex civil unions. But I have to say that to expect a hundred million people to roll over and accept a redefinition of the meaning of marriage, contrary to thousands of years of precedence as well as thousands of years of religious dogma is an expectation that is hopelessly naive. Social conservatives do not think about the love and relationship aspect, all they can envision are the hygienics and mechanics of sodomy. What the hell did you expect??
Liberalism is solidly supportive of same-sex unions but not solely defined by it. Liberalism supports the social safety net, but cannot allow it to be defined by cold-war euphamisms and images. Liberalism supports enough military to keep the nation safe, but does not seek global domination. Liberalism values people over doctrine and the idea that the commons do not have to be tragic.
Republicans say "imagine a perfect market" and Democrats say "imagine a geat society". Markets are something that cultures do, not the other way around. What kind of culture do you want to live in?
Liberals must come up with a plan for the future where we feel like we're improving while making do with fewer kg's of natural resources per capita. Per capita consumption of raw materials will inevitably decrease as scarcity rises later in the century. Don't get hung up on petroleum. Other critical materials could go first- lithium, cobalt, nickel, indium, tellurium, phosphate, copper, rhodium, etc.