I've only posted a few diaries of the look-at-this-article type, but that
small Lakoff book and all this talk about values has gotten me asking what is a primary Democratic value? Here's what I came up with:
I am a Democrat because I value justice. For me, that's our greatest shared value as Democrats and as citizens.
Our common Democratic ideals/values of opportunity, openness, inclusivity, compassion, protection, and responsibility all have an element of justice to them.
Both Republicans and Democrats value justice, but in the most reductive sense, I believe the Republicans are the party of freedom.
- Republicans champion freedom.
- Democrats fight for justice.
(more below)
Think of how many times you've heard the Republicans mention freedom in the campaign. "Freedom is on the march," didn't sound as lame to them as it did to some of us. Or what about Rumsfeld's comment about the looting in Iraq as a display of newfound "freedom"? It made sense to him. What is "deregulation" if not corporate freedom? (Aside: I think they use "freedom" over "liberty," because "liberty" sounds too much like "liberal.") It may seem senseless to some of us, but it's senseless because we know that freedom must always be tempered with justice.
Freedom in the absence of justice is either tyranny or anarchy.
I was surprised while reading the small Lakoff book that he didn't mention justice as a Democratic value: He mentioned fairness.
While they are similar ideas, I think justice is more powerful than fairness. "Fairness" invokes a game, like "it's good if it stays fair." Of course, "fair" is alliterative to "free," which helps.
- Republicans want free markets and free trade
- Progressive Democrats want fair markets and fair trade.
But for every time that the Republicans mention "freedom," I would like the Democrats to mention "justice." It's part of our history, and it ties into so many of our position on issues.
Our History of Justice
Justice permeates the history of the modern Democratic party. Of FDR's four freedoms, the "freedom from want" is a call for justice. The first two ("freedom of speech" and "freedom to worship") had been accepted since the founding of the country. The "freedom from want" central to the modern Democratic party.
What was the New Deal if not a call for economic justice?
And what is the Great Society if not a call for justice?
To remind you:
. . . For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.
The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning.
And what could possibly be more important in our progressive history than the civil rights movement? Who among us does not still feel the power of King's aphorism "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"?
Justice has been with us the whole time.
How Justice Guides Us
Democratic issues are seeded in this idea of justice.
Economic justice demands good jobs and a living wage.
Social justice demands equal rights for all and equal opportunities for the underprivileged.
A justice-based foreign policy would focus on bringing those who have done us harm (i.e., Osama Bin Laden) to justice and would champion make the world a more just place.
I know that this is all very simplistic, and that there are many more Democratic values than justice alone. But in the coming days, weeks, months, and years as we discuss our Democratic values, I would like us not to forget to use the word "justice" because I know that none of us have ever forgotten the idea.