Like many members of this community, I have given a lot of thought to the issue of "Democratic core values." I've made attempts - some I've diaried on, others I haven't -- to articulate those values. As a community and party, I think we still have a long way to go on this issue. In this diary, I want to take a bit of a different tack. Instead of offering up another list, I want to focus on a phrase that I keep coming back to whenever I think about this issue: "there but for the grace of God go I."
This phrase is certainly not a value, but I think it lies deeply at the heart of what separates us from Republicans. And, I think that seriously reflecting on it may ultimately help us as we try to articulate our core values.
Now, there are two distinct ways this phrase is used and I refer only to one. The first use is when tragedy strikes someone because of a set of circumstances that very nearly apply to you. For example after September 11th, someone who worked at the WTC but called in sick that day might have said, "there but for the grace of God go I."
But, there is a second use. The statement can be uttered when tragedy strikes someone whose circumstances are not at all like ours. In this use, the implication is, of course, that although our circumstances may seem to differ, those differences of circumstances are attributable to nothing but God's grace. As many of us watched the horror of Katrina unfold, we thought to ourselves, "there but for the grace of God go I." Now, I'm a pretty cautious person with the means to pack up the car, fill up the tank and head out of town for a few days if need ever be. So, in that sense, no I was not a likely candidate to be trapped in the New Orleans Convention Center (even had I lived in New Orleans). But, the point of the sentiment is that my caution and my means are not something that makes me an inherently better person than someone who is less cautious and without means. And, more generally, tragedy can strike anyone at anytime regardless of character or circumstances. We are grateful for what we have and for the positive aspects of our personality and character. But, we reject the notion that there is any inevitability or entitlement to our good fortune, or that we are different in any fundamental way from those to whom tragedy, or mere bad fortune, befalls. And, we recognize that the path that led us to our good fortune may involve tragedy down the road and could have, with only very slight changes, diverged dramatically from what it was.
And, of course, this perspective, that at root we are no better or worse than the vast majority of our fellow human beings, is precisely what drives our core values. If the lot of my downtrodden neighbor is not mine only because of "God's grace", and if I genuinely believe that it could be my lot down the road, then I will care deeply about doing whatever I can to improve the lot of my downtrodden neighbors.
Republicans, on the other hand, enthusiastically embrace the idea that the poor and the downtrodden are poor and downtrodden because of some flaw in their character. They aren't like you and me. They are "the other." This is a view we reject with every fiber of our being.
I don't know if this takes any closer to a statement of our core values. But, my instincts tell me the key lurks within the sentiment that "there but for the grace of God go I."