Republicans do not hold a monopoly on patriotism. This 4th of July, Democrats' rallying call should be, "2008 is too late!"
America's struggle for independence made many slogans famous. In school we learned that American patriots rallied round, "No taxation without representation." George Washington, at Valley Forge, told his troops, in the dead of winter, "You can't be peace time patriots, you can't be summertime soldiers."
Democrats are modern day patriots. We may live under the summer's sun but we are in the winter of our discontent. We are taxed, but our government does not represent us. We are the brave who demand that America be the land of freedom and liberty. We see the gap between what America is, and what it should be. We are the party whose courage and initiative will close this gap because we embrace America's values. We want our children growing up in a country coming together not coming apart. To have this, we must expand, unify, direct, and inspire our Party and the nation. We must do what is right, let the consequences follow.
But alas, apathy is the Democrats' pandemic. Its symptoms are easy to diagnose. Lethargy, at the pain, despair, and deaths inflicted by an invading American force waging a war for international oil companies. Neuritis, when we hear, "This war is necessary. We are spreading democracy." Neuroglia, as Democrats accept as our destiny, dishonest politicians, kidnaping, torture, Gulf Coast victims, illegal wiretaps, gas prices spiraling ever upward, promises to our senior repeatedly broken, millions Americans with no healthcare, homelessness in the richest country in history, no bid multimillion dollar contracts for political favorites like Haliburton, Bechtel, Kellogg Brown & Root, and Blackwater. Apathy elicits only cold silence in an unmoved heart. Apathy benefits the aggressor -- never the victim. You want to cry out? You want to tell the Republicans they have done a lousy job? It is not enough to vote. We must take our friends, neighbors and strangers to the polls. We must be the patriots riding through the streets yelling, "To the polls, to the polls. The Republicans are coming, the Republicans are coming."
We see an America that is humane, just, and peaceful. The Administration does not share this vision. We deserve leaders who will uphold, not tread on our laws, who will honor our liberties not dishonor them with illegal wiretaps; who will live up to the label "honest" not seek to wrap themselves in the title to hide wrongdoing. We want leaders who understand that true leadership comes from serving others, seeking to feed the hungry; providing health care for all, respecting our troops, honoring America's promises to its veterans, educating our children, providing real wages for all, and choosing the human race rather than an arms race.
You cannot love America and sit idly by as America slides into an abyss of false values propped up by sound bites that say what is right to cover what the administration is doing wrong. If you love America, it is time to act. Organize. Reach out to your neighbors. Put your money where your beliefs are. Support leaders who will do what is right, let the consequences follow. It is time for America to rise again as the beacon of liberty. It is time to reclaim democracy. It is time to vote for change.