I've been struggling to get to the core of what Democrats stand for in this election. Not the overwhelming platform of planks for every issue, but the single kernal that ignites interest and awakens involvement. The Republicans have used "Security" and variations of it to powerful effect. What's the Democratic banner?
Well, here's my thought: Freedom with Fear.
As a communications exercise, I put myself in the role of a speech writer, and fleshed out the idea. It's pretentious and bombastic, but then, it's a speech. Here it is:
Freedom without Fear
The Republicans have had their time of power, and they have failed. In the face of a mortal threat, they responded with force but without wisdom. They raised as their flag not a vision of freedom and democracy, but the blind resolve of the fearful to prevail by all means necessary. In the global give and take of politics and diplomacy, they have learned neither the power of consensus, nor the art of strength. They have systematically reduced the mechanisms of government at every level to enshrine a narrow and relentless agenda, and we are weaker as a nation for it.
No one will suggest that Democratic politicians are without weakness. Democrats are equally vulnerable to human temptations and political failings. But their greatest weakness has been the willingness to surrender the fundamental commitment to freedom and justice in order to preserve a foothold of weakened power. And for that, every American citizen should demand the ultimate political toll, holding Democrats as accountable as Republicans.
It is time not only for new leadership, but for a new tide of public servants at every level of government. Men and women who know when to lead and when to listen. Men and women who value an informed and engaged republic above the ideology of partisan control. Men and women who believe that the American Dream is not the fulfillment of material desire, but the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Men and women who believe, above all else in this age of terror and destruction, that the ultimate fulfillment of the American Dream is Freedom without Fear.
Freedom itself is no guarantee of peace. The choices we make as individuals, as communities, as a nation, often lead us into conflict, and we must be prepared as a nation to defend our safety and pursue our interests. But Freedom calls us to seek wisdom more than power, resolution more than reward, engagement more than control. Freedom requires us to be honest with ourselves about our intentions, and open in our discernment of national priorities. We cannot accept reflexive secrecy as a price of security. We cannot accept blind faith as a precondition of patriotism. We cannot accept a government molded by the strategies of division and hate.
In this election, we have not only a choice but a responsibility. A responsibility to restore our faith in the freedom that has been our foundation. Freedom is not a lofty vision that can only be attained by destroying our enemies. Freedom is the very source of our strength and our pride as Americans. We must embrace it without reserve, without restriction, and above all, without fear.