This is a piece I wrote for my high school newspaper. I spent a little while on it and I thought I'd cross post it here. It sums up a lot of salient reasons regarding why I consider it an easy, simple choice to align myself with the Democratic party and its agenda. Enjoy.
Why I Am a Democrat
Throughout America's tumultuous history, there are many examples of people with the strength and moral courage to move our country forward and make great strides of progress. In today's political climate, the reality is that only one party has both the progressive and pragmatic ideals that foster the positive development of society. One man who typified strength and moral courage is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. President Roosevelt championed social justice and the average worker, within the context of an economy that he pushed to be less capitalist and more regulated. He recognized the flaws of the market and created the welfare state, thus bringing America out of the Great Depression. Between this, he championed re-armament and led the United States (as well as the world) to victory in World War II. It is hard to imagine a time in America's history with more progress than the administration of Franklin Roosevelt's time. The ideals that Roosevelt held dear to him define modern liberalism and the Democratic Party, and they are the epitome of pragmatism and progressivism. History has proven the effectiveness of these ideologies.
The school of thought known as progressivism advocates social change in the broadest sense. Progressive ideas historically include, but are not limited to, social welfare, anti-trust laws, regulation of corporations and monopolies, slavery abolition, women's suffrage, child labor laws, environmentalism, and electoral and campaign finance reform. No one needs to be told the benefits of these proposals and what progressive ideals have done for America. Progressivism finds its roots in the enlightenment, and the idea of reason is the basis of many of these reforms. Progressivism defined Bill Clinton's two terms of office, and his administration, while not making any revolutionary strides that other historic administrations did, accomplished much in a manner that didn't split the country apart. His approach to govern has earned him praise from politicians of all stripes, and he stands today as one of the few true uniters in American politics. He summed up his idea in a major speech on October 18th, 2006 at Georgetown University, his alma-mater: "The common good, as both a philosophical ideal and approach to governing, has a rich history in the civic strands of American thought and in the values and principles of the U.S. Constitution. It is also a powerful theme in the social teachings of many major faith traditions. In both the civic and faith realms, a commitment to the common good means pursuing policies and community actions that benefit all individuals and balance self-interest with the needs of the entire society. It recognizes that government -- while not the only tool -- is essential for helping people pursue their dreams, and that the business, labor, faith and NGO communities play a critical role as well." As President, Clinton moved through many Democratic proposals that had been shut out for decades by his Republican predecessors. He came to office and furthered common sense ideas from all corners.
Conservative ideology is inherently at heads with this type of politics, as well as the changing dynamics of the world. Social conservatives will scream at any sign of religious tolerance or acceptance of homosexuality at a governmental level, and try to foist their ideas upon all others through legislation in the belief that their `morals' are essentially `right'. This won't work in a world where people are constantly mixing and societies and systems are shaped by other cultures, and a side effect of it is legislative gridlock due to a very well-ingrained sense of no-compromise. Corporate conservatives claim that regulation of business is always bad and will lead to the downfall of society and the rise of communism. This has been proven true with the string of corporate scandals in the past few years that show that deregulation of industries and monopolies are what lead to corruption, and the argument for regulation grows ever-stronger. Neoconservatives propose aggressive foreign policy through unilateralism and democracy-building. This, more so than all others, has been thoroughly proved wrong with a long history of debacles, most recently the Iraq War. International consensus and diplomacy, though tossed aside under the bully that is the current administration, remain powerful tools for the betterment of the world. In six short years the United States has gone from the light and hope of the world to being universally ridiculed.
The Democratic Party incorporates progressive ideologies, but more importantly, the Democratic Party has become the only home for pragmatism. The many problems that face our beleaguered nation have a pragmatic solutions, and leaders of the modern Republican Party stand on the wrong side of history in representing such a small segment of Americans on a range of issues. This is not your father's Republican party, and this not the party that Barry Goldwater or even Ronald Reagan gave rise to. Their used to be common ground for both parties to meet on: the funding of education, the balancing of the budget, the furthering of important scientific work (stem-cell research), global problems the United States could become the pioneer and leader on (global warming), and, as those taking U.S. history understand well, preservation of fundamental constitutional ideals that have served our nation for over 200 years. Today's Democrats are out there fighting for both liberal and conservative ideals, ideals of hope and common sense that are under attack by a fundamentalist group of right-wing renegades. The weight and magnitude of the numerous blunders of the current government are breathtakingly disappointing, the point that many Americans have even lost hope for the smallest bit of progress on issues important to them. They feel the political system is broken, and that is the pessimism the Democratic Party will have to work to reverse in the coming years. A dose of pragmatism certainly wouldn't hurt our government, and the American people, if they are as tired of the status quo as they sound, should take a stand and vote for change by voting for Democrats this November 7th.