What I Stand For
As an avid reader and an avowed political progressive, I stand for a great many things — values, principles, and convictions which I consider to be my responsibility — and mine alone — to monitor, improve, and preserve.
As I’m sure it is with you, a small handful of the things I stand for carry more weight in my self-reckoning than all the others put together. So here, in no particular order of importance, is my list of the convictions that mean the most to me:
I believe that once we’re mature adults, sane of mind and securely on the road to wisdom, we’re the authors of our very own fate.
I believe that men and women are equal in everything they do or aspire to do.
I believe that the separation of Church and State is at the very foundation of American democracy.
I believe that if we don’t learn to think for ourselves, there will always be others more than eager to step in and do it for us
I believe that, broadly speaking, there are two kinds of doers in the world — the specialists and the generalists — and while both kinds play absolutely essential roles in society, neither kind is in any way superior to the other.
I believe that active immersion in literature and the fine and performing arts, as either creator, consumer, or both, is the best possible way to turn an impressionable child into a sensitive, caring, productive, intellectually aware adult.
I believe that a person without an active, inventive, compassionate, socially responsible sense of humor is not a fully human person.
I believe that women must have full and uncompromising control over their bodies, and that men have no business interfering with those rights.
I believe that the physical and emotional abuse of men, women, children, animals, and the environment is inexcusable under any circumstances.
I believe we must teach our children to question authority when they find themselves subjected to unjust and irrational rules and regulations — especially those imposed by people and organizations without the child’s best interest in mind.
I believe in Martin Luther King’s assertion that in all things, it is the content of a person’s character — not the color of his or her skin — that matters.
I believe that without the enormous contributions made by immigrants of every stripe, America would never have become the successful, universally admired country it has become — and will always aspire to be.
I believe that ALL of this country’s citizens have an absolute, inviolable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I believe that NO Americans — including the President of the United States — can ever be above the law under any circumstances.
I believe that a true Patriot sees no need — no need at all — to flaunt his patriotism with excessive, self-serving, self-congratulatory displays of his country’s flag.
I believe that in the hands of a caring, loving person, an inquiring mind is the most powerful weapon against the debilitating consequences of ignorance.