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.
That does it for now! You may expect other convictions to be added, but only if and when, in my judgment, they deserve to be.
— RB, 7/18/22