This started off as a short message to thank all of you who took the time to drop by in my diary yesterday, but as I was going through that huge number of amazing messages of support, encouragement, empathy, it got me thinking, and it coalesced into something which could be put to use.
We’re here on dKos because we care.
We don’t all care about the same things, we each have our pet issues and our worries, but the underlying theme is that we all care.
We care about the world around us. We care about where our countries are going, and what our leaders are doing in our name. We care about others, what’s happening to them and what could happen to them. We care about the future. And we care about each other.
This could be the very simple slogan of the Democrats, against the “me, mine, now” mindset of the Republicans: We care.
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We care when politicians are crooked, even those on “our” side. Corruption and special interests are never good for democracy and the common good.
We care that our freedoms are threatened. It’s not important that we do not use personally each of these freedoms. Any denial of these freedoms to anyone else ultimately cheapens our democracy and weakens our other rights.
We care that the combination of infotainment and “party before nation” mindset is polluting political debate, killing dialogue, pushing everybody into apathy, narrowmindedness or isolation, furthering fear, selfishness, confrontation and hate, and encouraging demagoguery.
We care about the debt that we are piling up, which threatens the future prosperity of our children (and likely ourselves as well).
We care that so many are struggling to make ends meet in an economy supposedly of plenty, and we think that increasing inequality ultimately leads to decline and conflict.
We care that so many have to worry about their healthcare, because it’s a terrifying waste of lives (whether through stress, financial ruin or actual sickness), and ultimately costs all of us more.
We care that we are damaging the environment around us for short term profit. We know that we will pay for it eventually, in health costs, in damage to our cities and economies from worsening weather events, in the lost of unknown and unvaluable biodiversity, possibly in resources wars.
We care that cheap energy is running out. Whether it’s now, in 10 or 50 years, the end of the oil age is within the life span of our children, and we are doing too little to prepare for it and change our wasteful ways.
We care about human rights violations, absolute poverty and sickness, in many places around the world – not just when there is oil or other strategic interests involved – and we grieve, because we know that our countries could do more about it.
We care that appalling numbers of US soldiers are killed or injured in Iraq, and that even more Iraqis are killed or injured.
We care that we are being called hypocrites, and that we use double standards, and that the standing of the US and of the West in the rest of the world is (deservedly) at record lows, thus threatening more than anything else our long term security.
We care about our values, and care when they are abused in their very name.
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We care, because it is the right thing to do, and because it is ultimately the best thing to do. We are all in this together. Selfishness only works in the short term.
We care. We are careful with your freedoms, your money, and your future.
We care. We believe in the future. Together.