Since becoming a member of WT’s Green Team, I learned about the value of non-partisan cooperation within our township government and met a lot of people who showed me it was possible and enjoyable. Soon party conventions will be convening and state and national level campaigns ramping up to full speed. This will be a time that will test friendships and challenge us to gut-check our core beliefs. I’m a registered Democrat. To me, the Democratic Party represents:
- Diversity. Ethnicity, gender, and religion—all voices need to be heard and respected. Tolerance needs to be respected again.
- The common good. In theses days where unelected moneyed interests dictate policies that impact all, especially the least able citizens of our country, measures need to be in place to assure that no one is excluded from the promise of the American ideal of self-fulfillment, prosperity, and happiness.
- National Security. Those of us who witnessed 9/11 first-hand will attest to the reality of devastation that can be wreaked by external enemies. Those of us who were impacted by the financial frauds precipitating the national meltdown of 2007/2008 can attest to the lasting impact of internal enemies. Our country needs to protect itself from both.
- The Ecological safety of our county and our planet. Reaping the benefits of energy exploitation while ignoring the impact on our soil, air, and water is irresponsible and dangerous. Rampant “fracking” for natural gas is both. Our country’s opportunity to become a leader in alternative technologies while revitalizing our manufacturing sector is slipping away to European and Asian countries. We need to become competitors again.
As always, I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these issues. No one political party has the answers, but honest, open dialogue will provide a place spawning place for such.
