Day 1

Fifteen minutes a day.
That's what I'll commit to this.
Fifteen minutes of thought, reflection, analysis of what I see and hear.
I don't know anything about blogging, but I'll give it a try.

Today's topic: Faith and Values.
We have heard so much from so many quarters about this topic recently.
Did this issue really sway the election?
Let's put things in an alternate perspective. Seventy-eight percent of voters did not cite "values" as a primary reason for their vote.
Shouldn't that mean something?
I'm not sure it means anything good.
We should all be voting our values.
My own values have to do with:

• Stewardship of the Earth, God's greatest gift to humanity
• Tolerance of the beliefs and practices of others
• An understanding of our obligations to future generations -- economic, ecological, social and all of the other ways that our actions today will affect the lives of our children
• Fair play and a fair playing field for all
• The right to a safe and sane existence no matter what your economic, religious, racial or cultural characteristics

These are the values that have led me to be a liberal Democrat. I have proudly labeled myself a liberal for as long as I can remember, and the recent presidential election has made me realize to an even greater degree how important it is to proclaim and promote liberal values.

For too long, liberals have been almost apologetic about their beliefs and accomplishments. What is there to be apologetic about? The civil rights movement? Social Security? The minimum wage? Medicare? Gender equality? All of these are critical components of our current society, and all are being threatened by politicians who call themselves conservative, but who are in fact destructive of our culture.