Jay, I like the principles of freedom in the Declaration of Independence (and the Constitution) as much as the next guy (that would be you.) But when I hear conservatives like Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Mark Levin, and a host of others try to flesh out the meaning of “freedom,” I have to admit that I believe they are reading documents from some other astral plane.<\/p>\n
Here are my “Top Ten Things That Would Prove America Really Cares About Freedom”:<\/p>\n
10. When we spend as much time teaching our kids how to defend unpopular ideas and their peers who are not like them as we do teaching them how to play soccer.<\/p>\n
9. When we insist that war truly is a last resort and never again allow a President to trick us into conflict with lies or false information, like the Gulf of Tonkin incident or the presence of WMDs.<\/p>\n
8. When we acknowledge that we still have a long way to go to even claim that Americans of all races are treated equally, even when we have an African-American President.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n7. When women are allowed to make and accept responsibility for their
\nown moral choices regarding their health and reproductive life without
\nconstraints set up by largely male legislatures often frightened by
\nstrong-willed minorities.<\/p>\n
6. When we realize that the “founders”
\nof America were not just Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison and
\nother white males, but all those who moved us forward in the pursuit of
\njustice: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dolores
\nHuerta and Cesar Chavez, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, and Chief Joseph.<\/p>\n
5.
\nWhen every child born has the promise (one way or another) of a healthy
\nand safe life, and a we make a national commitment that all children
\nwill have money available to go as far with education as they choose.<\/p>\n
4.
\nWhen we all have the freedom to practice any religion we choose (if
\nany) and we don’t expect the government to “help” us or our ministries
\nor missions with even one thin dime of financial support or one square
\ninch of public space (even in the Mojave desert).<\/p>\n
3. When we can
\nsee that people we elect to public office really do realize they
\n“serve” us, not themselves or those with the disproportionate power of
\nwealth, and their legislative initiatives prove it.<\/p>\n
2. When we
\nhave a trustworthy and efficient health care system that allows us to
\nlive life to the fullest and die without bankruptcy or indignity.<\/p>\n
1.
\nWhen the Fourth of July is a day we reflect on how difficult–but
\nessential–it is to be a free, self-governing people with liberty and
\njustice for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jay, I like the principles of freedom in the Declaration of Independence (and the Constitution) as much as the next guy (that would be you.) But when I hear conservatives like Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Mark Levin, and a host of others try to flesh out the meaning of “freedom,” I have to admit that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[191],"tags":[192,197,198,199,196,194,193,201,195,51,200],"class_list":["post-195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-american-history","tag-american-history-2","tag-cesar-chavez","tag-chief-joseph","tag-del-martin","tag-doloras-hurerta","tag-elizabeth-cady-stantion","tag-fourth-of-july","tag-freedom","tag-martin-luther-king-jr","tag-news","tag-phyllis-lyon"],"yoast_head":"\n