Democratic Values

Here's a way of thinking about Democratic values that provides some vocabulary and concepts. In future posts I'll elaborate on each topic in these tables.

Freedom, responsibility, and opportunity for all

The Democratic Party believes in the essential goodness and spirituality of mankind, that the role of government should be to protect and enhance the potential of every individual to contribute to, and benefit from, the bounty of democracy. We believe in preserving and expanding individual freedom for everyone without exception, that widespread freedom requires responsibility and balance, and that striving for a better future is both a right and a responsibility for every citizen individually as well as for the community as a whole.

Freedom
Civil rights:	Civil liberties, the Bill of Rights, safety, privacy, autonomy
Protection:	From unfair, excessive, negligent, or criminal use of power by any person, organization, government, or corporation
Equality:	Of rights under the law for everyone, no exceptions
Life:	Respect for life, taken seriously
Nurturance:	Safety net of family, community, and spirituality
Balance:	Balance and fairness when rights compete Inclusiveness beats the politics of division

Responsibility

Personal responsibility to oneself and family Self-nurturance, self-discipline, self-actualization

Personal responsibility to the community Respect for the law and for each other, tolerance Contribution of time, money, skills, and ideas; community spirit Greater responsibility from those who receive more from the community Promotion of these values in every aspect of life

Community responsibility to the individual Promote freedom and opportunity Equal protection under the law Respect and value the individual’s time, work, and dignity

Community responsibility to itself Efficiency and effectiveness of government Honesty and openness of institutions and officials, government and business Respect for fair and meaningful competition Stewardship of the earth and natural resources Strength to resist the extremes of special interests and competing powers A better future, fiscal responsibility, basic research, education, investment

Community responsibility to the world Moral leadership: Promote democratic values, respect for other peoples Strength: Statesmanship, intelligence, resourcefulness, restraint

Discipline Keeping one's eye on the ball, focus on real problems, groundedness

Courage Willingness to tackle hard problems, confidence in one's abilities, openness to diversity and new experiences, desire to do what's right in preference to what's expedient

Opportunity
Creativity:	America’s role as the world’s creative engine, we invent things the world wants to buy
Improvement:	Continuous learning and improvement, scientific method
Entrepreneurship:	Reward for individual risk-taking
Diversity:	Diversity and inclusion as a source of community and business creativity
Competition:	Free and fair competition, equal opportunity
Fulfillment:	Freedom and responsibility to reach one’s full potential in work
Infrastructure:	Nurturance of economic expansion

Keep repeating the words Freedom, Responsibility, and Opportunity whenever talking about Democratic policy ideas. When Republican policies are contrary to these, they are anti-Freedom, anti-Responsibility, or anti-Opportunity.