Equal rights

Equal rights have always been a hallmark of the Democratic Party, but somehow in recent years we’ve allowed this message to drift, making it too easy for cynical people to turn it into an appeal to bigotry. This is a huge failure and needs to be corrected at once, by renewing and simplifying the message.

Instead of equal rights without regard to gender, race, disability, nationality, creed, etc. and debating whether to add sexual orientation, let’s just say this: equal rights under the law for everyone, no exceptions.

Rather than focusing on sex, let’s focus on people and their needs, and let’s not forget that gender and racial equality still are not fully accomplished. The simpler message is better-focused and truer to our values.

The question whether sexual preference is a choice or genetic is interesting, but irrelevant. The fact is that same-sex couples do form lasting relationships that have all the practical characteristics and needs of a marriage, that make the same contributions to the community. There is no practical or philosophical reason under the Constitution to deny them full economic and legal rights. Religious rights are a separate question, that only religion can answer.

Equality doesn't refer to literal or biological equality. For example, we all know that gender and disability imply physical differences that may affect the direction of our lives. But still, there is a very important sense of equality, that the Bill of Rights applies to everyone, that everyone has the right to pursue advancement to their full potential, that equal work deserves equal pay, that all of us deserve equal dignity and respect for our dreams.

Equality also isn’t limited to the United States. If we want our values to be projected around the world, we have to demonstrate it through our actions. Each Iraqi life is worth just as much as each American life, for example. To believe or act otherwise is grossly immoral.

Equality means much more than assimilation of minority groups into white culture. It means valuing and learning from each other. Part of the reason Bill Clinton was called "the first black president" is that he was able to speak convincingly of what we can learn from the contributions of black people, and he could appreciate black culture. True integration happens when our shared culture is visibly improved by the contribution of minority people and groups, and when the majority (or plurality) group appreciate, admire, and value the contribution.

Political themes: Equal rights under the law for everyone, no exceptions. Appreciation of the contributions of minority cultures. Rejection of bigotry. To deny equal rights to anyone is anti-Freedom.