Responsibility to the community

Democrats understand that a functioning community is made up of people who recognize their common responsibility to each other. We tolerate each other's differences – "live and let live" – and treat each other with respect. We believe that the pursuit of opportunity and building of a better society is something we have to do together.

A distinctive aspect of the Democratic Party is that we are a highly diverse group, made up of all races, religions, and backgrounds. We work together in spite of the ideological differences among us. This is one reason talk radio hasn't caught on among Democrats, because we don't believe in showing disrespect to other viewpoints. Part of our responsibility to the community is to put aside our personal prejudices, and especially try not to pass them on to our children.

We respect the rule of law. The legitimacy of any law comes from a broad consensus on the necessity and substance of it, the consent of the governed. We are very reluctant to write into law provisions that have strong opposition from parts of the population, especially issues of subjective morality, because of a desire to avoid the tyranny of the majority.

Once a law is adopted, we believe it applies equally to both the powerful and the meek. When people or corporations use their power to evade the law, we believe a special effort should be made to bring them to justice. To fail to do so would undermine the value of personal responsibility to the community.

We accept the importance of individual contributions of time, money, skills, and ideas; community spirit. The morally vacuous concept of self-interest that has pervaded the nation in recent decades is contributing to a breakdown of civility, and of the community. We need to take the lead to reverse this.

A major role of government is to promote opportunity, by providing the economic infrastructure needed in order for businesses to thrive. Those who gain more from this infrastructure should pay more for its construction. This is the principle of fair, progressive taxation. The Federal income tax is progressive, while most other taxes currently are not, especially the Social Security tax.

A simpler, fairer tax system would especially benefit the new, innovative small businesses that we want to encourage. The charitable tax deduction is one of the main things the Federal government does to encourage voluntary giving, and we strongly support it.

All of us, but especially our leaders, have a duty to promote all of the values described in these essays, in every aspect of life. This is a personal commitment to the moral advancement of the community. Most issues of values and morality can't be written into law without unduly compromising freedom. But leaders do have the responsibility to use their "bully pulpit" to promote good citizenship.

Political themes: Live and let live. Respect for each other and for the law. Progressive taxation as fair payment for economic infrastructure. Responsibility to give back to the community.