What do we stand for?

What do we stand for?  As a Democrat, I want to know what our party stands for.  We all know that we are against the current administration as well as the president who demonstrates time and time again that he is not morally fit for the role that he currently holds.

Day after day, we as a people have a window seat to scandal after scandal coming from the White House.  We see evidence that the president does not have an understanding of the role that he should play in the administration of our laws outlined in the Constitution.  We know that he is vindictive.  We know that he may not have an understanding of the law.  His actions indicate that he is prone to authoritarian tendencies and that he may believe that the role of the president of the United States means that he has the final say in any action taken by his administration based on how he feels at that particular moment.

With all of this, we have to stand for more than being against this administration.  We need to convey a succinct message of what we can do to address the concerns of the American people.  We need to talk about what we intend to do about health care which is a primary concern for most Americans.

We need to talk about what we intend to do to protect the civil rights of all Americans.  We need to have conversations concerning what we will do to make continuing education affordable for our next generation of children.  We need to convey a message that we intend to take the necessary steps to protect our environment.  We also need to address what we intend to do to restore the confidence to all of our citizens regarding our judicial processes.  Another topic that is worthy of discussion is immigration.  We need to convey to the American people that we have a solution to address illegal immigration to our country. But that solution will be fair and honest.  We cannot and should not punish immigrants who are fleeing horrific circumstances from their homeland.  Instead, we need to outline a due process that will keep our country safe and at the same time allow people the opportunity for migrants to become legal contributing members to our society.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this of late because we are witnessing the president of the United States attempting to change the role of Commander in Chief into one of a dictatorship which is a direct threat to our democracy.

But simply because we see this does not mean that we can be against this and only this.  We need to speak to the American people and address their concerns as it relates to what their current needs are.

It is not enough to talk about a blue wave.  It is not enough to simply talk the talk. We have to walk the walk.  We need the American people to see our humanness.  We need to remind them that we intend to make lives better for all Americans and that each one of us deserves the chance to capture and live the American dream which right now seems to be out of reach for many of us.

As Democrats, we will be attacked.  We will be accused of doing the same things that this administration is doing.  We will be accused of being corrupt and morally bankrupt and be painted with the same brush of dishonesty where being a liberal is a dirty word.  Instead of responding to these attacks (and trust me they will come) we have to uplift our Democratic leaders.  Independents and Progressives need to review who they can get behind and unite their goals with the common goal of restoring our democracy.

We cannot afford to be divided because as you can see, division is what brought us to this point in the first place.  We need to see and be united by our commonalities as opposed to being separated by our differences.

Our common goal is to take the appropriate action and present a road map to what we can and will do to uplift the middle class.  We need to hold their concerns first.  We need to give voice to their concerns and then take the necessary actions to address them.  Even more importantly, we need to be willing to listen; because it is with the art of listening that we can truly engage.

We seem to be on the right track but we need to do more.  We cannot just stand for being against Trump.  That is a given.

We need to stand for what is right and implement a strategy that will make our intentions known.

Our message needs to be clear.  Our democracy is currently being attacked by our commander in chief…and since we know that 30% of this country cannot speak for the 70% that do not support this administration, the question is simply this:

What do we stand for?

~ J.L. Whitehead