Why I am a Democrat: Reason #1

Now, I just got some advice the other day that I will almost completely ignore. It was; define yourself on what you are and not what the other guy is or stands for.

Well, it’s difficult to define yourself as a democrat in this current world of bitter partisan politics without saying more about what you aren’t.

One of the basic tenants of the conservative agenda is lower taxes. And the end is to get more of “my money” out of the hands of wasteful government, fat cats and give back to me because “they” think they know how to spend “my money” better than I do.

Now, you could go into deep theological arguments about whose money it is because if you believe in God and Christ like I do, it’s not really your money. It’s something that God has blessed you with and you are to be the best steward of it.

Okay, theology aside, what I hear underpinning this argument is that voice of the “me.” Give me back “my money.” Conservative economist and think tank analysts constantly talk about lowering taxes and getting money back into the hands of the people. This way these “people” can create wealth for themselves and their families.

Conservative economic analysts also say that people are better at prioritizing how their money is spent than big government. This sort of statement makes my point. What do you think “the people’s” priorities are (when they get their tax money back)? Knowing that fellow less fortunate citizens have quality health care? Caring that impoverished children get a helping hand with a Head Start program? Wanting to invest in a future-thinking mass transit system that lowers the emissions from cars and helps preserve our environment?

Or is the priority that big screen TV down at Circuit City?

What I don’t hear is what about the greater good. The focus seems so much on the individual and the “me” and not the “us.” What can I get for “me?”

John F. Kennedy implored us to, “Think about what we can do for the good of the country.” Certainly, conservatives can posit that tax cuts are for the good of the country, but from many conservatives, I get a sense that they are demonizing a certain class of people who “take” from decent hard working people in the form of government hand outs.

I can’t advocate an expansion of the welfare state and a nurturing of a culture of dependency. I do know that some government programs have almost created incentives to those who want to take advantage, but why can’t we look to finding solutions to these systematic problems instead of throwing the baby out with the water?

The “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality is certainly laudable but when it becomes the mantra of the right when many of them haven’t felt the pangs of hunger from poverty or been deprived, it comes across as a cruel and thoughtless epithet against the unfortunate.

From my perspective, this “Philosophy of Me” comes across as so insular and, for the lack of a better word, selfish. What about the “other guy?” What about the guy down on his luck through no fault of his own? Do we truly want to become a country of “I’ve got mine, too bad about you?”

I don’t like defining myself by what I’m not, but I know what I’m not and that will have to do for now.