My New Personal Statement of Belief

I don't know who Sarah Vowell is, but trust me, I'm gonna find out. Reading her Op-Ed article this morning in the NY Times, I ran across this gem:

"I am a registered Democrat. That first night’s convention speech by Senator Kennedy about his life’s work reminded me what being a Democrat means. I have spent the last eight years so disgusted with the incompetent yahoos of the executive branch that I had forgotten that I believe in one of the core principles of the Democratic Party — that government can be a useful, meaningful and worthwhile force for good in this republic instead of just an embarrassing, torturing, Book of Revelation starter kit."

Woah.

Sarah Palin may put a fresh face on the Jesus-loves-the-little-children-Don't-abort-them-or-you're-going-to-hell-asshole-but-HEY-you-have-a-nice-day crowd, but the Republican party is still the party of Karl Rove, and Donald Rumsfeld, whose global ambitions made pit bulls look like teacup poodles with pink-painted toenails, and lest we forget, this is also the party of the grandpoobah of knownothingism, George Dubya Bush. January 20, 2009, that sneering little sniveler is going to slither back under his rock and the global community can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

In light of the past eight years, when being a Democrat felt like being the starving waif looking through the windows on the ball at the castle, it's occasionally difficult to remember why I am a Democrat.

I am a Democrat because...

• I believe victims of rape and incest shouldn't have to carry babies to term
• I believe in equal rights for all irrespective of race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual preference
• I believe that insufficient investment in at-risk communities fosters a dependent underclass
• I do not believe that our current economic woes are more important that the health of the planet
• I believe that world peace is an objective worthy of our effort and that it is best achieved through diplomacy
  
• I do not underestimate the greed of the wealthy and doubt they will ever allow their wealth to "trickle down"
• I do not believe that limiting the types of weapons available to the general public imperils the second amendment
• I believe in investing in the education of our citizens, especially those for whom a college education is otherwise out-of-reach

Perhaps most importantly, I believe that it is possible for America to undergo a paradigm shift with respect to energy. I believe that, should I live a nice long life, I will see an America where oil, if it is still even available, will be a laughable relic of our past. I believe that energy will be cheap and readily available worldwide, such that third-world economies are a thing of the past.

Oh, I don't think the Democratic Party will lead us to Nirvana, but I do think it will do a better job of leading us into a better future today.

I am a Democrat because I believe in the future.