For me....
The Constitution is a living document that must be interpreted to positively take into account new situations and realities.
The battle to guarantee Civil rights to African-Americans is not over. We have to win this continuing struggle that never seems to end.
The struggle for equality for women, for equal treatment for members of the LGBTQ community, and the elimination of prejudice against many ethnic and religious groups in America is not over (that includes combating antisemitism).
Looking squarely at the wrongs perpetrated against slaves brought to this continent against their will and against Native Americans is part of our patriotic duty so that we can become a better nation now. Dialogue in any arena, including politics, would be best served by people from across the spectrum willing to treat each other as human beings based on decency and willing to speak to one another with respect...and willing to listen and take to heart what they heard.
Vile, bullying words and name calling have no place coming from our highest officials.
I am a product of public education and a member of a family that values public education, with schools funded well by government entities that provide students across the board an equal opportunity and support for teachers in their great work.
I believe that issues such as abortion have personal and religious components to them, enough that public policy should not prevent a woman from following the dictates of her conscience and faith in her decision making along with her physician.
I believe that a partnership between government and the private sector, including religious groups, should provide a safety net for people who have fallen on hard times, many due to no fault of their own. That is a biblical and rabbinic and human value.
I believe that taxes can be considered a contribution to improve our nation when distributed properly.
I believe that our environment is undergoing changes that are the result of misguided policies that did not (or, perhaps, did) foresee the negative effects on the future of our air, water, and ecosystems. We need to take responsibility now to preserve our world. I believe in listening to the preponderance of scientific wisdom on this issue and others (such as COVID-19).
I believe that borders should be watched but that immigration should be a possibility readily open to aspiring citizens, including to asylum seekers and refugees, whom we should not view with suspicion, but with open arms.
I believe that everyone should have access to quality health care at an affordable cost without exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and that attempts to create such systems in the past should not be destroyed only because of the identity of their creators.
And I believe I can say all this without naming names of any particular political figures or parties.
When my students in Religious School would ask me (even 30 years ago) how I voted on election day, I told them that I couldn’t say, but I offered them a list like this. They said, “Oh, we know whom you voted for.”
It doesn’t matter. What matters is to believe in something, and to find the people who will make at least some of these goals come to fruition.
Be strong, and let us strengthen one another.
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