It’s Freedom and Equality, Stupid
I was raised to believe in our nation's fundamental, core principles of freedom, liberty and equality for all — the very ideals set forth by our founding fathers and laid out in our Constitution. So strongly did I embrace such principles that when I was old enough I enlisted in the Marine Corps and honorably served in a Force Recon unit, willing and ready to give my life in defense of freedom and equality. Some of my friends did indeed,give their lives for these basic principles. Although I disagreed with my fellow Marines on many issues we worked and fought together for our common beliefs — beliefs I viewed as nonpartisan and that all Americans wished to protect and defend.
You'd think so, but apparently not.
Certainly, there's a myriad of other issues to consider when deciding whom to cast a vote for, such as job growth, the environment, health care, and economic policies, to name a few. I have my own views on such things, of course, but I respect and appreciate that knowledgeable, intelligent people on all sides can and should (and do) engage in rationale, reasonable civil debate and respectfully disagree on these important topics. I support compromise on most issues. It's the American way.
But here is what I am not willing to compromise on (and neither should any American): freedom, liberty, and equality for all!
Certainly, our nation has not always lived up to its core principles; we’ve experienced long, difficult struggles for civil rights, women’s rights, and other rights. But we’ve always progressed toward more, expanded freedom and liberty — not less. Today’s Republican Party would take us backward. It would, for example, for the first time in our nation’s history, add an amendment to our Constitution that would restrict and deny freedoms and equality to a large segment of our nation’s citizens — including gay men like me.
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2012/11/05/dave-stalling-asks-whether-economy-really-driving-election
