Not to go all Robert Pirsig on you but this really is about values.

[Pepperbelly]

And not those crappy little political lines crafted by speech writers who are too clever by half and hold is contempt and disdain the word wihout giving it its due.

What are our values?

Decency. And by that, I do not mean that narrow definition so sanctimoniously held by perfumed evangilists as they pass the electronic plate (Visa, Mastercard, AE, DISC, Diners Club accepted) but what we as a people mean when we judge and note that someone is a decent person. That judgement is reached because that person behaves decently which, in our operational definitions, might mean that when this person has the opportunity to do the honest, good, altruistic, and selfless thing, that is exactly what they do. Consistently. Some of us call them 'decent'. Some might call them 'a good guy'. You might call them cool or fly or whatever but we all know the kind of person I'm talking about.

No, not the Puritanical decency, the one that pretends that humans are not human, that what some of us think is more important than what others think. Real decency involves treating everyone with respect. It involves tolerating the foibles of others. It involves realizing that we are truly all in this together and that none of us deserve to be cast aside as inconvenient, difficult, or, that most evil of all phrases these bastard right-wingers sometime use, useless eaters.

Are you decent?

I bet you are. I am. And I am very pleased to be that way rather than the opposite.

Tolerance is another value we embrace. Or at least, I thought we did. The opposite, of course, is intolerance and in the up-is-down world these motherfuckers inhabit, intolerance is viewed as a virtue. Forget that he-who-is-without-sin-cast-the-first-stone bullshit. Throw the son of a bitch, hum that motherfucker regardless of the state of your soul.

These people make my head hurt! :crazy:

So far, we have decency and tolerance.

Let us discuss values. Let us not shy away from it. Our values are the values of most people. We just have to make them look at it factually.

[Tesibria]

1. Pirsig is ... apropos here ...

comPLETELY!!!



------------------
"Rage" store: www.cafepress.com/tesibria.com
blog: www.democracyiscoming.com (explains purpose of rage store)

[bemildred]

2. It's about quality. nt

[Pepperbelly]

3. Totally and we should own it.

We just need to not think to deeply about that whole 'quality' thing which some might say is a dead end. Just accept it. :D

[tedoll78]

4. Phaedrus lives on!

:bounce:

[justgamma]

5. Values

The pubs are teaching their children to lie and cheat to get what they want. These are not values! I have almost as much fear of the lies they told than BBV. No one holds them accountable. The media doesn't and who will. I'd love to see a list of all the lies that were told. Like the colleges that were blanketed with fliers saying that if you don't vote Bush, you'll lose your loans. Or the one where they called and told the people they could vote the next day. Or how about JK was going to ban the bible. or the SBVT liars or about anything Shrub said. How do you fight the lies!!

[Pepperbelly]

6. Now we are cooking with gas!

We should OWN values because, frankly, their values do not, in the words of Joe Pecci in "My Cousin Vinnie", hold water. Honesty and integrity do not have SHIT to do with blowjobs. It does have something to do with people who, if they had to depend on the truth to speak, would have NOTHING to say.

Cheaters?

Who the fuck plays with cheaters? Other cheaters maybe ... don't know any.

[jdj]

7. it's about election fraud and backroom deals

take those two out, and we're all heathens from opposite corners of the room.

[Pepperbelly]

8. decency and tolerance.

We offer those and they are substantial.

[Octafish]

9. Zen and the Art of Integrity

No paupers, like the turd Russert.

Decency makes winners of Quality.

Thanks for putting IT into words, Pepperbelly!

[Pepperbelly]

13. and Phaderous thanx you.

:D

[bigmonkey]

10. Read Lakoff's book "Don't think of an elephant!"

He gives a great, concise rundown of progressive values and, more importantly, ways to frame the conversation to get them across. Really, it's a very important book.

[Meritaten1]

11. Some values Democrats share:

1. Tolerance,including respect for individual differences;
2. Respect for Law and Civil Liberties, including the right to peaceful dissent;
3. Respect for the Marketplace of Ideas;(requires #2 as a framework in which to function)
4. Concern for every member of society, including the weak and the powerless;
5. Committment to the common welfare (as opposed to the welfare of private special interests).

[Pepperbelly]

12. bingo! those are all good. What value deficit? nt