Guest Comment: I am a Liberal

I am a LIBERAL, and proud of it! I am tired of the illiberal trying to define me and my beliefs in their letters to this paper.

The truth would be far better served if we all stuck to defining our own beliefs rather than deliberately distorting the beliefs of those with whom we disagree.

As a Liberal, I believe in hope over fear and equal opportunity over privilege.

I believe in the dignity and worth of every person, regardless of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Jokes, hateful names and rude remarks at their expense are offensive to me as well as to them. We all have the right to an equal opportunity for employment, social equity, privacy and the pursuit of happiness.

As a Liberal, I believe in science over superstition, education over ignorance, reason over invective. The Earth is round, and over 4 billion years old. It is warming at a rate far higher than ever before and manmade CO2 emissions are a causative factor. Our biodiversity is the result of the process of evolution.

Rush Limbaugh, Keith Olberman, Bill O’Reilly and John Stewart are entertainers - not sources of factual information.

As a Liberal, I support universal access to health care. The same access that we over 65 years of age enjoy thanks to a government program.

I don’t believe that we have “the world’s best health care system” or that government run health care in other industrialized nations is a failure. We rank 40th in infant-mortality and 45th in life expectancy, but first in medical cost per capita. Maybe we have something to learn from others.

However, I would not force coverage on anyone. I encourage those believing the free market does it better to opt out of Medicare B and D, and show us the better way.

As a Liberal, I believe that a well-funded, well-staffed public education system is vital to our nation’s interest. It has been the gateway to the American Dream for generations of Americans. We will not be able to compete in a worldwide economy without a highly educated workforce.

Today we rank 18th in adult literacy. We must pay teachers enough to attract the best and brightest, and then demand an appropriate level of performance.

As a Liberal, I believe that every person has the right to practice the religion of their conviction, or not; and, to be free from the imposition of the religious practices or symbolism of the majority.

As a Liberal, I believe that our government has a responsibility to protect the safety and security of all of its citizens.

Not just from foreign powers, felons and terrorists, but from those who poison our air and water. I oppose the use of public land for the dumping of mine tailings and pollution of our groundwater.

As a Liberal, I believe that government has an obligation to provide and adequately maintain the infrastructure needed for economic growth and public safety.

We are entitled to safe bridges, adequate levees, well-maintained streets, roads and highways, and effective public transportation.

As a Liberal, I believe in a fair day’s pay for a day’s work. Our history shows us that it is not possible for many Americans to achieve this without the support of labor unions.

Since the 70s we have seen legislation making it harder to organize, corporate campaigns of anti-union misinformation and a decline in union membership.

It is not just coincidence that wages have stayed flat for most Americans during that same time period.

Most importantly, I am a Liberal because I see an America today that is better than its past, and believe in an American future that will be better than today.

I hear people talk about a golden past where children were polite and men tipped their hats to women; but I remember a past when people of color couldn’t sit at a lunch counter, and women were denied job opportunities and equal pay. We are better than that now and can have an even better future.

Green Valley resident John McCoy and his wife Lynn McCoy Bennett retired and moved to Green Valley from Los Angeles in 2007. The views expressed above are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.