I speak not in this diary about fundamentalists, but of the very basic ideas behind what I'm all about. I think from time to time about where I stand and why, so its good to have a sign post to look back on to see how I might be evolving. This diary is to be one of those sign posts.
But I hope it is a little more to those reading. Perhaps a reminder, or a stepping point in coming to new conclusions of your own, or as a way to think about arguments. Knowledge about where one starts from is a good way to target the prime assumptions of others in discussion. Do note that this is not an exhaustive listing of all things under the main points, but a quick exercise.
What is the fundamental purpose of government?
-Protect the basic rights of the citizens of the region where the government has control
-To have the only legitimate power to enact violence with that first goal in mind
-To provide a frame work for a society to exist
What are the basic rights cited so far?
-The basic rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
-Liberty includes such things as speech, press, religion, thought, assembly, movement, justice, fairness, and choice
-The basic rights are also contingent that the rights of one person making use of their rights is not violating the rights of another, thus conflicts between the rights of people need some means of arbitration.
What is the best way for a government to perform its duties?
There are lot of answers here, but the fundamental ones include...
-To be responsive and responsible to the citizens that the government governs in such a way that the sovereignty of the government derives from the consent of the governed, else a government is prone to ignoring the basic rights of the people in favor of the excessive rights of a minority or a single person
-To ensure freedom of unfettered political speech and the press
-To stand independent of minority organizations and absolutist institutions that have goals that do not align with the purpose of government (for instance, separating the government from religion to ensure that freedom of religion is preserved)
-To provide for a common defense of the nation and its citizens
-To have a system of laws and justice to handle violations of rights
-To have protections against majority tyranny that can threaten the basic rights of minorities
-To have a perpetual and existing set of rules (written down) that can be cited during times of crisis to determine what to do
How can a government be best responsive to the citizens?
-A type of democratic system, the exact form of which is still to be determined but practice is underway
How does one create a good or better democratic system?
-Ensure an educated citizenry
-Provide for a minimal safety net to allow people to be able to participate in the governing process at a minimal amount free from the distractions of perpetual working poverty or preventable poor health
-Protect the political free speech rights of citizens
-Limit the free speech of groups, organizations, and foreign governments that might attempt to leverage the government into denying citizens basic rights or who wish to gain from actions of the government (for instance, corporations love getting subsidies even when there's no reason for them, but if they leverage the government to get them when there's no reasonable reason for them to get them, that's not right)
-Have an open and transparent system so that citizens can learn what the government is up to without filters (be the filter the government or media organizations, aka make independent decision making possible)
-Ensure free and open election and the possibility for most anyone being able to run for office
-Discourage factionalism that can lead to grid lock or the government promoting minority excesses
-Keep any elected officials to a high ethical standard
-Prevent the use of secret police and spy agencies working to influence the populace
So even with this, the very basics of the Democratic agenda are visible. One might notice also that I didn't have the basic rights include property. Property rights are a subsection to happiness. Not everyone needs to own things to be happy, and not everyone is happy without owning things. Knowing this places the balance of ownership at an equal level to someone having a good life by other means.
Anyway, one of the reasons I've been a hard core dem for most of my adult life is because on the average, democrats far out pace republicans when it comes to promoting actual democracy. And before health care, tax issues, wars, and all that, making sure that we live in a democracy is the supreme bit of my hierarchy of position issues. If someone is right on everything else and wrong for the democratic process, I can not support them.