Open Letter to My Representatives: Overview, Building a Better America

Dear Representatives: 

I still believe in the possibility and potential of the United States of America. These are the values I find most important in our democratic experiment.

I believe in ensuring everyone has access to work, education, food, shelter, and basic health care.

I believe that all parents should have time to raise their children, spend time with their loved ones, and see their children flourish as they grow into adults.

I believe in fundamental human dignity and equal moral worth. 

I believe in our principles of government – because in principle each individual is to have a voice.

I believe our leaders ought to provide vision and moral leadership. 

I believe in business and capitalism - and I believe they should be leveraged to serve society's broader interests.

I believe in protecting the environment. 

I believe in the importance, legitimacy, and profound value in a professionalized armed forces – and I believe we should use them far less frequently.

I believe in acceptance, diversity, learning from others, and humility.

I believe in government.

I believe in progressive taxation. The more I play, the more I pay.

I believe we sink or swim together.

I believe in nuance.

I believe you can do better. I believe we can all do better.

This list results from me sitting down Sunday morning to accomplish something I've wanted to do for years: write a standing letter to my government representatives, so that they know the values that matter to me (and so many of my friends and neighbors) - values that are often lost in the yelling and diatribes that pass for debate in the United States. Six hours later, I found myself still writing.

One of the challenges with our current political standstill seems to be that we want everything delivered in tidy, concise, neat packages. Yet our country, our communities, and the globalized world we live in are complex, complicated, and continuously evolving places. We have values that are sometimes contradictory, even if they are ultimately compatible. It takes time to explain and to understand, but we don't typically allow for that.

I have stated the values I want to share, but I'm also going to embrace this complexity - and deliver the letter in phases. I'll expand on each of these values commitments in the days that follow (#1, #2, #3), and use hard data and clear examples to demonstrate how these commitments are not Utopian thinking, but clearly pragmatic and possible. Thanks for reading and please let me know if there are things you'd like to add! We'll discuss it. This IS going to my representatives!

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You can confirm your representatives' identities and contact information at Project Vote Smart. Thanks for reading. And, regular readers - I realize I'm a bit behind on responding to a couple good points or questions. I'll return to that following this project. Thanks for your patience.