1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members.
Most non-liberals believe this, too. The question is
how to do this best, and who participates in that care. If you think by "a country" means, in the USA, "the Federal Government" then we're going to have a disagreement. If you think that when family, friends, neighbors, and enterprises of various sort are doing that care that "the country" is therefore
not caring for the weakest, then we have a serious perception problem.
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
Okay. Let's look at our enumerated rights. Who grants them? How are they exercised? How are they denied, and by whom? How are those rights similar to "healthcare"? How are they different?
3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone.
It is to everyone in this country through the 12th grade.
4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you.... and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this.
What is that "fair share"? This is a serious question. How much are "the wealthy" currently paying? Are you aware of how that compares to the past?
5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. I'm self-employed, so I already pay a shitload of taxes. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, that means increasing my already eye-watering tax bill. I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.
There's nothing stopping you from doing that. Well, except perhaps the conditions you've attached to your benevolence, an option you don't seem willing to grant to everyone else.
6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage.
Should a 16-year-old teenager working a summer job while living at home with her siblings and both parents be paid the same "decent, livable wage" as the single mother of 2 while doing the exact same job side-by-side? How do you determine what "a decent, livable wage" actually is?
7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians,... Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.
What are Christians forcing on you? Might you be forcing your will on Christians
8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe we should have the *same* rights as you.
LGBT people, at least in this country, already had the same rights as everyone else. No, you (and, from the way you phrased your statement, it seems I truly do mean "you") wanted new ones created just for you. Yeah, really -- brand spanking new "rights." And you got the Supreme Court to cram it down everyone else's throat. And you have the nerve to declare this right after your insistent declaration of #7.
9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet...
Good. Why do you object to every effort to put that into practice?
10. I believe we should take in refugees, or at the very least not turn them away without due consideration. ... Because we're fooling ourselves if we think that somewhere in the chain of events leading to these people becoming refugees, there isn't a line describing something the US did.
You started this point well, but then you just had to finish by laying the fault on us for the problem existing at all. I don't think you're listening very well to what you are actually saying.
11. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.
12. I believe our current administration is fascist. ... but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.
I'd find it easier to have this discussion if you hadn't been dismissing the notion that the actual authoritarian actions of the previous administrations -- the kabuki theatre at every airport, siccing the IRS and FBI on political opponents, etc. -- are antithetical to liberty and a free society.
13. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed.
I believe that the least bigoted generations of white people in history are having their goodwill and generosity thrown back in their faces. And I don't believe you actually know what misogyny is, either.
14. I believe in so-called political correctness.
I know, because speaking frankly, honestly, or truthfully hurts too much.
15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.
There's nothing stopping you. Literally nothing is preventing you. Well, except the notion that if the Federal Government isn't pouring money into these things -- oh, wait, it is! along with some of the largest corporations and wealthiest people in the nation -- that these things aren't being funded.
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Images like this were never part of Sambo's restaurants. Their images were much more like the Little Golden Book (?) edition from the late '50s of Little Black Sambo that I had as a child, where the images were clearly Indian.
