Son,

I am fascinated by your ideology. You have achieved my dream for you – a dream that you would grow to be an independent thinker – a dream that you would base your thoughts on basic, solid, values. Your values are solid – belief in the basic goodness of humanity, belief in progress (let’s be better today than yesterday), the autonomy of our person, protecting the autonomy of others…

Would a self-defined liberal or conservative dispute the veracity of these basic values? These labels, liberal and conservative, have lost their value as words to describe a value system. We can thank Pat Robertson, Karl Rove, The National Rifle Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union for the confusion. Each of these individuals and organizations claim to represent the best of American values – but their self-serving goals have distorted their own hope.

In 1974 I was a card carrying member of the NRA and the ACLU – there did not seem to be a conflict. Today I am proud to say that I don’t belong to either organization. They have each lost sight of their mission.

Our Founding Fathers started something that has historically been referred to as a ‘western liberal experiment.’ The transition from Communism in Russia is referred to as a ‘western liberal model.’ The conservatives of 1776 were loyal to King George of England. Today, the self-described conservatives would have us be loyal to King George W of America.

Irrational conservatives today oppose science – Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and all of our Founding Fathers would be aghast! The wacko conservatives of today shout, Evolution is a farce – Global Warming is a Farce – the Sun revolves around the earth... What sort of insanity has bubbled to the surface? Thinking conservatives are embarrassed by this mis-representation of their positions.

The same thought applies to irrational Liberals. Our Founding Fathers were rational liberals. They were not worried about political correctness. The result was a confluence of three documents, The United States Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.

Son – you are following the American Dream – you are seeking life, liberty, and happiness.

Dad