Why I Identify Myself as a Social Democrat

While I share some of the cynicism that gets vocalized today about partisan politics in America, I find myself aligning with the policy platforms and candidates in the Democratic Party. Here are some of my reasons for my affinity towards one political party more than the other:
Generally speaking, I find that Democrats have a more positive view of government and a more constructive vision for America as a diverse nation of immigrants with a desire to “promote the general welfare” of all people rather than worrying, as Republicans often do, about government overreach and the limiting of personal freedom. Democratic platforms typically resonate more with me because of the expressed party desire to strengthen the common good and to measure this by how the least among us are faring at any given moment in history.
In today’s hyper-partisan atmosphere I also gravitate towards the policy priorities that Democrats advocate because Republicans often sound too resentful, distrustful, and begrudging to me about paying taxes, welcoming immigrants into our country, and enacting public policies for the sake of the environment.  In the last decade, the Republican party has gone off the rails with its loyalty to former President Trump’s bogus claims about the 2020 election being stolen,  with obsessions about keeping transgendered kids off school sports teams, wanting to protect white kids from truthful history, supporting white replacement theories, building border walls to keep others out, and stoking fears about creeping socialism and blaming Democrats for every ill in the country.  The Republican fixation over the past year with unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, protecting wacko conspiracy theorists in their ranks, and claiming that the January 6, 2021 insurrection was legitimate political discourse has left me with no respect for the integrity of that political party.   
I find Democrats to be more open than Republicans to acknowledging our nation’s racist history and less defensive than Republicans about social justice protests by people of color and issues expressed by other marginalized groups.  My vision of America leads me to embrace cultural diversity and inclusion in the establishment of public policies and to see the “browning of America” as a natural expression of our nation’s core principles about liberty and equality for all. I believe that Republican fears about white replacement and the influx of foreign immigrants and refugees contradict these values and principles.
I affirm the economic benefit and value of progressive taxation policies that ask the wealthy to shoulder greater responsibility for government safety-net programs to aid the poor and vulnerable in our society. I value and want to protect government programs like Social Security, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and others that aid the weak and vulnerable among us. Republican rhetoric about the dangers of “creeping socialism” and the virtues of unrestrained free-market capitalism sound to me like fear-based and selfish efforts to keep gross economic inequities in place in the U.S. and to blame the victims of these inequities for their condition. I also reject ideological claims that economic policies that enhance profits and benefit the wealthy will necessarily trickle down as benefits for workers and the economy as a whole. The growing gap in the past 50 years between the rich and poor in America contradicts this economic assumption and has become a moral issue many refuse to see.
While I affirm the importance of individuals taking personal responsibility for our lives, abiding by laws, and exhibiting a strong moral code that respects the value of life, I appreciate the awareness among Democrats that government policies are often needed to promote the common welfare, to insure domestic tranquility, and to restrain economic greed.  I find that Democrats are more willing to acknowledge that our laws are sometimes unjust and must be challenged and that our nation is sometimes inconsistent in maintaining the rights of citizens and in applying our beliefs about the sacredness of life when it comes to national defense, women’s reproductive rights, gun control, and capital punishment. I contend that individual liberties and freedoms often have to be restrained or balanced with the greater public good and sometimes on behalf of the weak and powerless. From my reading of political history over my lifetime, the Democratic Party seems to reflect these values more than the Republican Party on the whole.
Lastly, I find the Democratic Party to be more inclined to address issues that are aligned with my spiritual and religious values about caring and compassion for others, seeking justice for all, and standing up for liberty for the oppressed and marginalized in society. U.S. history suggests to me that economic free markets and limited governments do not produce prosperity on their own for everyone but actually contribute to rising inequalities. Likewise, I am put off by Republican policy priorities that focus on first and second amendment rights, that stresses loyalty to country and national security over international cooperation, that place states’ rights over federal authority, that mix and endorse religious identities with national identities, and that place individual choice over the shared health and well-being of our nation as a whole, which I tend to measure by how the less among us are living.  It also seems to me that the Republican party is often intent on promoting the U.S. as the dominant world empire deserving of respect and maintained through military might.   Thinking of myself more as a global citizen rather than simply as an American, I gravitate towards national policies that seek to build cooperative partnerships with other nations and that relies on diplomacy and benevolent actions rather than military superiority or economic intimidation to exercise U.S. interests in the international community.   
My affinity towards the Democratic Party, however, does not blind me to the ruinous partisan power struggles that have been going on for decades with America’s two-party political system. I am among those who have often looked for and voted for third-party candidates who seek to address important issues (environmental, racial, economic, etc.) that both Democrats and Republicans have ignored. I share the conviction of many that the influence of money has had a corrosive effect on our political system and the health of our democracy. I believe that the partisan and ideological gridlock in Congress has not only created ineffective government but undermines the cooperation and collaboration that is needed to address crucial issues facing our nation. I worry that the electorate today wants to vote for candidates who blame the other party for the ills of our nation and who engage in ideological warfare that only divides our nation more. I continue to hope and pray that the younger generations of Americans will seek to elect civic leaders who offer a compelling moral vision to undergird public policy decisions that lead to restoring democratic principles and institutions, bridging the strident ideological divide, and working towards peace, equity, and justice both locally and globally. Our current two-party system today does not reflect this vision and too often appears to foster political tribalism that leads to a breakdown in seeking political consensus and social trust.
In some respects, my alignment with the Democratic Party has more to do with my disgust of the Republican Party than it does with ideological compatibility. The moral and political repulsion I feel towards the Republican Party today has been amplified recently by the public statements being made by the stalwarts of this Party in their cult-like allegiance to former President Trump and their distortions of racism in America. The defense that the Republican Party is now giving about the January 6, 2021 insurrection at our nation’s capital simply reflecting “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse” should suffice to illustrate my disgust with the dishonesty, the manipulation, and the danger I see represented in this hyper-partisan party. The day after the insurrection that horrified our country, President Trump made this statement- “ I would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack on the United States Capitol. Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness, and mayhem. I immediately deployed the National Guard and Federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders. America is and must always be a nation of law and order. The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy. To those who engage in acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay”. A year later, Mr. Trump has now stated at a campaign rally in Houston that, if re-elected, he would pardon anyone convicted of a crime during this insurrection. It seems to me that these statements, along with the “Big Lie” that most Republicans have supported about a stolen 2020 Presidential election with absolutely no evidence of fraud or illegitimate voting, should be enough for anyone paying attention to question the integrity of the Republican party as a trustworthy political option for sustaining democracy in America. This kind of dishonest, manipulative behavior exhibited today by the Republican party leads me to believe those who support this kind of political charade have completely lost their moral compass.
My engagement with politics today is built around supporting governmental policies and initiatives that are seeking to establish the United States of America as a more perfect union, characterized by social, economic, racial, religious, and political equity for all. Here is an illustration that captures for me the difference between equality and equity for all-