Compassionate Progressive - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my series, "Compassionate Progressive". As described in my previous post, I am dissecting a Facebook post, adding my own thoughts from a compassionate, logical and researched perspective. I started this series with a brief explanation of why I decided to embark on this journey, followed by the Facebook post in its entirety. The rest of the series will be portions of the original Facebook post followed by my additions. 

As I stated before, I am hopeful that this series will spark an interesting conversation concerning the nature of politics and its effect on society, while attempting to infuse compassion into the mix. Without a clear focus on compassionate problem-solving, we simply cannot solve the myriad issues we are facing today.

"I am a Democrat because shared sacrifice is, in my view, a greater act of patriotism than wearing a flag lapel pin." 

Shared sacrifice means exactly that: Shared. When the income gap is so wide that one percent of the population holds more wealth than the other 99 percent combined; when the middle class and working poor are expected to carry the full weight of tax burden, while the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations are allowed to loophole themselves out of paying their fair share; then we have a serious problem that is only going to make things far worse and create more suffering for so many. 
(Click here for detailed research)

"I am a Democrat because my faith is a private matter and not a litmus test of my quality as a citizen."

The First Amendment of the Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..". Article Six of the US Constitution clearly and explicitly states that, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." No need to say more. 

"I am a Democrat because I would rather see a poor child fed or a devastated neighborhood rebuilt before reducing taxes on those making so much money that they can live where such things are never seen."

Research (credible research) over the last few decades has shown that the best ways to lift people out of poverty include raising the minimum wage, increasing the effectiveness of workers' unions, eliminating the rising trend of "wage theft" (forcing employees to work off the clock or refusing to pay overtime, for example), and strengthening the social safety nets that protect families during harsh economic times. 
(Click here for detailed research)

"I am a Democrat because I cannot support politicians that would take away a woman’s right to control her own body while otherwise ranting that government should get out of our lives."

The continual attempt (that has been successful in some red states) to:
limit or eliminate a woman's right to reproductive choice, to de-fund and otherwise close the doors to Planned Parenthood, criminalize women who exercise their reproductive rights (even attempting to criminalize miscarriages), excuse murderers of abortion doctors, allow parental rights to rapists, requiring invasive vaginal probes against the wishes of the woman, attempts to limit or eliminate women's birth control options, grant employers the right to dictate their female employee's health care choices, attempts to prevent or increase the difficulty of obtaining divorces, voting against bills to protect women from domestic violence, rape and assaults, and voting against equal pay for equal work, among others - 
prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the neocon agenda is indeed waging a war against women.
(Click here to see a well-researched article with hyperlinks detailing these irrefutable facts)

Please read, share and comment, being aware that I moderate comments prior to posting to prevent spamming. All viewpoints are welcome, but respect is key.