Credo in... ; or, In which I attempt to define my biases

Wow... no followers on blogspot itself yet, but 5 people who aren't me subscribing to the LJ RSS feed. I should actually try to keep to my planned update schedule.

I plan on, on occasion, commenting here about current events and the like. Before I do so, I feel I should lay out where I'm coming from. I make no claims to writing objectively about politics or anything else, because I do not believe that to be either feasible or desirable. Everything I say will be skewed by the lens of my personal beliefs. In light of that, I think a few statements as to the nature those beliefs are in order.

- I believe that it is the duty of any civilized society to ensure that its people are educated, fed, clothed, sheltered, employed, and healthy. The primary role of government is to see these duties carried out. Government is the method by which society acts upon itself.
- That being said, I believe in individual responsibility. It is NOT society's job to hand you food and money indefinitely if you fail to attempt to work.
- Factual education is the job of the schools, and should never be politicized. Truth is not a democracy, and no vote will invalidate science or validate myth.
- Moral education is the job of the parents. It is YOUR JOB to make sure your kid learns things like manners, respect, kindness, compassion.
- As a corollary to the above: socialization is key to every child's emotional development. This is why I am, most of the time, absolutely opposed to home-schooling. (Yes, I know many areas have home-schooling networks that provide support and socialization. This is an excellent step.) I do, however, recognize it as necessary given the current state of most public school systems. In one episode of "The West Wing", Sam states a fervent belief that "schools should be palaces". I could not agree more.
- Everyone should be taught not just to know, but also to think. Standardized testing in public schools has pushed this out of the classroom, and that dismays me.
- The secondary role of government is the safety and security of its citizens. This is why laws against murder, assault, burglary, fraud, and the like are all important. It is important to note that I do NOT refer to moral health here. The legislation of one group's mores onto another is vile to me. At the moment, this applies primarily to Marriage Equality and to Reproductive Choice, but also covers the teaching of Creationism in science classes and most other "Traditional Values" issues
- As I view government as the tool by which society acts upon itself, I believe that those we elect can and must be role models. I want them to be smarter than me and better than me. I believe that politcal corruption is not "part of the game" but is a sin against the trust we should be able to place in those we choose to govern.
- I believe that the things I want my government to do, from running public schools to maintaining roads to putting out fires, all cost money, and taxes are the only way that money is going to be raised. I believe that income tax should come disproportionately from those who can afford it, and I think that the Estate Tax is this country's best way of keeping some semblance of a meritocracy rather than a hereditary monied class. (Relatedly, anyone who uses the phrase "Death Tax" is summarily ignored from that point forward.)
- Finally, I believe deeply in the experiment that is the United States of America. To borrow a simile from Al Franken, I love America, but not the way that a 4-year-old loves Mommy. This country, through its leaders, can and have and will make poor choices, do wrong things. All I ask for is an ability to recognize those mistakes, and to learn from them.

As I write, more things keep coming to me, but I'm going to leave it at that as it ended up a lot more than I had intended to write tonight.