Call for Courage

Today, America and the world community are held in the grip of an Ideology of Fear. Such fear breeds universal distrust at home and abroad, among allies and foes alike. Fear causes us to accept, out of hand, the idea we must sacrifice our freedom and reverence for justice and uncritically accept the dictates of those who claim a special ability and power to protect us from our enemies. Fear also inhibits our willingness to question the motives, actions, and authority of our leaders. We are overwhelmed by the images and exhortations presnted by leaders in our government, by the mass media, and by the massive and complicated nature of the threats we then see directed against us. Too easily do we fall prey to the talons of this odious vulture -- FEAR.

Abraham Lincoln understood well the crippling power of Fear over the minds and actions of our nation. At the outset of the Civil War, he said, "The occasion is piled high with danger and as we must think anew so too we must act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we will save our country!" Mor recently, in the depths of the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt inspired our people by reminding "The Greatest Generation": "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" In both cases, America the Brave responded courageously.

The eminent Muslim scholar, Tarik Ramadan, has written: "When fear rules, emotions undermine rational analysis. In such a state, we condemn the consequences of some action and reject the individuals who commit it, but we don't seek to understand what led to such action. Fear authorizes us to forego all explanations, all understanding, all analysis that might allow us to understand the Other, his world, his hopes."

Democrats resist the Ideology of Fear. We believe in reaching out and appealing to the best that is in all people. We reject the narrow "them or us" fear driven mentality! We believe in the genius, decency, courage, and spiritual strength of our people. We do not fear to seek rational, non-violent solutions to all the challenges that confront our Nation! We welcome the challenge to "think anew and act anew." We resist the self-destructive notion that we must hand over our freedom, our rights, and our honor to the unwarranted intrusions of authorities at home or threats from abroad, for the sake of sense of "Security" based on the perpetuation of fear! We pray for Peace. We pray for Truth. We pray for Justice and Courage. We pray for the triump of Reason over Fear.

Join us if you do too!