I really don’t like the labels conservative and liberal because they don’t really fit me. I do however like to be identified as a progressive because that word enables me to respect the past and try to make the present and future better. I don’t want to be boxed in by one political party and stop the dialogue with people whose world view differ from mine. I want my government to stop the endless wrangling and have our representatives’ roll up their sleeves, stifle their slogans and listen to the will of the people. The votes can be misleading if the choices are formed by attack ads and lobbyists strategies.

As a progressive I want every person in this country to have affordable excellent healthcare. I want the “the American dream” to become real by creating millions of well-paying jobs by addressing the grid and the crumbling infrastructure. I want an energy policy that will ensure less pollution so that my granddaughter’s generation will have a solid economy and fresh air to breathe. I desire real immigration policy that is comprehensive and fair. I hope for more opportunity for people to vote not just on certain days and the technology exists to widen the numbers that hopefully will come and vote. I want respect for all religious beliefs as well as those who do not believe and want the religions to really respect the separation of church and state. I long for the end of childhood hunger and the solutions to the homeless on our streets. I crave respect for all genders, sexual preference and equal pay and treatment for women in the workplace. I hope for the end of violence to women and a set of policies that do not do away with gun ownership but a dialogue on how we end the plague of senseless shootings in schools, theaters and shopping malls.

I long for real dialogue between the races and the end of labels on all sides that prevent the understanding that diversity is the backbone of this nation. This and much more is what the great American experiment can deliver if we jettison the labels, trust in the great American common sense and get the money the hell out of our politics. I am and will be until there is no breath left a committed progressive.