While we work toward a better America for everyone, we must act “as if.”
Progress takes time. Consider that the first President to propose universal health insurance was Teddy Roosevelt, but the first major step toward that kind of health reform didn’t happen until Barack Obama’s presidency.
But the Affordable Care Act did become law because Democrats and progressives never lost sight of their ultimate goal. It happened because we never stopped working toward that goal and we held fast to the values we share — the values that define who we are.
Democrats and progressives want America to be a place where no one goes broke because they were diagnosed with a serious illness. We want America to be a place where everyone who works hard has the opportunity to prosper. We want America to be a place where everyone can marry the person they love and never be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We want America to be a place where people can grow old with dignity and security, without fearing that the benefits they worked for their entire life will be taken away.
We want America to be a place where people of color do not have to fear being gunned down in the street over a routine traffic stop. We want America to be a place where religion can’t be used as a license to discriminate. We want America to be a place where women’s access to the full array of reproductive health services remains legal and safe. We want America to be a place where we protect our environment and natural resources, where we do not have to be afraid of getting sick from the food we eat and the air we breathe.
We want America to be a place where everyone can get a job — a good job that pays a living wage and that pays men and women equally if they have the same skills.
Ensuring a living wage for every American is one of the most pressing issues of our time. We can’t expect a robust economy if the majority of working Americans can’t afford to pay their bills, buy a house, set aside some savings and buy the products other Americans make and sell.
So Democrats and progressives continue working to raise the minimum wage, ensure paycheck fairness, and demonstrate to corporations that investing in their employees is an investment in their own prosperity.
These are values we hold dear. And if we want everyone else to cherish these values, we have to live them ourselves, every day, until they’re something everyone can achieve.
That’s what Chris Savage does with Eclectablog. Unlike so many other blogs, he insists on paying his regular contributors. He lives the progressive value of respecting that everyone deserves to be compensated for their work.
The vision progressives and Democrats share for what America can be won’t happen overnight. It takes determined work over years — decades, even — to achieve our goals. But it happens when we work together.
Most important, it happens when we live the values we want everyone else to live by. If we’re not honoring the work of others, then how can we expect the rest of the country to see why that’s important? While we’re working toward our goals, each of us needs to act as if we’ve already achieved them.
One way to live your values is with a donation in any amount to Eclectablog. There are three ways to help.
First, you can make your donation using the PayPal form below. You can change the amount if you wish. The default is $60 which is basically $1 per week after the fees are taken out. That’s a good value.
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Or you can wait until the TinyPass pop-up pops up (every tenth click on the site) and donate that way. If you do that, the popups will go away as long as you have cookies enabled. Like with the PayPal form, the default amounts for annual or monthly donations can be adjusted to whatever you wish them to be. They are currently set to be around $1 per week.
Finally, if you would prefer to send a check, send Chris an email and he’ll give you the address. This is the most beneficial way for us because it avoids the PayPal and TinyPass fees that are taken from contributions to the site.
If you work for an organization that would like to support our efforts by placing an ad, click HERE for our ad rates and more information. By the way, you don’t have to be an organization to run an ad. Maybe you’d like to surprise your favorite progressive with a birthday message on Eclectablog or help promote your favorite group.
If you cannot afford to support us financially, there are a couple of other ways that you can help.
First, you can do you Amazon shopping through the Eclectablog page. Use the search box at the top of the right sidebar to start your shopping. If you order via that link, we get 4-6% of the cost of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you a thing.
Second, please share our content on your Facebook page or other social media like Twitter, Reddit, etc. Put a “Like” on our Facebook page and click the “Invite friends” button and encourage your friends to like us, too.
Thanks so much for your continued support,
Amy, Chris, Anne, LOLGOP, Tony, Emma, and Charles
[Image credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, via Flickr.]
