Welcome back to The Modern Moderate; we hope you have found a home with colleagues who have a Moderate political persuasion – but strong, passionate feelings on the subject.

We Modern Moderates have core values that we do our best to uphold – and we expect our leaders to set a good example and uphold them, too. These values are neither Left- nor Right-Wing, and Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on them (if nothing else). We believe they are crucial, have stood the test of time, and are essential for citizens of a democracy to follow.

Here, then, are more of our core values:

Modesty

Also known as humility or meekness. In his Sermon on the Mount, the prophet Jesus proclaimed “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”. Many Modern Moderates grew up with dictums like “don’t brag on yourself”. We were taught to do our best; and if we did well, others might compliment us. But we learned not to shower ourselves with praise, and our leaders shouldn’t, either.

Fidelity

Also known as faithfulness, includes loyalty. Most of us are faithful to our mates, and loyal to our families, friends, and business partners. We are also loyal to our country; a great example was set by the “Moderate Maverick”, the recently departed Senator John McCain (see our post “Respect IS a Moderate Value” for more about him). A critical way for our leaders to display their loyalty: work together to keep America safe, united and prosperous.

Equality

“All men are created equal” is a founding principle of our country, stated at a time when “men” referred to all Americans, male and female. Therefore, prejudice and discrimination, based on race, gender, religion (or lack thereof), country of origin, sexual orientation, or other reasonable factors, are decidedly unacceptable and UN-AMERICAN.

Nonviolence

One of the first lessons we were taught as children still applies, no matter how old we are: Threats, insults, intimidation, and violence (including bullying) are NOT acceptable ways to address conflicts. The Civil Rights movement succeeded because it was, at the insistence of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders, nonviolent.

For now, these values provide a starting point for our discussions – and a moral compass for our leaders.

If you have other core values we Modern Moderates should consider, email them to us at:
info@themodernmoderate.com

Or post a comment at the end of this post.

Speaking of that, we Modern Moderates had better start respectfully debating the issues facing us and demanding compromise solutions – because our politicians aren’t. And we’d better start insisting they abide by these and our other core values. If we don’t, those who don’t share them could transform our beloved country into one we would barely recognize, one no longer great. That would be tragic, indeed; so please, join us now.