One of the premisis of liberalism has always been that we all ultimately are equal under the eyes of god. It doesn't matter if your white, black, or red, young or old, rich or poor, or anything else. It's not a question of who you are, but the content of your character that matters. Unfortunately, it seems for many liberals that such universal love for mankind is in decline. Increasingly, many liberals are talking about having supreme character and being a kind of person that can not be shared with one from Red America.

Red America for many liberals is rural America. It's an area of backwardness, and people who would rather trust the establishment then go for radical change that would upset their lives.You go to Democratic political conventions all this time and here this attitude. Country folks are a bunch of bumpkins that need to be reformed in their ways. To them, farmers and mechanics are blind to the way of the world. Their socially conservative ways are totally incompatible with that of the party they claim.

Such an ideology is anti-thetical to the liberal belief of tolerance. It's unfortunate that so many liberals fear that they must defend themselves against rural America. Many rural people may be less tolerant, but that is no reason for us as a party not to tolerate them. Sometimes the most challenging people to tolerate are those disagree with our beliefs. Yet, just because they are different is not an excuse for not being as open and embracing as we should be.

The Democratic Party should be doing more to reach rural America, from speaking their issues to challenging them to be active citizens. Sometimes rural people and the party may not agree on specific issues. That does not mean that we can't work to support them on other issues. Most rural people can agree with Democratic values such as the right to a decent living wage, farm supports for family farmers, and a healther environment. We need to make it clear that we need a clean environment sustainably developed if we want to continue to have farms, along with being able to camp, fish, and hunt. Nobody wants mercury-laced fish, or to see the city take over more and more of the countryside.

Before we can get to the country, we first have to tolerate their values and differences, and find ways to work with them. When that happens, maybe we can win back our country!