The Mirrored Road into the Interior

This is a work in progress. There are at least a few more lines to go, and the framing paragraph from the first instance of this was specific to the application I wrote this for, so I need to come up with a new one of those.

I believe that social justice is important, not just for you and me and our neighbors, but for the whole of humanity.
I believe in progress and that things are, overall, better than they were in the past.
I believe in stewardship, that we owe those who come after us a world at least as glorious as the one we live in today.
I believe that conservation efforts are important, and that they should all be based in sound research, that science should inform policy and that scientists should and can be both activists and objective.
I believe that as important as environmental conservation is for utilitarian reasons, it is also a good in itself, that we protect the animals and plants and ecosystems both for the vast benefits they give us and for their own right to exist.
I believe that we have the right to good clean food and water, and that it is our responsibility to make sure that both of these stay that way.
I believe that food and goods should be produced as close to locally as possible, and that any farmer we buy food from, no matter where, should receive a fair price for the labor of his or her hands.
I believe in sustainable development, not as an industrial catch phrase, but as a way of life.
I believe that where it is viable, mass transit is far superior to personal vehicles, and that it is better to bike than to ride.
I believe that our natural resources are limited and that humanity, as the animal most capable of foresight, does not have to destroy its habitat tomorrow in order to live well today.
I believe that conservation efforts have to work both from the top down and from the bottom up, that any plan without government support is liable to fail, and that any plan that does not engage the individual stakeholders is guaranteed to fail.
I believe that we should own our government, that it should act as a safety net, not a restraint.
I believe that I am better off if my neighbors are taken care of, if they have access to healthcare, education, and access to the necessities of life, and that part of being a member of the national community is making sure that all of my neighbors have a chance to live their lives in freedom, security, and health.
I believe that farmers and workers should be paid a fair wage and should work in conditions that do not pose an undue risk to their health and safety.
I believe that leisure is an important activity, that there is nothing wrong with stopping to enjoy the world around you from time to time.
I believe that the best way to achieve progress is through general education and the availability of information. I believe that the public libraries and the internet are important grounds for the generation of new interests, places that people can go to broaden their horizons and expand their lives.
I believe that the GPL and Creative Commons are the best way to deal with information in a digital era, that the perpetual copyright is an evil that we never bargained for, and that the abolishment of copyright is no solution.
I believe that art, music, sports, languages, and all of the rest are an important part of our children’s education, that we do them no good focusing on a few narrow fields in order to achieve some arbitrary testing goal if they don’t also have all of these things in their lives.
I believe that publicly funded research and art is important.
I believe that research done at the expense of the public should be made readily available to those who paid for it.
I believe that peace should be our goal, that violence and warfare is only justified when protecting your self and others from harm.
I believe that the US has a valid place on the world stage, that we can and should be a great power for good, but that unilateral action and exploitative trade agreements are not in anyone’s best interests.
I believe in planning for today, for tomorrow, for next year, for the next century, and for the distant future.
I believe that, so long as we harm no one else, all of humanity should have the freedom of belief and the freedom of conscience.
I believe that regardless of race, creed, color, or any other method of grouping people, we are all valuable as humans and we all deserve the ability to follow our own path so long as it does no intentional harm.
Most importantly, I believe that there is hope.