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“The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and the moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy.” – MLK

            On November 3, 2004, the day the world learned that George Bush had finally won the seat he has occupied for the past four years by 3,500,000 votes, I was asked if I felt that the Democratic Party should make concessions to the 98,500,000 voters who chose Bush because they agreed with his moral convictions (based on exit polls from CNN.com: from 615,000,000 voters, 80% of the 22% for whom moral issues were the most important voted for Bush). Such concessions would allow Democrats to fix what has gone wrong since Republicans took control, but our party would lose its defining characteristic in regards to social issues – the philosophy of ‘live and let live.’

Lyndon Johnson faced the same dilemma we face today when he passed Civil Rights legislation because he knew that he would lose the South for our party, yet for any progress to be made, he had to follow as his conscience dictated. This required that he take the high road, regardless of consequences. This is the road that the Democratic Party should take today. We must stand firm in this time of adversary, for how else will we succeed in giving everyone the rights they deserve?

            Upon reflection, I found that while I did not want to reduce a vote down to gay marriage or abortion rights (both of which I strongly support), I could not let such social issues be ignored or worse, lose what little progress they have made. As countless Americans learned with Dr. King during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, social issues are the hardest to change because they are the most deeply rooted in one’s psychology.

For me, staying this course means that I have a great responsibility. I cannot change everyone’s views, but I can be an example to both my peers and the children whose lives I touch. I can show and teach tolerance and respect for others, as well as common sense. To live up to the example of Dr. King, I have to fight this uphill battle, even if the results will be nothing more than those Don Quixote brought about with his impossible dream. Every letter to the editor I write regarding how sexual education should be taught, every heated argument as to what role the government should have in my private life, will be energy well spent if I change one opinion.

This is where I stand. This is where Dr. King and Lyndon Johnson would stand. This is where the Democratic Party should stand, and where it will have to stand if it wants to continue its social progress in these times of challenge and moments of controversy.