The mission of a democracy is to achieve a society that is both free and fair. The Democratic Party historically has committed itself to the principles set out below, which if pursued honestly, openly, and faithfully, will promote human rights and foster a just community. These fourteen principles guide the work of Kentucky Women’s Network.
- All people are entitled to live without fear for their own safety and the safety of their loved ones. That safety must be secured by both protection and prevention.
- Each person is entitled access to honest work providing a living wage conducted in a safe, healthy work environment.
- Access to high quality public education must be available to all people regardless of gender or sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, financial status, or disability.
- Each person is entitled to quality affordable health care.
- Natural resources of our country and the world are held by individuals and institutions, public or private, in stewardship. As a democratic society, we must conserve and maintain the natural environment as a sacred trust owed to those now living and those to follow.
- All citizens, corporate and individual, are stewards of the public good. Public policy must rest upon an ethic of mutual responsibility.
- As citizens of the nation richest in natural and human capital, we must ensure that we share with the world’s less prosperous, so that all people can hold a vision of a brighter future.
- Patriotism mandates that we act in accordance with our historical mission: to act as a responsible citizen-nation in the community of nations, adhering to our commitments; seeking peaceful resolution of international conflict; and fostering an atmosphere of global trust.
- A just society ensures that the opportunities and benefits of that society are equally available and distributed, that human needs do not go unmet, and that the responsibility to fund those obligations is shared equitably.
- Access to the benefits and opportunities provided by a democratic society shall not be denied to any person on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, or disability.
- The free and open exchange of ideas is the bedrock of democracy. Freedom of expression, even of unpopular opinion, and unfettered access to information must be preserved and protected.
- Everyone must be free to worship according to his or her own conscience; government must refrain from either fostering or frustrating the practice of religion.
- Our civil and criminal justice systems must be kept free of all bias, social and economic discrimination.
- A democratic government IS the people. It is our role, as government, to assure the pursuit of the principles set forth above by enhancing the community life of the citizen, while leaving sacrosanct the social, religious and personal life, fostering in each citizen a dedication to fruitful and rewarding service to self, family, community and nation.