It seems that every time I open this particular window and fire up the editor, I'm about to tear up the Republicans. There's so much to criticize and expose that it crowds out things I'd like to be writing about. As a very good friend tells me, I'm more informative when I write or talk about Democrats. That's what I'm going to do here.

To borrow a line from a much better writer and speaker, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., I have a dream. My dream is that a Democrat will stand up before a microphone with people paying attention and tell us about our great nation and party. That speech could go something like this.

I have a dream as well. My dream is that the people will elect a government willing to serve them instead of the highest bidder. My dream is that the people will elect a government that believes it is meant to make the lives of its citizens better.

In my dream, the conversation between the people and their government goes beyond lobbyists and organized groups. Instead, a multitude of conversations will take place in churches, union halls and auditoriums across the nation. That conversation will be about the common good. Kennedy asked what can we do for our government. I want to know what we can do for each other and what role government can play in that.

We are the greatest nation in the world but we fall far short of our potential. So far, we've asked what we can do to enrich ourselves and we've worshipped at the altar of greed. There's nothing wrong with profit in and of itself. The problem comes when we ask how we can use others to enrich ourselves without regard to their well being.

It is time for us to ask ourselves what we can do for the common good. There are a lot of very sick people in this nation. Some of them get very good health care while others suffer because our health care system is based on profit. Other nations have health care systems based on helping those who are sick. Why shouldn't we join them?

Some will tell you that that national health care will cost too much. That may be true but it will cost a lot less than the current system. The current system is so expensive that our most successful corporations are losing money while providing less and less for their employees. The least expensive and most efficient health system in this nation is traditional Medicare. (The drug debacle should not be allowed to detract from the original program.) We should be talking about Medicare for all. Adaptations may have to be made but it's a system that gives the sickest among us a surprisingly high level of choice. If you added in premiums from healthier people, it would be easy to expand coverage into new areas like prescription drugs.

A national conversation about drugs and the common good would likely end this false War on Some Drugs. What drugs are legal and illegal should be based on scientific study and not political dogma. If true scientific study determines that tobacco and pot are equally harmful, then the law should reflect that. Tobacco lobbyists should not be able to stop us from banning public use of a deadly substance. On the other hand, no one should be going to prison for smoking a joint with their friends no matter how many times they get caught. Driving drunk is already illegal and I see no reason not to extend that law to cover other substances. Let's save the prisons for the violent offenders whether drugs are involved or not.

We need to get together as a nation and talk about Civil Rights. Please notice that I did not say race. I say Civil Rights because we're all created equal without consideration of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or age. The common good requires that we recognise the humanity of every person.

This is the sort of democracy we should be promoting. Let's do the work that shows the pride we have in our nation and our beliefs. If we work together for the common good, we can make our nation into a shining example for all.