Just because Donald “Agent Orange” Trump is no longer in the White House does not mean that the long march to progress has stopped. In America, we still have a lot of work to do to provide justice to historically marginalized people, raise the poorest Americans out of poverty, bring healthcare to all, fight climate change, project peace across the globe, and educate the next generation of citizens.

Real Democrats hold their values in their hearts and wear their hearts on their sleeves.

If you’re a real Democrat…

… you’re all about inclusion.

In the words of President Barack Obama, the fight for progress extends from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall. Democrats believe in inclusion, diversity, and equity. Are you a woman, a man, non-binary, trans? Are you gay, straight, bisexual, elsewhere on the spectrum? Are you Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, white? Are you differently abled? Are you working class, middle class, below the poverty line? We are the big-tent party that says there’s room for everyone.

… you’re ready to fight extinction.

Climate change is real, and climate change is here. As we speak, floods drown Europe. Fires rage across the western United States. Rare species disappear across the globe. International migration patterns will change drastically as climate change displaces people far and wide. Oceans will eat away at the shores and push us further inland. Life as we know it will cease to be life as we know it. Democrats believe the science and believe that we have the power to act NOW to stop climate change.

… you’re and anti-racist.

You need no more convincing that America’s past, for all its virtues, includes a litany of abuses. America was built on slavery. America committed genocides against native Americans. America has mistreated, antagonized, and exploited immigrants. It’s an American patriot who points out these woes. It is not anti-American to do so. It is a true American who wants to right wrongs, correct mistakes, and fix chronic problems. True Americans are real Democrats. Real Democrats are anti-racist.

… you care about the future of America.

America is failing its children by failing its schools. We do not do enough to fund our public schools and educate the next generation of citizens, voters, and leaders. An uneducated, undereducated, miseducated democracy is doomed to lose the name. Democracies only thrive when ballots are cast by an educated public. Democrats care about the future of American democracy. So, Democrats have schools on the Emergency List.

… you crave public healthcare for all.

Democrats value life and abhor death. Death from need. Death from maltreatment. Death from war. But worst of all, the preventable deaths of those who could not and cannot afford treatment in America’s healthcare system. The top 10 killers in America are preventable diseases. Inequities in America’s healthcare scheme are costing more lives than our history’s major wars. Democrats can end the madness.

… you care about international peace.

You know the old phrase. Wars: Republicans start ‘em, Democrats end ‘em. It has always been true. Sadly, it looks as though it will always be true. Democrats believe in the rules-based global order. In cooperation with partners around the world. In treating those from other countries with the same respect and deference as we treat one another. Because Democrats are the party of peace, we are the party that cares about America’s place in the world.

Are you a real Democrat? Share this post with your friends who will meet the challenge of saving America’s future.