| The Young Democrats of Arkansas uphold the principles of the United States Constitution and traditions of responsible, compassionate governance developed by Democrats for almost 200 years. As Democrats, we stand shoulder to shoulder with millions of American citizens from every background imaginable. We are proud of the history and diversity of our party. At the same time, we recognize that there are issues of special importance to our generation.
We Believe that young people have both the ability and the duty to make a positive impact on our government and the electoral process.
We Believe in creative, innovative educational programs that reward skill and talent.
We Believe in the role of education because of its influence on the future citizenry and believe it is the most important responsibility of state government.
We Believe that the role of the Young Democrats should be to educate Arkansas' youth on local, state and national issues of importance.
We Believe in the need for real campaign finance reform and full accountability of expenditures.
We Believe in providing the Arkansas Ethics Commission broader powers to investigate and adjudicate alleged ethics violations in all campaigns for public office in this state.
We Believe that one role of government should be to give traditionally disenfranchised citizens the tools to better themselves.
We Believe that the efforts to raise the standard of living of working Arkansans by organized labor should continue to be supported by the Democratic Party.
We Believe that charitable activities and community service should be a central part of participation in the Young Democrats.
We Believe in the inherent right of free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment and oppose any efforts to erode those sacred rights.
We Believe in the promise of equal opportunities, not equal outcomes.
We Believe in the protection of civil rights and the broad movement of minorities into America's economic and cultural mainstreams, not racial gender or ethnic separatism. We will not tolerate another decade in which the only civil rights movement is backward.
We Believe in equality for all people in the eyes of the law regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, age or sexual preference, and oppose measures that deny the equal protection of the laws to individuals based solely upon these criteria.
We Believe that America must remain energetically engaged in the worldwide struggle for individual liberty, human rights, and prosperity - not retreat from the world.
We Believe in the responsible management of our natural resources so that they may be enjoyed by future generations.
To be a Young Democrat is to be progressive, to attempt to initiate change for the common good and to condone fairness in all endeavors
To that wit, we adopt this Declaration of Ideals as guiding principles for the Young Democrats of Arkansas. We will labor to achieve these goals through honorable political action. We will publicize the need for change. We will support candidates who share our vision. When called upon, we will mount our campaigns for elected office to see that the concerns of our generation will be heard in the halls of government. We invite you to defy the cynicism of the time and join us in our endeavor.
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