It seems that the word "values" is often used to mean "conservative values." I'm a liberal, but I have strong values too. I strive to be kind, honest, and fair in all that I do. I don't gamble, drink, smoke, or swear. I'm a vegetarian. I use mouse traps that catch mice alive and then I drive the mice I catch out to the country.
I try to live in ways that are good for the environment. I recycle and buy recycled products, I buy organic food, I walk to work, I use cloth rags and towels rather than paper towels, and I use environmentally friendly personal care and household cleaning products. One of my family traditions is to re-use wrapping paper. The trick is to hold things together with ribbon instead of with tape. On Christmas Day as we unwrap our gifts, we have the ribbon box and the paper box in the middle of the floor. As we unwrap each gift, we fold up the ribbon and paper and put each in the appropriate box. Then when we are done, we are all cleaned up and have the paper and ribbons ready for next year.
When choosing which companies to do business with or invest in, I'm guided not only by cost and convenience, but whether the company's practices are in line with my values. I do business with financial institutions which practice socially responsible investing.
I prefer community over big business. I avoid malls because I don't like being in such a materialistic environment. I prefer to shop at small, local businesses rather chains. I garden and go to the farmer's market. I believe kids and grownups should spend little time on computer games and TV, and plenty of time on playing outdoors, playing with kids, playing with grownups, running around, dancing, reading, and doing creative things, whether it's building furniture, drawing pictures, making music, doing pottery, writing, or some other sort of arts, crafts, or engineering. When I hang out with others, I prefer to do something outdoors or at someone's home rather than going somewhere such as a bar, restaurant, or mall.
I've heard people complain that people should not bring their kids to restaurants. "Advice goddess" Amy Alkon says that kids should not be brought to a wedding reception. She writes, "Who says America isn't a monarchy? It's ruled by millions of tiny tyrants named Cody and Madison, presiding over adult-sized serfs called parents whose single greatest fear is not being liked by their children." I find her disrespectful attitude toward kids offensive. I don't believe kids should be spoiled, but I don't think spoiling comes from including kids in activities. Instead, it comes from indulging kids with too many material things and failing to expect them to behave responsibly. I believe kids are part of the family and should be listened to and treated with respect.
I think it's wrong to condemn people based on concrete things such as religious affiliation or the number or gender of one's of sexual partners. Instead, I think the measure of morality is in treating others with kindness, respect, and honesty. People sometimes interpret liberals' tolerance of diversity as spinelessness, as not taking a stand for what is right. We have beliefs about what is right, they just aren't the same as what the conservatives believe. Conservatives see immorality in diverse sexual practices. I see immorality in the discrimination which our country institutionalizes in its marriage laws. Liberals show that they have strong moral beliefs when they express their objections to war, holding prisoners at Guantanamo without trial, torture, capital punishment, permissive gun laws, and animal testing.
Some people think it must take a lot of self-repression to avoid swearing and alcohol and meat and junk food, but it doesn't. Meat-eaters don't feel deprived if they live on a diet which does not include split peas or tofu, and in the same way, I don't feel deprived by how I live. To me, my lifestyle is much more fun and interesting than what is considered a mainstream lifestyle.
