Hi there. I’m Lu Bauer, and I’ll be writing a weekly column about the values I believe unite Maine and the Lakes Region as a community. I believe in promoting strong communities, fairness to all, and investment in Maine’s future, through practical government. These are not so much “progressive” values as American values – they embody the ideals on which our nation was founded, and that have made it a strong and moral country ever since.

Dare I believe that most of us want to make a better life for ourselves, our families, friends, and neighbors, and everyone else? My life in Maine has confirmed for me that human beings are fundamentally good and care for one another. We lose our way sometimes, blinded by material wealth or perhaps losing sight of what we live for as the nation’s policies condemn more and more of our citizens to a desperate struggle for basic survival. There are always folks eager to profit by using our fears to divide us, and indeed a movement full of such people controls all three branches of the federal government right now. Still, our nation’s history has been a steady march toward realizing our founding ideals, and away from the inequality, selfishness, and recklessness that characterize the federal government’s current agenda.

I am writing this column because, although I think most Mainers and Americans share my values, I do not see those values represented in the media or in public debate. A few years ago, I made the wonderful discovery that an individual can make a difference by speaking up, pulling her neighbors together, discussing what kind of community they want, and working together to make it happen. When we act with courage to tell the truth and work toward our vision of society, we can change the world, precisely because most people’s deeply-held convictions are fundamentally the same.

They just need to be reawakened from time to time. Though many people have such courage, they rarely get to participate in public debate. Though Maine has an amazingly open legislative process, the media in which so much public discussion = takes place is decidedly less open. I want this column to serve efforts to discuss and organize around these community values, so please let me know if you are involved in such efforts!

My values arise out of my life experiences, the people I have met, and the lessons I have learned in my community. This column, then, will not be an abstract meditation on progressive values. It will discuss the questions that face the community in the Lakes Region and Maine.

What sorts of solutions do our values suggest to Maine’s problems? Building a strong, sustainable economy with business opportunity, high-paying jobs for all, and a social safety net ensures a living wage, economic security, and time for family.

Effective, accountable public schools and universities provide a vital investment in our state’s future by producing a skilled, adaptable workforce full of educated, engaged citizens who contribute to their communities.

Universal health care coverage invests in Maine’s future by making our citizens healthier and lowering costs for families and businesses, while meeting our community’s moral obligation to its least fortunate members.

Clean air and water, open space, and sustainable development keep our families and communities healthy, and create tourism jobs. Protecting individual rights and preventing discrimination allows us to raise our children in communities where everyone is treated fairly and with respect.

Protecting the safety, security, and peace of Maine’s citizens and communities ensures a state as free as possible from war, crime, fear, discrimination, and economic insecurity. Promoting democracy, transparency, and effectiveness allows government to serve the public good rather than wealthy campaign donors and corporate special interests.

Those are my values. Are they yours, too?