The government serves the best interest of its people
Believe it or not, this is generally true. Especially when you realize that the government is not just the folks you see in DC. It's all of your local governments -- your city councils, county commissioners, school boards, water districts, etc. Those folks are almost all made up of your friends and neighbors, and they're trying to do right by the mission and obligations of the entity. They don't always get it right, but almost always, they're really trying. Now, as you get higher up, AND as you get wrapped up in ridiculous ideological shit as opposed to simple governance, then it's about serving special interests, making public statements/displays to get re-elected, etc.
Summary: when folks are talking about your water system, or your schools, or your roads, they are trying to serve the best interest of the people. When they're talking about hot-button social issues, they aren't.
The police protect the community and keep it safe
This can be true....and the opposite can be true, both at the same time. Police presence and sound community policing unquestionably reduces crime. But it's also beyond debate that PDs have a long history of racist enforcement and culture, and more recently, needlessly militaristic and antagonistic policing approaches. I don't trust the police. But I believe that I should be able to. Some PDs are working to earn that trust back. More should follow their model.
Practicing religion is a virtue
As someone steeped in a religious education, and married to a pastor....it pains me to say that I no longer agree with this. Again, not that it SHOULDN'T be true....but today, and I now realize, through most of history, religion has just been used by folks as a cudgel and shield for their own abhorrent personal beliefs and desires. If I saw more folks fighting the power so that they could live out the Gospels and simple commandments like love your fellow man, etc.....as opposed to using "religion" as a weapon to enforce their pre-existing, selfish beliefs, I might feel differently. I don't hate religion. But I hate what people do with it, and I just don't see evidence that it can be saved.
We are a melting pot of races and ethnicities and are better for it
100%. Our history bears that out. Our pool of nobel laureates bears that out, etc. But as a society, we've never really believed this. We just move on to hating the new minority group du jour. It used to be the Chinese, the Italians, the Irish. Jews are always popular to hate/blame. In the 70s, we decided to hate the Vietnamese refugees. In recent decades, we decided to hate middle eastern people. And of course, we hispanics have a steady spot in the rotation, along with black folks. We are a hateful society, founded on racism, steeped in racism, and we wallow in it over and over, at the same time completely denying it as a truth. This statement is true. But we have never actually believed it.
Warnings emerging from scientific analysis (climate change) should be heeded
Also true, but the dissent on this is nothing new. Populist know-nothingism is part of our national DNA.
Vaccination protect children from sickness and death
Also true, but see the comment above.
Strong public education is in society’s best interests
Well, it was never fully true -- we were never really interested in educating black folks. But it's gotten even worse, and that's because of the rise of the God of Individualism. How dare you take any of MY money to help someone else -- that's stealing! Taxation is theft! It's the biggest goddamned lie and folly. The folks who claim "taxation is theft!" are almost always also "strong law and order" types. So they're quite happy to spend $500,000 incarcerating someone instead of spending $50,000 to educate him. This SHOULD be an issue on which all spots on the political spectrum agree -- particularly in the changing world, human beings are our greatest capital asset. We should enhance their value, which enhances the value of our entire national enterprise. But nope, there is only one master to be served - ME. And there is only one time to serve him -- RIGHT NOW. Nevermind a future, populated by other people.
There is enough for us all to be happy and prosper
Of course there is. But see the God of Me above. We don't LET there be "enough for us all." We treat the universe and all in it as a zero-sum game. And when we do so, it obliges us.
People on the opposite end of the political spectrum from me have a valuable role to play in our shared future
I used to think this. I was wrong. I don't know if it's because of what they believe, or because of the actions they take and support BECAUSE of what they believe, but I guess the distinction doesn't matter. Our core belief should be a belief in the good of the Commonwealth while balancing respect and preservation of the rights of the individual. For fuck's sake, it's our opening statement:
1 in Order to form a more perfect Union,
2 establish Justice,
3 insure domestic Tranquility,
4 provide for the common defence,
5 promote the general Welfare, and
6 secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity
A union. To provide for common good. To secure the blessings of liberty. Not just for now, but for the future. Do we believe in those things? Well, we said we did. But actions speak louder than words on 230 year old parchment. We are supposed to strike a proper balance between the common good and individual liberty. The extremes speak to neither, and that leaves us with a government at the top that is run by a cadre that simply allows itself to be played in the interest of maintaining power.