I think one of the biggest challenges to reforming our obviously corrupt and messed up system is the fact said "system" keeps itself from being challenged by convincing us we are powerless to stop it.
Historically, this has
not proven to be the case–particularly in the past few decades (e.g., eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union), and one of our constant goals should be not letting the system wear us down, and keeping everyone else aware of the power we can hold
collectively.
Another important tenet to constantly keep in mind is that wanting to change this country does NOT make one “unpatriotic.” In fact, it is my strong sense of patriotism—honed and intensified by being a lifelong student of History, that has pushed me into this stance. I simply can’t accept that environmental destruction, child poverty, murderous violence, rapacious greed, and the like are simply “the price to be paid” for enriching a significant minority of the population.
As often happens in history, a society “loses touch” with its originating principles. Because so many of us have now reaped the benefits of a relatively peaceful, free, and just society, we assume no caretaking on our part is required to maintain this “wonder of the age.” This assumption risks all we have worked for–or at least all that our ancestors have worked for. Although seen from the world in a different light than at our “ideological peak,” America still retains the strengths and foundation necessary to lead the world to light, rather than perpetuate the primitive and obvious horrors of a war-based solution to “challenges.”
By many accounts, America remains a free and just society.
While justifiably envied by many in the world, we have also been surpassed by other nations in this realm.
One of the ironies of our age is that the successful model of American Liberty & Justice has been appropriated by nations that now have citizenry leading free lives that trump even our own. Yet, America still retains the strengths necessary to get back to the “head of the class,” and once more demonstrate to the world how a nation of “mongrels” can provide a society unmatched in terms of personal liberty and supreme justice.
America can not be content to rest on its laurels. Yes, we led a triumphant battle against the forces of totalitarianism in the 20th century; yes, we endured a decades-long “Cold War” in a struggle between a free system and one that was not–and triumphed. Yet our triumph in the latter was accomplished as much by example as by force of arms. By holding out hope, & showing how strong a free and just society can be, we “fomented” peaceful revolutions throughout eastern Europe & the largest empire of its day. Now, after winning the wars of the 20th century, we are on the verge of losing the peace.
America has a long history of shattering repressive worldviews. Our nation’s birth, its successes, and its impact, have all been questioned and challenged virtually every step of the way. Yet we persevered. And we triumphed. While we are not the first nation to stand astride the world in a “colossus-esque” fashion, we are definitely the freest to have done so. And now we are at a turning point. Will our society slowly decay and dissolve as the Romans did? Will we simply be “replaced” by a new global power, as happened to the British? Perhaps we will chart a new historical path, as yet unimagined, but potentially disastrous not only to our nation, but the world at large. Or, instead, will we step up, as a nation, and once again shatter historical “truths” to fine tune and re-build our nation into a society that incorporates the lessons of the 20th century into a roadmap for the 21st as to how to be–once again–a world leader in Peace, Justice and Liberty?
Peace: As the “world’s melting pot,” America should provide, by glorious example, a leadership extolling the virtues of peace. We should work with the world’s nations, through the UN, rather than dictate to them. We should ratify generally world-accepted treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of Children. We do not suggest that America subordinate its interests to others, nor do we suggest a capitulation of will. Rather, we should embrace America’s historic role as a light unto others and–again–lead by example, using the full weight of our industry, vigor, and collective strength to bring to fruition one of mankind’s longest hoped for and most cherished dreams: world peace.
Liberty: America should not have the highest number of its citizens incarcerated. We are better than that. We should have the fewest, if any at all. America should have no impediments of any kind in allowing its citizens the right to vote. We “set the bar” here and it should continually be raised until it can be raised no higher. We should promote, extol, and streamline the process of participating in our Democracy wherever possible. America should not concern itself with the private lives of its citizens, nor impede the rights of her people to engage in acts that harm no one else. There are more important things to concern ourselves with. We should demonstrate to the world that the freedom to do as you wish, as long as you harm no others, remains a cornerstone of this great country–and is, indeed, what made it great.
Justice: While America is a nation of laws, those laws should have a “preferential tilt” towards the people and away from artificial entities such as corporations and/or the military-industrial complex.
American entrepreneurship has a deservedly important role in our country’s history.
We can be rightly proud of the scientific, technological, and economic breakthroughs that have their origins in our Democratic system.
Yet, an increasingly obvious shift in “control” of the nation’s destiny–from its people to its corporate entities–has led us away from many of the values that made this country great.
Don’t get me wrong, I know “true” people-power only existed for a brief period from FDR through LBJ, but the swing back towards late 19
th-early 20
th century level corruption has almost bypassed that era—if it hasn’t already.
Our success as a nation should not be measured in dollar signs or profit margins, but rather in the happy, productive, and successful lives of our citizenry.
We are a rich country–both in resources and “heart & soul”–and if any country should be able to solve the problem of systemic poverty it should be America.
Also, remember back before Reagan when we treated our mentally ill rather than turned them out in the streets to create a new societal problem?
I do. And don’t get me started on torture.
The genius of the American system of Democracy (for we are a Democratic society above, beyond, and before we are a Capitalist “system”), is its ability to adapt.
While none of our founding fathers could have possibly foreseen the dramatic changes in American society as we “grew up,” they
did have the foresight to create a system of government–of the people, for the people, and by the people–that could be “tweaked” or amended as the need arose to ensure this grand experiment in self rule, so novel at its inception, could continue and thrive as vitally as the people it serves.
But to create the change necessary at this time in our history, the current “ruling class” needs to be replaced en masse. That is, the current administration and legislative body must immediately step down. For stability’s sake, current “systems” will remain in place as a new, more representative, government is seated through free, open elections. Four amendments will immediately be added to the U.S. Constitution for the new government to be bound by, but the system that has served us so well for so long will, to a large extent, remain unchanged on a macro level.
Four Amendments for the 21st Century
Voting: Abolish the electoral college and institute only publicly funded elections; free air time (this is the cornerstone as even good men have become corrupted by the system and of having to play the money game). As we are a nation of ideals, voting should be done so accordingly and not based on personalities or who has the best-funded campaigns. Congressional representation should be truly proportional. That is, for example, if a state has 10 representatives, and 30% of its citizenry vote “Green,” 30% vote “Democratic,” 30% vote “Republican,” and 10% vote “Libertarian,” that state’s makeup in Congress should include, respectively, 3, 3, 3, and 1 representative from each group.
Environment: No laws shall be made which threaten the natural environment in which we live. Our duty to our children and our children’s children demands that government, whenever possible, assists and facilitates industries, initiatives, technologies, and policies that promote a more responsible utilization of our finite resources. The potential for new industry, based on “remaking” society in a more environmentally sound way, is enormous.
Privacy: No laws shall be made that deprive a person of life, liberty, justice, peace, or the pursuit of happiness based simply on who they are, rather than something they’ve done. Nor shall any laws be made that punish what an individual does, as long as it harms no one else.
Internationalism: Renounces war; re-commits to working with, rather than dictating to, the world community. Will sell arms to no one, but will sell bread, etc. And dedicate itself to ending war throughout the world.
