The time has come to get
serious about some very basic matters. That means we must acknowledge some changes that may prove to be very uncomfortable,
even overwhelming. Nonetheless, we have
little choice but to explore them in order to “right the ship of state.” It is
time to rescue and to rebuild what we have lost or are losing as government and
governance come under degradation and attack.
Foremost, we are losing
Government of, by and for the People. What contributes to that fundamental
loss? Consider:
a.
Making a
career of politics or holding an
elective political office forever.
“CAREER POLITICIAN” should be an oxymoron and not a proper description
of an elected civil servant.
b.
Putting
allegiance to a political party above people, community, state, nation or the needs and desires of constituents, and
or the tenets of the Constitution.
c.
Treating elected
representatives - such as
congressmen, senators, judges, and other officials-- as though they are a special
class entitled to special privileges like: transport by chauffer, free surgery at naval
hospitals, taxpayer-funded excursions abroad for dubious purposes, and
exemption from laws they pass for others to obey. That’s not all, by any means, but perhaps you
get the picture: the wrong people are
receiving special considerations from our government. Special treatment is meant for the People,
not their representatives.
d.
Hiding or attacking
Truth, so that the People have little
or no access to what is really happening to their tax money, to their livelihoods,
to their families, to their environment, to their institutions, freedoms and
rights. At this point, no one can be
sure whether what they are hearing is truth or fiction. Think about it: this President lies all the
time, his minions in the cabinet and the White House develop more lies to
support his lies; the Republicans in Congress invent more lies and feed those
fictions to the public. Then, FOX News brings
all the lies together for the reinforcement of all the false news they can perpetrate
on an uninformed, biased base.
e.
Politicizing every
possible subject leaves average citizens
talking disgustedly much of the time about “politics as usual,” a general state
of “playing politics” and constant reference (mostly by the News Media) to one
Party or the other “politicizing” an issue, an event or a process. “Politicking” is a dirty word to many on
“both sides of the aisle.”
BUT, THAT’s JUST PART of
the STORY of the loss of the PEOPLE as
the SOURCE, the POWER and the REASON for a Government that SERVES the PEOPLE instead
of extorting their money, their property and their inalienable rights.
In the spirit of those
long-ago formulators of the Declaration of Independence, let us offer a list of
modern “usurpations and injuries” that have been forced upon us – not by a King of England – but by the very
elected representatives and office-holders who have failed to hold true to
purposes and aims of our unique Constitution.
This cannot be a definitive list, but perhaps it will suffice to paint a
picture of why we must reassert the POWER of the People as the ultimate check
upon the Tyranny of authoritarian government practices.
- Since 2010, at least 25 states have passed laws to restrict the vote, most targeting certain groups with unreasonable and irresponsible standards and practices. Example: Florida is trying to resurrect a kind of “poll tax” to prevent felons from voting even though they have finished their term of punishment.
- Unrelenting promotion of the myth that “what’s good for business is good for the people,” assisted by certain deceptions that accompany such drivel:
- that prosperity enhancements for the rich will “trickle-down” to others and thus promote the General Welfare, or
- that the prosperous deserve special considerations such as large tax breaks and income subsidies, or special privileges and considerations;
- that government is not responsible for those with special needs or challenges – that individuals must take full responsibility for themselves
- Giving credence to the lie that the People need not know everything that goes on in government; supported by development of a system of classification of information that restricts such information to certain people, thus providing a legal basis for cover-up of wrong-doing; such “classification” is growing so that now even presidential phone conversation notes become “classified.”
- Allowing unrestricted collection of private information about citizens is antithetical to the historical axiom that government has no business or right to delve into the private lives of its citizens without substantial cause. The Constitution provides several provisions for keeping government from “treading” on our backs. Yet, today we observe the failure of government to restrict the collection and use of extensive private information by cyberspace companies and by government agencies.
- Along those same lines, we are the unfortunate witnesses of the failure of government to protect and defend its citizens and to look out for their welfare because of its gross obsession with promoting economic prosperity for the wealthy at the expense of other groups. Thus, we see no federal action taken to:
o
prevent mass
shootings
o
ban
military-style automatic weapons
o
clean-up the
environment by reducing carbon emissions and chemical dumping
o
provide the basic
needs of those caught in the clutches of poverty: inadequate food, shelter,
healthcare, education and productive work
o
embrace the
future and act now to repair and rebuild infrastructure, promote electronics, robotics,
new energy resources, research into the causes of both physical and mental
illnesses, the efficacy of gene therapy and genetic testing; stem cell
implantation and use of artificial organs
WHATEVER HAPPENED to our
PURPOSES, OUR GOALS, OUR REASON FOR BEING as the United States of America?
Think about it:
§ What is our Purpose as a country? Is it to protect, indulge and bolster the profits
and well-being of the business interests of our nation? Is it to protect the property interests of
the richest among us and hope that will trickle down to benefit society as a
whole? Is it to make this nation the
greatest power economically, militarily and culturally in the world? Is it to bring other nations into agreements
that benefit us more than we should expect?
§ Or, is our Purpose as a nation and a People much
deeper than de-regulation, property protection, business aggrandizement and
treaties that restrict others while benefitting us? Does our Purpose have anything to do with
rights, freedoms, service, peace, equal opportunity, equal voice and justice
for all?
The Declaration of
Independence gives us some clues. It
says:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
And then bursts upon the page
that which we often forget – words that perhaps speak as cogently to present
circumstances as they did to an emerging nation when first written:
“That whenever any form of government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles
and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to
effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Then appears a bombshell challenge
to those who have accepted the forms in which government abuses flourish; and
to arouse those who have long endured a chain of abuses and “usurpations” but have
now endured enough:
When a government of abuses becomes intolerable and
“evinces a design to reduce them (the People) under absolute Despotism, it
is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide
new Guards for their future security.”
It is as though the Founders
of our nation are speaking across the span of years to remind us of a solemn
duty: that WE are the keepers of this
nation’s purposes and aims. It is not
enough for us to endure, abide or accept the abuses and lies, the misconceptions
and false premises, the conspiracies and made-up scenarios of government functioning. We are the keepers; we are the power; we are
the builders of our government and of our nation, and no one man or group
should be allowed to reduce and usurp that sovereign power, to impose undue restrictions
or to destroy the guardrails of our form of governance.
OUR TIMEs DEMAND that we re-invoke the words of our Declaration of
Independence and “right ourselves by abolishing the forms to which we have
become accustomed….and mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes,
and our Sacred Honor.”
It is in that revolutionary
spirit that I write today to declare that the Trump abuse of power, his
usurpation of his oath of office and his attack upon the rights and freedoms of
many citizens of this nation and of the world, cannot continue to go
unchallenged. If the impeachment charges
do not prevail at the Senate trial (and, I have little faith they will) the
damage he has initiated and the continuation of damages under his regime will
be devastating. They must be overturned
and abolished. And such basic change must
start now; not in Nov. 2020.
Why do I say that? Because the damage done to our form of
government is severe enough that we must recognize and correct the abuses now
before they become entrenched, i.e. woven
into the fabric of our understanding and execution of what government says and
does without a clear understanding of the dire consequences for all of us. So,
where do we start?
A.
I suspect the
first step is that which the Congressional Democrats have already taken in H.R.
1. We must reform and rebuild our
electoral system by making voter registration automatic, unrestricted, and irrevocable. Government has no business deciding what is
best for eligible voters and must be absolutely forbidden from making voting
more difficult in any way. Violators of
that maxim must be made to feel the pain of their misdeeds in the form of
sanctions, lost revenue or fines of consequence.
The Electoral College must either be
re-structured or abandoned and private funding of election campaigns limited to
equitable public financing and small donations by private citizens. Corporate donations must be abolished along
with the false concept that such entities have the right of political free
speech just as individuals do (one of
the worst precedents ever established by the SCOTUS).
B.
Along with the
abolishment of corporate election control must go the advantage of paid
lobbying. It is axiomatic that those
corporate entities that spend unlimited funds on candidates for election, and
on lobbyists for their ideology and aggrandizement are nothing less than
thieves, bribers and/or destroyers of free elections.
C.
Bring back
regulation of all industry and business in this sense: any industry or business or enterprise not
serving the best interests of the People (bilking, over-charging, cheating,
swindling, etc.) must be made to feel the pinch (maybe the punch) of regulation
and of penalties for acting contrary to our national purpose.
a.
Recent
example: how can JUUL get away with
convincing Trump that flavored vaping products must be allowed because their banning
would hurt that industry? When did
someone decide that we need to protect industry profit before we protect
children?
b.
On a larger
scale, when do we say to industries pouring chemical pollutants into air and
streams that enough is enough – that they do not have the right to harm the
air, water and earth that provides life-giving sustenance to our People? Where are the penalties, the jail terms for
complicit CEOs and other administrators?
c.
Consider, if you
will, that the Constitution does not speak one word about protecting business;
it only speaks of “regulating Commerce” both foreign and domestic, setting
the value of money, fixing the standard of “weights and measures” and passing
laws that deal with bankruptcy. It does
refer to protection of property and the importance of protecting intellectual
property, along with Art and Science, but does not assign protection of
profit-making.
D.
Finally, we must
come to the suggestion for revolutionary reform that will ruffle the feathers
of many a political bird. It is time to
consider the damage done to our Constitution and to the Republic by the
introduction, the maintenance and the domination of political parties. It is neither my purpose nor intent to trace
our political party history, I refer you to Wikipedia for an article that
captures that history: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_the_United_States)
However, a brief summation of that history
reveals:
· the United States Constitution is silent on the
subject of political parties.
· the Founding Fathers did not originally intend for
American politics to be partisan. In Federalist Papers No. 9 and No. 10,
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, respectively, wrote specifically about
the dangers of domestic political factions. In addition,
· the first President of the United States, George
Washington, was not a member of any political party at the time of his election
or throughout his tenure as president. Furthermore, he hoped that political
parties would not be formed, fearing conflict and stagnation, as outlined in
his Farewell Address
· Nevertheless, the beginnings of the American two-party
system emerged from Washington’s immediate circle of advisers. The split camps of Federalists (with Hamilton
as a leader), and Democratic-Republicans (with Madison and Thomas Jefferson at
the helm) created the environment in which partisanship, once distasteful to those leaders, came
to prevail.
· since 1850, the US government has been under the
control of a two-party system; unlike any other modern democratic country.
We must ask ourselves: just
what do the American people gain from this two-party system?
Is it the best system of
organization that we can produce for the benefit of the citizenry and for
peaceful relationships with citizens of other nations?
Is it, in any major sense,
antithetical to the democratic values, the equal justice policies and practices
and the constitutional obligations we have professed and touted as efficacious
for ourselves and other nations of this world?
Here are some thoughts and
facts to consider:
· We are the only advanced democratic country that has a
two-party system for elections and governing
· The two-party system has resulted in the exclusion of many
from office who don’t agree with either party; and custom, laws and practices
have essentially precluded more third parties from gaining a foothold on the
state or national levels.
· According to Pew Research, a larger percentage of
American voters identify as independents (39 percent of the electorate) than as
Democrats (32 percent) or Republicans (23 percent).
· The partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans
is becoming so deep and broad that legislation is being either stymied or
watered-down to meet the partisan demands for control (hundreds of bills passed
on critical issues in the Democratic House lay untouched in the Republican Senate).
· The vision of a great debating society that would
solve problems and advance the cause of human rights is fast fading into
oblivion (personal attacks on colleagues often replace civil discourse).
· The organizational premise of parties was to provide
positive leadership, pragmatic steps and efficacious processes by which the
House or Senate could move judiciously and with notable purpose to resolve the
issues of the day (instead, we now have party leaders dedicated to blocking
legislation and promoting the negligence
of major issues, one of which involves planetary survival).
· The political parties were also envisioned as the
progenitors of worthy and acceptable candidates for public office who would
best serve the interests of the electorate. The parties were meant to be the
main guardrails against emergence of rogue candidates, of candidates who would
harm the Republic or of candidates who would use the resources and assets of
government for their own purposes and self-aggrandizement (how is that working
out for you?).
So, I think we must start
with a bold assumption: that the most important task of government of the
people, by the people and for the people is the protection and welfare (in the
broadest sense) of the People. The
establishment of Government by the People -- which involves the transfer of
some power over to that government -- is not meant to endow that government
with ever-increasing power and aggrandizement, but rather to protect, defend
and enhance the lives and well-being of those who have become the
governed. That solemn obligation and
promise can only be accomplished by a government (and its political parties) that
is grounded in just laws, human rights and freedoms that are broadly applied to
a whole citizenry in an equal and fair manner.
IT IS NOT the role of
government to usurp, to diminish or to undermine the sovereign rights and privileges
of its citizens and of those seeking citizenship. It is rather the primary purpose of
government of the People to spend its time, its money and its efforts endorsing
and building upon what the Preamble to the Constitution sets forth as the
duties (and aims?) of its proposed formulation of governance under that new
Constitution:
· to form a more Perfect Union
· establish Justice
· insure Domestic Tranquility
· provide for the Common Defense
· promote the General Welfare
· secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
posterity
The basic question becomes:
are we ready and able to act on any of this under our present system and
construct of government? I sincerely doubt it, and that is why today’s blog
ends with the simple suggestion that we take seriously the ineffectiveness, the
lack of commitment to major problem-solving, the lack of empathy for those with
special needs and challenges; the destructive nature of partisanship demonstrated
by our current government, and the
malignant practices of the private sector and other political and economic entities.
What can we say other than to
assert the prime importance of returning to the social and political purposes enshrined
in our Constitution. Let us measure our current
values and structures (institutions) against that document remembering to undo
those flaws and shortcomings that have plagued us throughout our history. Let us reshape and reform our purposes and
processes rather than blithely accepting those made up to fit a Party ideology
or to perpetuate inherited myths and deceptions made-up by malevolent minds.
In other words, let us
require that:
- government legislation, policies and procedures, regulations and actions specify the constitutional purpose or principle(s) on which they are built, and that every such formulation have within it specific statements spelling out its purpose, its goals, its intended outcomes and the method that will be used to evaluate its efficacy
- political parties define their purposes based on constitutional purposes and categories and conform their ideology and actions to those purposes and goals
- political parties demonstrate a clear definition of their method of choosing candidates for office and the precise qualifications necessary for those candidates to fulfill the purposes and the constitutional obligations of the office they seek
- every candidate for office publish their purposes, goals and action steps planned for their tenure along with the mission they intend to accomplish.
Again,
this is just for starters. There is much
more to do to change the direction of this current government and of the
political parties that steer it in certain directions. It all rises or falls on understanding the
Mission, the Purposes, Outcomes (Aims), the Goals and the Objectives * one
intends to pursue (see Footnote). Those necessary signposts
and guidelines must be based on the Constitution and its values and principles
as defined in its making and in responsible interpretive decisions offered by
the SCOTUS.
Should
we fail to establish these simple steps toward a responsible and enduring
Purpose for our government and our Parties, we shall inherit the loss of our entire
governmental enterprise.
To illustrate: it
is now plain that the impeachment trial defense will be built on a false
premise that the Executive (President) has an absolute power to take whatever
actions the incumbent sees as necessary and which cannot be checked by an
inferior Congress. The partisan handling
of this trial may well be the final determinant of our fate as a Republic because
more than “impeachment” is at stake. The
entire purpose and structure of our government is on trial and there are among those
involved too many who wish to destroy its democratic essence while capturing
all of its distributed powers into one branch. This trial is not just the culmination of an impeachment process.
Government of the People, by the People and for the People hangs in the
balance.
--------------------****--------------------
*Footnote: Some Definitions:
MISSION
A Mission statement describes
what an organization does and for whom. It can also state the benefit or
benefits provided by the organization.
Example: “to enrich people’s lives with programs and services
that inform, educate and inspire.”
Mission statements give
organizations purpose and meaning and speak to why people want to be part of
your group. They describe the needs the organization was created to fulfill but
are NOT about your products and services but about why you provide them.
You should consider revising
your mission statement if you answer “no” to any of the follow eight questions:
Is it short (10 words or
less) and sharply focused? Would it fit on a t-shirt? A bumper sticker? A
billboard?
Do staff, management, and
board members know the mission statement? Is it clear and easily understood?
Can you train around it? Does
everyone in the organization know exactly how to fulfill the mission every day?
Does it define why you do
what you do?
Does it provide direction for
doing the right things?
Does it inspire your passion
and commitment?
Does it say, in the end, what
you want to be remembered for?
Have you revisited your
mission statement in the last three years?
PURPOSE:
A purpose statement provides
the reason or reasons you exist. It is about why you exist, whereas the mission
is about what you do and for whom.
For example, here are several
purposes of a public communications group:
1.
sustaining
citizenship and civil society;
2.
promoting
education and learning;
3.
stimulating
creativity and cultural excellence;
4.
delivering to the
public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services
AIMs or OUTCOMES:
An AIM is a purpose or the
desired outcome. Aims tend to be more general than goals and objectives because
aims refer to end results or outcomes.
GOALs and OBJECTIVEs:
Although they are
interrelated, aims, goals and objectives have important distinctions: Aims
relate to the end results, but goals and objectives help you achieve those
results. Goals are abstract ideas, while objectives are more tangible and
concrete. (bizfluent.com)
GOALS are specific statements
of intent. For example, a company might have an aim to increase profits so they
set a specific goal to increase profits by 25 percent within one year, and list
objectives that are concrete steps to take to achieve that goal.
A GOAL is usually broad and
does not lay out the steps to achieve it. A goal is a target or destination.
Goals keep one focused on the aim and on track working to achieve it.
Goals are destinations and
objectives are the actions needed to arrive at that destination.
OBJECTIVES are measurable and
there may be multiple objectives leading to designated goals. Objectives are
like a road map, giving direction to what is necessary to do and by when it needs
to be done in order to achieve one’s goals and aims.
