In 1970 I came home from Vietnam a young but change man. From that day until this day I have been a peace activist standing in steadfast opposition to military intervention in place of diplomacy, negotiation, and peaceful resolution. My time in Vietnam allowed me to see the effects of war on the troops on both sides, the people of the nation, and the countryside. War is not a solution but rather is a generator of too many different probems.
My actions as an activist at long last drove me to a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in Delaware, my home state. After beginning the campaign I discovered many issues in need of correction in our nation today. We as a nation need a new direction for our future.
We have many people without health insurance at all and too many with too little health insurance. A universal, single-payer health insurance system is necessary today. We stand as one of the only two developed nations around the globe without single-payer health care for our citizens. We can no longer afford to let our citizens languish without adequate coverage. Every American deserves the best medical care we have to offer.
I am a veterinarian. I have been a scientist all my adult life. We need more scientists in government to insure we make decisions on the basis of facts and not emotion and hollow slogans. We must seek new alternatives for energy production. Science offers the answers to renewable energy and new means of transportation but we will find those solutions only if we seek them. We must stop poisoning our environment if future generations are to survive on our planet.
Our prisons are overcrowded today with people in need of drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Yet we fail them and release those people without benefit of any help along the way. We must begin to treat the people in need. We must offer housing and job training for released prisoners lest we see the rate of return to prison become even higher than today.
As a veteran I am ashamed of the treatment our returning troops find today. In my time the GI Bill was enough to allow me a fine education. Health care in those days was free and available. Today we are failing our troops. Any nation that fails its troops is a failing nation.
We are failing our children in our educational system. We must begin to rebuild the infrastructure and to allow our teachers more time for teaching and less time for required testing. An educated population will build an economy filled with better paying jobs far into the future but we must turn to a new direction soon if we are to make that change. A nation that fails its children is a failing nation.
Government today should be about fairness, openness, and accountability. I am first and foremost a peace candidate but that is only one small aspect of a greater whole. I stand for human rights for one and all. We as nation will stand together or we will fall apart.
Today we stand on the threshold of historic times. We have the opportunity to turn our nation to a new direction if we take the time and make the effort to support candidates who live our ideals. We are each and every one responsible for the future of our nation. We must not allow our elected officials to forget their responsibility to the voters. Elected officials are place holders for the people. The people, ALL the people, are the ones responsible for the future of our nation.
Peace.
Monday, August 18, 2008
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16 comments:
There is so much more to be said and so little time to do so. Much of my thinking has been explored in past postings and will continue to be explored into the future. Until and unless we find a new direction for our nation I fear for our future.
Peace, Jerry
That's a very fine statement, Jerry.
The last part made me think about political participation, a topic we've often talked about. One of the things on my mind lately has been that even those voters who DO vote seem to often think thier job is done when they walk out of the voting booth.
But I'm not sure elections mean anything without an actively involved citizenry. Yes, we have representatives in DC and in our state capitals and in our town councils, but that doesn't mean we cease to be participants in the political system between elections.
Look at the world today. In country after country, leaders are making decisions that are unambiguously opposed by their citizenry. What that says to me is that all over the world, citizens have been taking their eyes off the ball in between elections, and now political leaders have gotten used to the idea that once elected, they are no longer responsible to the people.
That's a very fine statement, Jerry.
The last part made me think about political participation, a topic we've often talked about. One of the things on my mind lately has been that even those voters who DO vote seem to often think thier job is done when they walk out of the voting booth.
But I'm not sure elections mean anything without an actively involved citizenry. Yes, we have representatives in DC and in our state capitals and in our town councils, but that doesn't mean we cease to be participants in the political system between elections.
Look at the world today. In country after country, leaders are making decisions that are unambiguously opposed by their citizenry. What that says to me is that all over the world, citizens have been taking their eyes off the ball in between elections, and now political leaders have gotten used to the idea that once elected, they are no longer responsible to the people.
workshop,
I believe we would not have the situation of today if voters had not been led to believe their job was done at the ballot box. No elected official should be allowed to function without voter oversight. We, the people, are responsible for holding our elected officials accountable. If they fail to do their job in an appropriate manner it is our responsibility to see to their removal by voting.
Peace, Jerry
And to maintain the most fruitful ongoing political discussion we can.
workshop,
Open and honest discussion in which a variety of opinions are heard and given proper attention is the basis of democracy. Without open discussion we revert to some governmental form I do not support.
Peace, Jerry
I was talking with a friend about this just tonight. I think that the 19th century was a better time for politics in that people apparently talked about it and wrote about it incessantly. I think a politician could speak at length about issues and have a reasonable expectation that the public could follow along. But today, you can't , for example, mention "habeas corpus" (I suspect) and have any reasonable expectation that your audience will know what you mean.
I thought your series on the Bill of Rights was a wonderful idea, because I think basics are just unknown to people. I was thinking the other day - I wonder what percentage of lawyers have actually read the Constitution, at least to the point where they really know it well?
workshop,
I miss the series on the Bill of Rights. If time ever allows I am going back to finish the writing. That was educational and interesting.
Our nation today is uneducated in so many ways. We fail to teach our children the basics of American politics. We feed the entire nation news in sound bites instead of in depth factual reporting. I miss the days when a TV story could actually take several minutes so people got the truth.
And I still remember when newspapers had honest investigation and analysis instead of the 5th grade pap we get today. Maybe one day...
Peace, Jerry
Isn't it amazing to watch someone like Bill Moyers? I mean, after all, he was always a fine journalist, but now he's a giant compared to nearly EVERYONE else in the mainstream media. To find his equal, you mostly have to go straight to the internet. And there one sees plenty of fine journalists. These are people doing fine work for nothing. Just imagine if Newspapers were hiring these people and giving them room to roam!
I feel sure I'm repeating myself, but I read somewhere (it might have been Editor and Publisher, but I can't remember) that Newspapers have traditionally had extremely high profit margins. As a result, even with losses in circulation, many newspapers apparently still have very good profit margins.
So they have had, it seems, and still have, plenty of room to reinvest in high quality reporting. In fact, the internet could be a boon to newspapers, sparking increased interest in issues.
Did the radio destroy sales of records? At first it did, but after a while, radio tremendously increased record sales because it magnified interest in music.
The internet will have the same effect, ultimately, on record sales and - if newspapers reinvest in good journalism - on newspaper sales.
In fact, I think this is an ideal time for newspaper startups. You'd have to have enough backing to make it through some lean years, but in the long run, I think there could be many success stories.
workshop,
In my mind quality sells on all levels. The same holds true in journalism as in business. Quality work in a newspaper should insure sales over the long term. The problem is editors and owners are driven by the short term and immediate profits. Too bad for all of us.
No matter what the profit level everyone seems to want more and more. Newspapers cut staff to make more money. Then we all lose out over the long haul as journalistic excellence suffers.
Peace, Jerry
But it creates opportunities for startup papers.
workshop,
Any startup paper may have a rough row to hoe, but in the end the effort may be a worthwhile one. Today we have so much media consolidation there is trouble finding differences between the papers and TV and radio. When all are owned by a single media mogul the message is homogeneous. We need an alternative.
How about an online paper? Distribute on the web or in e-mail. Pay the way with ads.
Peace, Jerry
I think there are many online sites that, with some financial backing, could generate high quality printed products - magazine or newsprint versions, which can allow for more depth and more leisurely study.
Of course, I must hasten to add that we need to recycle more paper products too, and use different materials to create paper products, so that starting up more newspapers and magazines doesn't have to mean destroying more trees!!!
One of my favorite dreams is to somehow found a letterpress publishing house. There's nothing like letterpress for tactile printed material!
I'm going off on a tangent, I know! I just mean to say that I think there will always be a relationship between internet media and printed media and other hard copy media.
Do you know, sometimes I write music reviews, and I hate to do it unless I have a vinyl record to listen to? I don't know why, but I don't like reviewing music on cd.
Off on a tangent again!
workshop,
No problem with tangents. Vinyl sounds better to most people than CD in the first place. I am a digital nut but analog sound is wonderful.
And we must begin to recycle every bit of paper and other material we can manage. Our natural resources are limited and our trash stream is taking over the world. Did you hear about the floating trash islands in the Pacific?
Peace, Jerry
It's not really an island, Jerry, from what I've read. It's more like a soup. But it's absolutely monstrous in size, if what I've read about it is true.
And it's a good example of how the Bush administration has tried to 'catapult propaganda' instead of actually doing something about a problem, or even genuinely acknowledging its existence.
As I recall from what I read, Bush actually went to the island in Hawaii where a lot of that floating plastic trash in the Pacific washes up and promised solemnly to clean that island.
Yeah. Sure. Even if you did manage to clean that island, it would be like standing in a trash dump, picking up one piece of trash, and claiming you'd cleaned out the trash dump. But, apparently, the island in question wasn't cleaned up, in fact, and of course it couldn't be. Just cleaning that tiny island, a tiny part of the problem, would be a monstrous task, and then the ocean would just wash a bunch more trash right up on it again anyway.
workshop,
The Bu$h administration is so good about posturing and saying the right words, but when the time for action to reverse the mess we are in they fall far short. It is no surprise no real moves to clean Hawaiian islands have been made. Typical of Bu$hco.
We have spent many generations dumping trash in the ocean. Future generations will pay the price for our neglect. We cannot afford to continue poisoning our environment if we are to survive on this planet. We need a new direction and we need that today, not tomorrow or next year.
Peace, Jerry
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