I'm a progressive, but

I AM GUILTY

Like most Americans, I have taken our attempt at democracy far too much for granted.  I am too busy, or I'll do it later.  Sometimes I may just not have cared. Procrastination is quite an art if you work at it.  Democracy is not free. As it ends up, I have too often neglected the implied obligation of participation in our democracy. And so the battle has been, more often than not, defaulted. Corporations and money can participate 24/7/365 and they do. That is because they are not human. We must remember that democracy requires participation and it appears that those that participate win!

Creating this blog may provide a mechanism from which I can develop and refine my thoughts and arguments, but most of all, keep me involved, by leading me to ways in which I can begin to meaningfully and effectively participate in this hope for a democracy. For me, this will be a process and time will tell what success I have.

 

 

So, I wonder, how can I help empower an American Democracy?

I say "save" here because I believe it could be too late. As I grow, I will try to identify key changes suggested by others, as I find them, and of course my own ideas as they develop and get prioritized. And, yes we must prioritize our battles for the corporate media continually confuses us with nonsense, distracts us and forces us to defend previous victories while the real, covert battles for control are taking place off camera, behind closed doors (see link on ALEC) and usually go unnoticed by those of us (like me) that are often too busy.

 

At this point I see two Critical Changes that dominate all other issues.

Climate Change - Global Warming or whatever it might be called has to be number one.  It is the basic issue of life on earth. The reality is that changes are taking place worldwide that are having drastic effects on many of the earth's climate and biological systems and yes man has and continues to excessively contribute to this problem.  Climate is changing, oceans are rising and dying, primary farm belts throughout the world are becoming deserts and fresh water is being polluted by our carbon based industries in the name of short-term profits.

We must reverse this and this must begin YESTERDAY.

 

Corporate Personhood - The dominance of multinational corporations and their influence and control over the actions, in-actions and priorities of governments around the world is intolerable. Corporations are in control of most of the worlds money, power and the media. They write the majority of laws (local, national and international). Nothing can or will substantially change until we find a way to control corporations and make them work for the benefit of all life on earth.  They need not exist.

Remember, corporations are legal fictitious entities we created and unleashed on ourselves.

 

We must hold our representatives accountable to these two issues above all others.

Any candidate that is on the wrong side of either of these issues cannot be seriously considered for office and should be removed if in office.

All other changes / policies, become distantly secondary because of the critical and life threatening effect these two have on all else.