Found this treatise nailed to the door yesterday without an identified author or return address. Someone has been thinking hard and working hard on where to go from here. I leave it without comment.
In order to bring in the votes of independent, and disenfranchised moderate Republicans who share our values, for now, we need to focus on a moderate, progressive platform as was recently successful in California. We can move further to the left if desirable later.
Most voters are concerned mainly about the issues that affect them directly—income, jobs, career, safety, education for their children, retraining for themselves, security for their families, food, clothing, housing and health. This is where we must show specifically what our programs are, and why our answers are better than what the rightwing has done.
We need to get away from just reacting to outrages. We need to create what we want and need in this country. To do this we need a positive vision and positive, practical programs that work.
Democrats believe that our government plays a vital role in the insuring the well-being, health and opportunity for the American people.
We need to prove that Democrats and Republicans of good character can accomplish this and establish fair, successful, efficient, moral and competent governance that steers our nation towards fulfilling our national and individual highest potential at home and abroad.
A six point program for all Americans
Just as in the 1960’s our goal was to put a man on the moon, our goal now is to invest in our most important resource: our people, and specifically:
1. To create the best educational system in the world and to have the best educated, most knowledgeable people, and the most skilled and creative work force in the world, at all levels;
2. To create the best health care system in the world and the healthiest people physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and economically. This means funding health care and investing in community economic and social development;
3. To create the cleanest air, water, soil and supporting ecosystems in the world. This means investing in the research and technologies that will accomplish these goals, and funding the businesses and initiatives that implement these goals, as we evolve into a green and clean economy;
4. To create the most robust, modern, technologically advanced, environmentally friendly economy in the world, at the local and national levels, as we move from the Von Hayekian, unregulated laissez faire economic system that the rightwing has imposed, which polarizes wealth and poverty, to the more Keynesian economic model, remembering that the purpose of an economy is the prosperity and well-being of every single person. This mean supporting business and labor, research and education and implementing the economic reforms necessary to maximize human potential and health;
5. To keep America safe, non-corrupt and free, as a beacon of hope for the world, as we work to make the world safe for democracy and safeguard our democratic institutions and our rule of good law, at home and around the world. This includes developing the best military, cyber defense and intelligence in the world. We need to concentrate on protecting our country. our people and our allies, from any sort of attack or compromise on democracy and on electoral processes.
6. To engage with the rest of the world in a productive manner that supports the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, in a manner as outlined below, as a Union of Democratic Nations, in which the Democracies of the World join together to prevent corruption, in a fair and free-trading group of mutual support and enhancement. To join, a nation must measure up to a standard of human rights and democratic institutions. The Union of Democratic States will aid, with programs based on the Marshall Plan, any nation that is actively working to become a democracy that insures human and civil rights and a rule of fair and just law.
We will develop the specific plans to accomplish these goals and to persuade the American people that it is in their best interests, the best interests of our country and the world to accomplish these goals, and to realize this vision of the future. We believe that our democratic government provides one way of pooling our resources to make the investments in human wellbeing that are necessary to accomplish our humanitarian goals.
A good expression of the better sort of centrist American politics, and much to agree with. A big piece missing is, of course, the response to climate change. That may be exactly where the American left and right part company, and therefore quite deliberately un-emphasized by your manifesto-writer .
Have you read the Addendum? This has to be a draft of some sort. From my vantage point I’m quite unimpressed. There are plenty of left wing sound bites to sooth the more liberal minded soul. But there are internal inconsistencies, unsupported assumptions, and some logical lapses which make me wonder if a mature and responsible person (or group of people) has really put this together. And why is there no authorship? Is someone afraid of their effort, too ashamed to claim these ideas as their own effort?
If one searches for “The Union of Democratic States” the first link at my computer is to a game or some fiction created by Max Barry. Good grief.
Clem, seems to me it is surely a draft… meant as a starting point to spark discussion, one individual’s attempt to state the things that are most important to them, as opposed to just railing against the volcano of lies and half truths currently spewing into the public arena. From where i sit it has been going on for my entire lifetime, however more recently the full blown newspeak from the current fearless leader (where white is black, black is white, and there are few objective facts) has taken over completely…
i posted it here, not because i thought it would address or solve the issues we face, but because i took it as one response to the collapse of the old order, one of the Bendell noted responses. Personally, sad to say, i do not believe that rational thought, debate, or reasoning will get us where we need to go. Or that changing administrations or parties will change the physical outcome. The inertia is too great. But i applaud this fledgling effort to make it stated a national goal to design and build the best system of systems possible.
Michelle, apparently climate change didn’t rise to the top six as an issue in their mind. FWIW i believe the increase in temps is real, it’s hard to argue with the numbers, and the trends are clear. And so i try to act as if what i do, how i live, matters, one small step theory. But we here in paradise are a million plus out of 320 million plus in these united states, without winter heating to concern us, a very small percentage, with little impact on the overall picture. On the world scale the US contribution is the largest, yet still a small percentage, implying that even if we were able to stop all identified negative ouputs, it would not change the trend or outcome. It will take all industrialized nations, and a commitment from all aspiring nations to not behave as we have. A tall order.
Seems like many of our post tie together, our budding treatisist., Chris’s inquiry what do we tell our kids? And Michele’s search for a new ethos of relations to our world. These are turbulent times with many searching right and left trying to come to grips with an accelerating world of innovation merging into our lives. While more and more people occupy the spaces of our fellow species..
The ranting and Lamentations are justified. Not since the dawn of the age of reason and the Renaissance pulled western civilization from the dark ages. Ending for huge masses of people the search for food, clothing, shelter and increasing relief from diseases.
Still while working for these purposes , it is increasingly apparent the need to redefine reasons root basis. Which while lifting all materially, fuels over consumption and resource squandering but is — emotionally hollow, esthetically meaningless and spiritually empty, ( Robert Pirsig ). Many are looking and receptive but until society can agree on and accept a new root of approach turbulence will continue. The times are a changing keep up the searching .