Manifesto: We believe that: we are all in this together; a just society protects its children, elderly, and disabled; all are entitled to a healthy environment; the able-bodied should have the opportunity to work; corporations and banks should deal honestly with consumers; workers' safety deserves protection; quality public education is crucial to democracy; special interests should not finance campaigns; our foreign policy should reflect our highest principles; judges should be appointed on merit not ideology; foreign oil is not worth American blood; our government should protect our Constitutional rights.
Those welcome: all Americans of good will; those who think for themselves; those with strong convictions but who resist extremes; those who respect the rights and opinions of others; those who uphold the national interest; seekers after truth; those who are open-minded, informed, and willing to listen; everyone with a sense of humor.
Those not welcome: those who are dogmatic, self-satisfied, and closed-minded; screamers and shouters; the intolerant and divisive; cult-followers and character assassins; the small-minded and ill-informed; those who listen to radio ranters to have their prejudices confirmed; all who put their narrow or special interest ahead of the national interest; the humorless.
Our purpose: to bring Americans together; to achieve a just society; to care for the wounded in and out of uniform; to help America stand tall and deserve respect; to be a leading nation in the international community; to reduce threats to ourselves and others; to maintain integrity among ourselves and with others; to keep the government off our backs by keeping our hands out of its pockets; to export our best ideas, services, and products and not our crude entertainment; to leave all children a healthier, safer planet; to seek wisdom and practice humility; to see that everyone gets a fair shake.
What it will take: Americans who care enough about their country to be engaged; genuine leaders from all walks of life; dreamers, idealists, poets, and prophets; dedication to the national interest; suspension of cynicism; compassion for and connection with each other; noble journalism; commitment to learning; suspicion of hucksters, political and otherwise; quality before profits in business; praise for innovation in all walks of life; insistence on intelligence in leadership; a sense of history; acceptance of the long view.
Timing: just over the horizon.
Care to join?
Follow Gary Hart on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gary__hart
In history of contentious American politics, lessons for Washington
Police politics and police in politics
As it turns out, the vast majority give to the people just below them EXCEPT the people next to last. They give to the person above. The people next to the bottom are most inclined to do what it takes to keep from being on the bottom.
For me - the instant connection was that this explains why poor, uneducated whites are voting overwhelmingly for Republican candidates who are doing NOTHING to help them out. They will vote in any way that keeps those who are below them from getting social welfare assistance as it might help lift the bottom above themselves.
That's my take.
http://signon.org/sign/out-lobbyists
We don't have a dysfunctional government. We have a dysfunctional electorate. Just look at who gets elected. We are gullible, easily misled, inadequately educated, addicted to reality TV and demogogic "news", and given that about 80% are religious, accustomed to simply believing what anyone in a suit tells us, no matter how utterly absurd it is. In other words, corporate utopia. We are also heavily armed and bellicose, which is the only reason we get any respect from other countries.
We are past the tipping point. Our political system (the will of today's deluded electorate) is another bubble that can't be deflated. Bubbles, economic or otherwise, never deflate. Bubbles have to burst to get our attention. And it will. But the question is whether that will result in moment of clarity or usher in a period of violence. If history is any way to predict the future, I don't think hugs and poetry are going to be of much help.
They're called "low information voters," the end result of the dumbing down of America. This is the best article ever written on the subject, by a lifelong, Republican Capitol Hill staffer no less!!! http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779
Sounds like a help-wanted add for a hippy commune.
By the way dude, it ain't my hand in the government's pocket. They take about 34% of everything I put into mine, by force.
"Dreamers, idealists, poets, and prophets"...yea; just what we need right now to deal with Putin, Iran, and an inflamed Middle East...While we're at it, maybe we can find a sidewalk artist or a mime to address the withering US dollar.
And you wonder why you're not taken seriously? Really?
"The most preposterous notion that H. Sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least productive industry in all of history."
L.long
Hart's view may not be perfect (nothing ever is) but it's not bad. The people have more power than the bankers, but lack the time to understand it and the courage or interest to use it.
They say that people get the government they deserve. I don't agree.
People are busy enough in today's fast paced world. They haven't time to do the research and fact checking necessary to keep track of all their political options.
They have a right to expect the people they elect to look after their interests.
And there's the rub. Less than half the people qualified to vote do so, and the greator part of those who support candidates and vote are wealthy, and the politians look after them.
We should find a way somehow to get regular people more involved.
The only thing more influential in politics than corporate and banker financial support is the middle class support and vote.
Politians follow the money, and they live by the vote. We, the people should find a way to supply both.