First of all, I'd like to say that I am beyond ecstatic about President Obama winning the election. I believe he has been doing a pretty good job, and he's the right man for the job. I also believe Mitt Romney was just wrong for the job for many reasons, but I won't get into that. This post, a bit of a rant I warn you, isn't about them. It isn't about who is President of the United States. This is about what I want, and what I think we all deserve in our government, no matter what we feel our needs are, no matter which side of the isle we sit or stand in. This is about what kind of country I want America to be, to become and to remain.
I want America to be the shining beacon of democracy it has always been, I want us to be the model not only of how to vote, but of how to be. I want us to instill a sense of pride in being Americans not because we were born into it, but because of what we, both united and as individuals, do to make our country and the world better for those around us. And in that spirit, I have thoughts as to how it can be done. You might say my ideas are wrong, idealistic, unrealistic, or you might agree wholeheartedly. The important part is to start the conversation and keep the conversation going.
I want politicians from both sides of the aisle talking to each other about compromises. I want Republicans to come more to the left on several different key issues, with the understanding that Democrats may be willing to come a bit to the right on others. I want both sides to agree to stay out of the issues of abortion, of when its okay and when it isn't. I want them to agree to disagree, and let go of any legislation that would prohibit anyone from taking care of their health in any way. I want them to realize that Health Care should pay for everything we need to survive and thrive, not just what some people approve of. I want both sides to remember that this country was built on the principles of keeping religion away from our political and moral choices. The separation of church and state is in the very constitution that people conveniently quote when spouting how their christian values are being trampled because someone else's life doesn't follow your personal morality.
I believe that politicians should make minimum wage for their position in office, so that they above all know what the lowest paid Americans are going through. In this way, we can ensure that politicians are never out of touch with the lowest of us, the most vulnerable of us, and those of us who sometimes need the most help because they will be there with us. In this way, we can try to ensure they understand our plight. This isn't to say that only those who have made minimum wage all their lives can be politicians. I'm only talking about their wages In Office. Being a politician shouldn't be a choice having to do with money, it should come from a place of wanting to give, of wanting to serve, a sense of duty to others and to ourselves and to our country.
There are plenty of places in the private sector who will continue to make people rich, famous or both. Politics should not be a way to gain riches; it should be a way to inspire people, to continue to make this country great for years and centuries to come.
In this same spirit and train of thought, I believe that there should be a constitutional amendment prohibiting donations to political campaigns over a certain small dollar amount. 500 dollars, 1000 dollars per person. This is still plenty of money. And to make it fair, give both candidates free air time (a certain fixed amount) for their commercials and political ads. In this way, we take away the need to collect all these hundreds of thousands of dollars just to be heard. If they don't need to worry about competing over who has more air time, they'll have less of a motive to cajole our contributions out of us, and instead focus on what they should be: giving us a feel for their values, their ability to do the job, their stance on the issues of the time.
This goes almost without saying, but I needed to include this as well. All of the above gives a harder job to the American people as well. Without the fancy ads, knowing more about the candidates and what they're willing to speak about, their issues and their plans, we would need to work ever harder to listen to their words, to their intent, and hopefully follow our instincts to choose not the lesser of two evils, but hopefully with these changes, the person who is right for the job, who agrees with the majority of our values, and hopefully also who challenges those values with facts and figures when we are wrong. And we must have the courage to acknowledge when we are wrong, when we don't know the right answer, and when we simply were told differently and find it hard to change.
Lastly, I want to rid us of the people who think Orwell's 1984 was an instruction manual, and have people who want to respect all of our freedoms and rights, because they realize that trampling over the bill of rights and the constitution affects all of us and that those freedoms that our forefathers bled, killed and died for are too precious to let them go out of fear, fear of the known and the unknown.
Frank Herbert's Dune includes something called the Litany of Fear. He describes fear as the mind-killer, the little death. Its about feeling your fear, accepting it, and then letting it go. We, as a country, have not had an easy childhood. We are a young country, compared to those around the world, and we need to learn not only from our own mistakes, but the mistakes of others as well. Our biggest problem today is the lack of cooperation, and we need to let the fear that keeps us from uniting together go.
I have learned over the last few years that I am one of the most tolerant people many of my friends know, and a few have commented on it or asked me about it. My answer was simple: "Its their life, its their choice. Why would I have anything but good thoughts for them?" If two women, if two men, if a man and a woman, if a man wants to marry a videogame, there are two questions to ask: "Does it affect me?" and "Will it make them happy?"
"United we stand, divided we fall. " These words define us as a country, and some of us have forgotten or chosen to ignore. E Pluribus Unum means "of many, one". We come from numerous countries, numerous religions, numerous backgrounds, numerous moralities and faiths. We must remember to stand together, side by side, or we will be doomed to repeat the past.
And one last quote, because it encompasses so many of our troubles and our solutions:
"All You Need Is Love" - John Lennon / The Beatles
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