Foreign Policy
The Iraq War must end as quickly as possible with removal of all our soldiers from the region. We must initiate the return of our soldiers from around the world, including Korea, Japan, Europe and the entire Middle East. We must cease the war propaganda, threats of a blockade and plans for attacks on Iran, nor should we re-ignite the cold war with Russia over Georgia. We must be willing to talk to all countries and offer friendship and trade and travel to all who are willing. We must take off the table the threat of a nuclear first strike against all nations.
Privacy
We must protect the privacy and civil liberties of all persons under US jurisdiction. We must repeal or radically change the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the FISA legislation. We must reject the notion and practice of torture, eliminations of habeas corpus, secret tribunals, and secret prisons. We must deny immunity for corporations that spy willingly on the people for the benefit of the government. We must reject the unitary presidency, the illegal use of signing statements and excessive use of executive orders.
The National Debt
We believe that there should be no increase in the national debt. The burden of debt placed on the next generation is unjust and already threatening our economy and the value of our dollar. We must pay our bills as we go along and not unfairly place this burden on a future generation.
The Federal Reserve
We seek a thorough investigation, evaluation and audit of the Federal Reserve System and its cozy relationships with the banking, corporate, and other financial institutions. The arbitrary power to create money and credit out of thin air behind closed doors for the benefit of commercial interests must be ended. There should be no taxpayer bailouts of corporations and no corporate subsidies. Corporations should be aggressively prosecuted for their crimes and frauds.
These four key principles were outlined on September 10, 2008 at the National Press Club during a joint press conference held by Ron Paul (R/L), Ralph Nader (I), Cynthia McKinney (G), and Chuck Baldwin (C). See the full synopsis at DissidentVoice.org.
Overall theme: American democracy is failing.
The interests of peace, social justice, ecological wisdom, and constitutional organization are not priorities for our morbidly obese government, which has fixed its position and contains massive inertia to perpetuate itself for its own sake. Presidential elections are a charade, a collusion between the duopoly two-party establishment and complicit media.
But there's a whisper, a hushed intangible that persists. All the noise created by the powers-that-be is designed to drown out this resilient idea: we the people have the power. A big lie that gets repeated, one we frequently tell ourselves, is that structures and systems in place are immutable, unchangeable. One says, "That's just the way it is." Another says, "Some things will never change, so why should I?"
Instead, be the change you wish to see in the world.
The game is rigged, but the rules created by the beneficiaries can be rejected. We must become concientious of our surroundings. Seek to educate, don't indoctrinate, your neighbors. Encourage every person to consider issues through an alternate lens - identify propaganda and resist it! Be humble and patient; induce real change by living properly first and worry less about convincing others (actions speak louder).
This is my idea of grass roots. As it applies to American democracy, I believe the top priority is to override the choking effect of the two party system. How did the mantra of lesser-evil become an American virtue? How could the expectations of the society that represented such hope for human civilization sink so low? How can our prospects for doing justice in the future improve?
I really like the idea of the Vote Pact. Under current conditions, disenchanted Republicans and Democrats continue voting for their party out of fear of helping the party they consider the greater-of-two-evils. With the Vote Pact, a disgruntled D can pair with similarly rebellious R and agree to vote for an alternate party candidate. Both are freed to vote for the candidate they deem to be the best, not the least worst. This breaks the cycle that allows the evil-and-eviler two party system to easily propagate.
Promoting alternative voices is the best way to achieve real dialogue, by which ideas of Common Wealth can once again flourish in the United States of America.
P.S. - Barack Obama will be our next leader. For so many millions his presidency represents the path to change. The change they hope for is one handed down by a newly beneficent federal government.
I question: Are the expected changes real ideas, or illusory hype? What is the expectation for change based on? How easily could this dream for the future turn into a continuation and expansion of the current nightmare?
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