In the realm of anthropology, how a culture treats one another, especially the old and young, crippled and/or infirm, that is the only lasting clues that remain to tell us who these people really were. we must remember that we are not in some perverse "climax" state by any means. We have as much evolving to do today as we did in our fifteenth century minds, or our fifth century ones. When I was young, they taught civics, actually required students to pass courses of study about how our system works, how bills became law and the importance of the messages in our founding documents and other clarifications and elucidations of our American experiment.
Knowing these things and learning to have proper respect for those who established this country so that it might endure, those who fought for it, those who died. Having proper respect for the teachers, who all saw that all humans can thrive when they are given security and a modicum of support. We are a nation built on a single, solitary notion. If we say we can, no matter what the rest of the world says, or does, we will achieve our intention. What kind of people would we be if we had stopped building a rail line across our country, shore to shore, or not built several of them! How would life be different if they had not tried a second time to lay a Trans Atlantic cable?
To be human today means not only responsible to our own true selves, but to one another, the world around us, and as we have seen our planet from the moon, one with the spinning blue ball of stardust we call home. Having a relationship with this part of our story, our history, the song and dance, these things, sharing culturally relevant foods and stories, these are our way home to where creator exists and wants us to be.
The divisive and accusatory rhetoric that has been flowing from the mouths of many of the candidates is just pathetic. Being boldly told that we must hate others or being openly told that womyn are second class citizens, Hispanics are criminals and rapists or that Muslims want to destroy our nation is not only wrong, but the lies themselves are the only thing that can assure the destruction of our nation. Like the McCarthy era, attacking others with lies only assures that we lose all of our credibility. We need more political leaders who put people ahead of what has been deemed expedient by the oligarchs.
Again, I would like to present five main goals to reestablishing a more humanitarian nation. without addressing all of these issues simultaneously, very little progress will be made.
Priority one: the crimes against humanity that are taking place in populations of color must end. This will require several changes. We need to admit that the drug war was a sham...legalize all drugs and make their abuse a health care issue, not a police issue. This involves transforming our police forces to look like the communities they serve, make their jobs about service rather than exploitation, and release all non-violent drug offenders. If these people had been rich, and/or white they would more often than not have been seen as entrepreneurs. We need more of them in our poverty stricken cities, not less. Also, related to law enforcement, it is time to end entrapment by federal, state and local agents. It reflects horribly on a culture to be providing opportunities, means and methods for attacking civil society in the name of fighting crime. Creating terrorists, drug dealers or other criminals is not law enforcement.
Priority two: Reestablish thriving arts programs in schools and communities. Creating a world that is for the sole purpose of making money, or preparing drones for serving the oligarchy has not worked, must not be allowed to continue and will not stand in for a world that helps individuals to flourish. Art, music, dance and theater are what make us human, not the size of our fortunes.
Priority three: We need to establish and enshrine the idea that our food needs to be adequately labeled as to point of origin and ingredients. The attacks on our food systems need to be treated as criminal, including the ability of non-food items to be called food.
Priority four: We must develop laws that protect the majority from abuses by the oligarchs. There are no excuses for the types and kinds of assaults that we typically face at the hands of the wealthy donor class who have fun things for decades. We need nothing short of a New Deal for The U.S. of America.
Priority five: Stop disrespecting teachers. I was trained to be an educator and I can tell you first hand that the ridicule, horrible treatment, name calling and disrespect begin way before you ever collect your first check as a teacher. The attacks that we have made on one of the most respectable professions that exists are inexcusable. This leads to poorly producing people of all ages, fosters a world view for our children that growing up will only bring pain and suffering and that in essence, the next generation does not matter.
As you can see the humanitarian issues cannot be seriously addressed until the financial/economic ones are taken on as well. The push to privatize everything can only lead to commodification and harming those who cannot pay simply to enrich the wealthy classes. This is probably the most unAmerican idea that has been allowed to flourish as the wealthy privatize more and more of the benefits and socialize all the costs. The greatest resource in our nation is the people, abusing them shall not stand on my watch!
Knowing these things and learning to have proper respect for those who established this country so that it might endure, those who fought for it, those who died. Having proper respect for the teachers, who all saw that all humans can thrive when they are given security and a modicum of support. We are a nation built on a single, solitary notion. If we say we can, no matter what the rest of the world says, or does, we will achieve our intention. What kind of people would we be if we had stopped building a rail line across our country, shore to shore, or not built several of them! How would life be different if they had not tried a second time to lay a Trans Atlantic cable?
To be human today means not only responsible to our own true selves, but to one another, the world around us, and as we have seen our planet from the moon, one with the spinning blue ball of stardust we call home. Having a relationship with this part of our story, our history, the song and dance, these things, sharing culturally relevant foods and stories, these are our way home to where creator exists and wants us to be.
The divisive and accusatory rhetoric that has been flowing from the mouths of many of the candidates is just pathetic. Being boldly told that we must hate others or being openly told that womyn are second class citizens, Hispanics are criminals and rapists or that Muslims want to destroy our nation is not only wrong, but the lies themselves are the only thing that can assure the destruction of our nation. Like the McCarthy era, attacking others with lies only assures that we lose all of our credibility. We need more political leaders who put people ahead of what has been deemed expedient by the oligarchs.
Again, I would like to present five main goals to reestablishing a more humanitarian nation. without addressing all of these issues simultaneously, very little progress will be made.
Priority one: the crimes against humanity that are taking place in populations of color must end. This will require several changes. We need to admit that the drug war was a sham...legalize all drugs and make their abuse a health care issue, not a police issue. This involves transforming our police forces to look like the communities they serve, make their jobs about service rather than exploitation, and release all non-violent drug offenders. If these people had been rich, and/or white they would more often than not have been seen as entrepreneurs. We need more of them in our poverty stricken cities, not less. Also, related to law enforcement, it is time to end entrapment by federal, state and local agents. It reflects horribly on a culture to be providing opportunities, means and methods for attacking civil society in the name of fighting crime. Creating terrorists, drug dealers or other criminals is not law enforcement.
Priority two: Reestablish thriving arts programs in schools and communities. Creating a world that is for the sole purpose of making money, or preparing drones for serving the oligarchy has not worked, must not be allowed to continue and will not stand in for a world that helps individuals to flourish. Art, music, dance and theater are what make us human, not the size of our fortunes.
Priority three: We need to establish and enshrine the idea that our food needs to be adequately labeled as to point of origin and ingredients. The attacks on our food systems need to be treated as criminal, including the ability of non-food items to be called food.
Priority four: We must develop laws that protect the majority from abuses by the oligarchs. There are no excuses for the types and kinds of assaults that we typically face at the hands of the wealthy donor class who have fun things for decades. We need nothing short of a New Deal for The U.S. of America.
Priority five: Stop disrespecting teachers. I was trained to be an educator and I can tell you first hand that the ridicule, horrible treatment, name calling and disrespect begin way before you ever collect your first check as a teacher. The attacks that we have made on one of the most respectable professions that exists are inexcusable. This leads to poorly producing people of all ages, fosters a world view for our children that growing up will only bring pain and suffering and that in essence, the next generation does not matter.
As you can see the humanitarian issues cannot be seriously addressed until the financial/economic ones are taken on as well. The push to privatize everything can only lead to commodification and harming those who cannot pay simply to enrich the wealthy classes. This is probably the most unAmerican idea that has been allowed to flourish as the wealthy privatize more and more of the benefits and socialize all the costs. The greatest resource in our nation is the people, abusing them shall not stand on my watch!
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