Making A Difference

I have evolved politically.

My research has brought me to the same conclusion as millions of others in this country: that the American electorate has summarily abdicated its power to a separate ruling class that has failed in its stewardship of our trust and resources. To such an extent that we have a system so organized around self-sustaining strategy and self-preservation that it is almost impenetrable and therefore impervious to change. We allowed it to evolve right in the open and in the light of day. We allowed it to go on by the choices we ourselves made. Each of us. Every one of the citizens of our country old enough to be accountable for his or her actions has engaged in the choices that have brought us to this point that culminates in the mass realization that things are so out of whack we can’t see our way back to where we came from and many of us can’t even recall where that was.

My wife Elaine is an optimist. Not to the point of keeping her head in the clouds and wearing the rose colored glasses kind. She has a positive outlook. When I get off on one of my rants to the tune of “ain’t it bad” or other such nonsense, she reins me back in with one of her keen observations and “so what are you going to do about it?”

Life is all about choices. I’m reminded of a professor once who said “you can wallow in it or walk on top of it, the choice is yours.” It’s so easy to go negative about the big picture these days, but what’s the point of spending all that energy without throwing out a solution? It’s really frustrating to be offered a diagnosis and no offer of the cure. If you can’t propose a helpful course of action then all you’ve achieved is wasted time. It’s better to try and fail in the attempt than stay put with all the frustration.

So I am trying to apply these principles and ascertain what my personal response will take to one of the central issues that frustrate me and paralyze my sense of power to bring about some sort of positive change. That is the issue of substantially changing the leadership of our country to more accurately represent the will of We the People.

The short list begins here:

Push for term limits of six years at every level in government. It is not beneficial to our country to have professional politicians in office. The power wielded by our elected and appointed officials is concentrated in the hands of the few but conferred by the wishes of the many. It is too easy for undue influences to bear on the will of the mere mortals who hold office. There is no way getting around the fact that humans will make mistakes. But- and this is big- there has to be true accountability, and with that, reconciliation.

The only serious way we can limit undue influences is to limit their opportunity. Make it unlawful to lobby. Period. Legislate to establish zero tolerance for it and crush it at every juncture. Make it a Federal crime with mandatory imprisonment for first offenders. Then police it. Do away with the junkets, the business meals, and the preferential treatment. Do away with the winks and the perks.

Federally budget for elections and hold the media accountable for providing free publicity to any qualified candidate on an equal share basis in exchange for the use of the nation’s airwaves. Cable or satellite providers would be licensed to provide their services only if they have a constitutionally mandated obligation to first serve in the interests of the country by forfeiting airtime or bandwidth or whatever to the cause of governance.

Mandate that whether you are a citizen by birth or by naturalization, you will contribute in public service on some level based on your ability to do so.

Mandate voter registration, and require that everyone at least vote. Provide the legislation and the infrastructure to do so. There can be no government without the consent of the governed.

Do away with Presidential signing statements. If the President wishes to pursue his own agenda, he and members of his cabinet must appear before Congress personally in order to do so.

When Congress requests the Executive branch to respond to its inquiries, the Chief Executive and all of his cabinet will be required to respond immediately and without equivocation or executive privilege.

I have outlined a few steps toward getting the leadership of this country back on track for positive change. The other side of this reform has to be provided by the citizenry. This is the larger task facing the country because the majority of us are not actively governing ourselves at all.

Somewhere down the line we have dropped the hands-on approach to governance. As long as we pay our taxes and vote once in a while, haven’t we done our duty?

For the first time ever, I wrote to my Representative. I talk politics at work, at home, on the internet. To relatives and even strangers. I remind them where we are and where we've been, lest we forget. I attempt to reach back in time, to connect the events of the past with their consequences in the present.

And I voted early.