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August 30, 2008 at 19:42:19
That Which We've Feared ...Has Already Come to Pass by Alamantra Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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Hope In the Form of Meritocracy
By Alamantra
08.30.08
"(A corporation has) neither body to jail nor soul to damn." - Lord Edward Thurlow
"Corporations, which previously had been considered artificial entities with no rights, were accorded all the rights of persons, and far more, since they are "immortal persons", and "persons" of extraordinary wealth and power. Furthermore, they were no longer bound to the specific purposes designated by State charter, but could act as they choose, with few constraints." Noam Chomsky
America is broken: Our public schools are broken, our military apparatus is broken, and our infrastructure is broken. "We the people" are currently besieged by a government that has found "reason" in a policy to torture enemy combatants, to suspend habeas corpus, to misrepresent information to its citizens for purposes of invading sovereign states, to tap the phones and read the private emails of its citizens without any oversight and to abuse long-standing relationships with foreign powers. It has found "reason" in a policy that violates sacred contracts between it and those who have taken an oath and put their lives on the line in its service. It has found "reason" in a policy that dispenses with any concrete notion of the rule of law and the universal equity of justice. It has failed to regulate and make accountable the corporate domination of America's resources; corporations whose sole purpose is to fill their own coffers and reward the few at the expense of the many by an ongoing, perpetual acquisition and depletion of any and all of America's valuables. It has dispensed with the most noble of its institutions and ambitions and traded these for indifference and worse. It has allowed its citizens to languish and die in disaster and the needless combat of an ill-advised occupation; and done so brazenly in the eyes of the whole world; its indifference turned to contempt. America is broken and must be fixed.
By now, most of us are aware of our situation. We realize that the environment is in peril. We know our interests have been betrayed. We know that our military is strained and that those who have served have been deprived of their promised benefits on one hand while being retained past their initial obligation on the other. We know that when, for decade after decade, we dump pesticides, mercury and sewage in our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans the water will eventually become unsuitable to drink or sustain life. We know that making people live in housing projects full of asbestos doesn't look after their health and welfare. We are aware of our addiction to oil and that it will eventually run out. We know that we can do better and that we MUST do better.
We know what the problems are, but how are we going to fix them? Obviously we're going to have to do something different than we've already been doing. We're going to have to CHANGE and so we have to let go of fears, attachments, prejudices, old grudges and habits if we are to survive, much less flourish. We cannot cling to our old ways and expect something new or better to come of it. We can't leave tomorrow to chance or indifference and think that our lives will be improved as a result.
Barack Obama's solution calls for implementing the concept of the meritocracy as a fundamental tool in rebuilding America. He has called it an "all hands on deck" approach; everyone working together on our collective concerns and this has been the approach of his campaign. The results, so far, bear testament to the success of this principle that he intends to implement on the national level. His campaign invites direct participation and discussion via the fantastic technologies we have available to us and it responds. It is the first presidential campaign in history to take full advantage of the internet, and viral video & messaging technologies, and has done so by integrating them in an organic, synergistic framework. The first American Revolution wouldn't have worked without the communicating power of the printing press. What type of Cultural Revolution is possible with a communicating technology far more powerful and accessible than the press?
His campaign creates opportunity for those who work to implement its collective focus and goals. This is what he wants to do on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis all across this country: reward effort and achievement and so nudge people toward improving their own lives. This is the effect of good old fashioned inspiration. Barack Obama's achievements have demonstrated that he understands better than many: any accomplishment rest on two things: inspiration and perspiration. This is how ordinary people achieve extraordinary accomplishments.
History is full of examples of Governments' attempts to force "change" from the top down and the failures have been amply demonstrated. Threats to cut off funding to pressure individuals or organizations to meet excessive and often-times unrealistic requirements evokes an atmosphere of stress. A pre-determined punitive stance is, more often than not, met with resistance, fear, and discontent. Incentives and inspiration cause people to reach upward, and as each person rises, so does the whole. Rewarding individuals for their achievements encourages them toward a better life for themselves and thus the whole. Giving them clearly defined goals to reach for builds a ladder of opportunity; acknowledgment of their accomplishments inflames their desire to do even more. Others, who bear witness to this are then inspired and the positive effects becomes viral and spread exponentially.
America is broken and must be fixed.
www.alamantra.blogspot.com
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Perhaps a buy back
Perhaps now is the time to intiate a world wide buy back in order to buy back our future from our current war economy. If you want desirable behaviors you need to make them possible. If you want swords beaten down into ploughshears you need to make it more profitable to farm than to fight. In my country, Australia, we had a taxpayer funded gun buy back, initiated by the conservative side of politics, imagine that? If the political will is there then we will find a way. by kwalsh (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 275 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 at 6:36:45 PM  (0+)
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Reply: That's an interesting proposal
However, in the United States, guns are a very touchy issue. There are those who don't trust the government and having a shotgun makes them feel more secure. LOL. I discombobulate over the way the constitution is battered back in forth by both sides of "the right to bear arms" argument. Sen. Obama keeps referring to people's right to hunt and target shoot ...which is a bunch of malarky. (A constitutional student should certainly know better, and it's the one thing he does that completely turns me cold. The second amendment has nothing to do with hunting and sports shooting.) The right to have and to bear arms, as it was written in the constitution, strictly pertains to the the right of "the people" to organize militias in their respective states. (The constitution of Virginia was even more specific in its wording) Originally, the idea of having a standing national army was frowned upon. The federal authority maintained a navy since the seas are beyond the bounds of states and they had to be able to protect ocean commerce. Of course, over 200 years later, the U.S. has a standing army and a standing navy and the state militia, as it was then, went with the civil war. Now, the states all maintain National Guards which are under the authority of the governor, but obviously subordinate to the Federal authority since the governors don't have the ability to recall their National Guard troops home from Iraq. The only reasonable right to have and bear arms pertains to a person's indefeasable right to self-preservation ...self-defense; but the constitution doesn't address that issue at all in relation to gun ownership; even if a recent Supreme Court ruling from this past June says that it does. Of course, one of the things the Right-Wing (TM) in the United States goes on about is that they don't think judges should "legislate from the bench." In this case, that is exactly what has happened ...by the Right-Wing (TM) of the United States Supreme Court ...i.e. The Friends of Scalia (TM). by Alamantra (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 5 comments) on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 at 8:29:04 PM (0+)
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Perhaps a buy back
Perhaps now is the time to intiate a world wide buy back in order to buy back our future from our current war economy. If you want desirable behaviors you need to make them possible. If you want swords beaten down into ploughshears you need to make it more profitable to farm than to fight. In my country, Australia, we had a taxpayer funded gun buy back, initiated by the conservative side of politics, imagine that? If the political will is there then we will find a way. by kwalsh (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 275 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 at 6:36:46 PM (0+)
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Guns?
I've never been an advocate of gun ownership until recently. I think the more enlightened among us realize the importance of gun ownership in light of the gradual erosion of our constitutional rights. Personally, I'd prefer to be able to own a gun. There will likely come a day, and soon, when chaos rains and both criminals and police may be equally a threat to me and my family. I don't want to be the victim of a crime, nor will I allow government sponsored terrorists in black outfits to lock me or my family members up in detention camps. I'll keep the ability to own a gun, thanks. by jeff prager (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 188 comments) on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 at 5:09:50 AM (0+)
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Obama
Obama is supported by the same elitists that support McCain. Anyone who thinks Obama will offer significant change probably believes equally that killing 100s of 1000s of Iraqi's helped save them from a dictator. I wonder if Saddam could have killed as many of his people as quickly as we have. In fact, I wonder if he would have. I think not. You're stuck in and high on the ether of "change," a platform used by Clinton and others before him. It's an illusion. by jeff prager (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 188 comments) on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 at 5:13:37 AM (0+)
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Reply: Obama
As a former politcian I understand that a politicians' freedom to make decisions is much less than commonly believed. Most of the time leadership comes from interest groups (including corporates) with politicians merely adjudicating from amoung offered alternatives. If we want to change the way we do things 'we the people' will have to do the heavy lifting. I have no illusions about Obama. by kwalsh (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 275 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 at 6:33:28 PM (0+)
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