2) The right to healthcare, education, and a living wage must be guaranteed rights to every citizen. They are not privileges. A person or a family should be afforded health coverage and a decent education, without incurring debts or becoming poor.
3) The end of the police and surveillance state. Constitutional principles and civil rights, which have been encroached upon by the PATRIOT Act and other aggressive and intrusive federal statutes, must be restored. There is nothing more threatening to the American way of life than the undermining of basic rights and freedoms in the name of security.
If a president has the power to declare an American citizen an enemy of the state, and order his execution without the constitutional guarantee of due process of law, then no one is protected.
4) Comprehensive electoral reform that includes the following: Congressional seats must be drawn by independent federal judges according to fair and rational standards. Money in congressional districts and political elections should be capped and limited to individuals from the same districts or states. The media must be required to give equal access to all viable candidates. Elections should be held over multiple days, including a weekend. The archaic Electoral College must be abolished. Presidential as well as senatorial and congressional elections must allow for first and second choices on the ballot so that voting for third party candidates would not be considered a "wasted vote." In essence, the fate and future of American democracy depends on implementing such reforms.
5) An end to the empire. The policies of funding unrestrained defense budgets, hundreds of military bases and costly adventures around the globe must come to an end. There are over 750 military bases around the globe costing hundreds of billions every year.
The late Chalmers Johnson convincingly made the case in his Blowback trilogy when he said, "To maintain our empire abroad requires resources and commitments that will inevitably undercut our domestic democracy and in the end produce a military dictatorship or its civilian equivalent. The founders of our nation understood this well and tried to create a form of government -- a republic -- that would prevent this from occurring. But the combination of huge standing armies, almost continuous wars, military Keynesianism, and ruinous military expenses have destroyed our republican structure in favor of an imperial presidency. We are on the cusp of losing our democracy for the sake of keeping our empire. Once a nation is started down that path, the dynamics that apply to all empires come into play -- isolation, overstretch, the uniting of forces opposed to imperialism, and bankruptcy."
In the long term, one of the best policies to democratize the country is to reinstate the draft. Multinational corporations, politicians, and the super rich in this country have no qualms about sending the American military (the overwhelming majority of which is comprised of the poor and middle class) to places around the world to secure their interests. If they knew that their sons and daughters may have to serve and face the ultimate sacrifice, they would think 10 times before entangling America in an unnecessary military adventure.
In effect, each American, rich or poor, should be required to serve his or her country for a designated period of 12-15 months. Some could serve in the military, while others could work to rebuild the infrastructure in this country. Still others could serve around the world in a peaceful capacity, for the betterment of humanity.
If the anger and disgust of the American people with the status quo continues to grow and spread, the insistence on these demands will ultimately produce real changes and reforms. As Frederick Douglass said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."
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