I found this on Craigslist the other day, posted in the writing jobs section. I was struck by what it was saying superficially versus what is was actually trying to say. My own comments are in the block quotes
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SaveAmericaMovement (SAM) (DC)Date: 2012-05-20, 3:17PM EDT
Greetings. This is going to sound a
little crazy, but it's not. [But it does sound crazy, right?]
I'm a newspaper guy (Kansas City Star, LA Times, local newspapers) who has
worked in government (two summer internships on Capitol Hill, a year at the
White House, as a White House Fellow). [You've never heard of me]
I'm very middle-of-the-road, and like many, fear for the future of our country.
Things have become WAY too partisan, it's all about scoring points at the
opponent's expense.
[I'm
not really very middle-of-the-road,]
I have an idea that basically goes like this:
1) The SaveAmericaMovement, or SAM -- think "Uncle Sam" -- is
intended to spark a movement of sane, probably mostly middle of the road,
pragmatic types who just want to solve the problems facing our great nation.
Think of this as a Tea Party or "Occupy" movement for sane people. [That's it, problem solved we can all go
home now, never would have thought of it.]
2) We write an "A - Z" set of "fifth-grade simple" policy
prescriptions, solving, on paper, all that ails us a country. The program would
be fair, balanced and done with the context of a balanced budget. The whole
thing might run 100 pages, we can produce it in print and post it to our website
(still being built). This will be called "The Sam Plan."
[fifth-grade
simple" policy prescriptions, now there's your answer.]
3) We build a grass roots movement around this. We get the word out. We give
the forgotten middle, or silent majority, a voice. This could take years; if
that's what it takes, that's OK. Then again, with social media, maybe SAM takes
off like a rocket. [We won't get the word
out, you will have forgotten about this by the time American Idol comes on,
because you are after all the silent majority.]
4) We engage the citizenry in a real way. Government can't solve everything. It
was never intended to. We want our members to embrace personal responsibility,
eschewing obesity, addictions, abuse, financial irresponsibility, etc. We want
to embrace doing well in school and in the workplace. We want to do this right,
free of corruption. If the people lead, the politicians will follow. [Wow, okay now that is crazy.]
5) Over time, we win over the vast middle, solve the problems and save America.
Uncle Sam has been good to us over the years; it's time to repay the favor. [Over weight middle aged white people watching
Fox News unite! You have nothing to lose but your remote controls!]
I know this sounds hopelessly idealistic. I'm also aware that movements like
this generally go nowhere. But suspend your skepticism for a moment, let's give
this a try. What have we got to lose, really? A country -- that's all! [Movements like this generally go
nowhere.--that's all!]
We need political science types, academics, writers, marketers, social media
types, experts, non-experts, housewives who need something to do, summer
interns, financial backers -- anyone who's interested. This is a volunteer
effort; there is no pay involved. Maybe this will change over time as we get
SAM up and running. [Doughnut salesman,
Fuller brush men and just plain Joe's, you know, anyone!]
Send me a cover note telling me a little bit about who you are, what your area
of expertise (if any) is, what it is about this that grabs you. [Send me a cover note telling me why you're
as crazy as I am]
We'll be in touch right away and tell you more. We hope to put on a big push
this summer. If we divide this up, we can make quick work of it. [i.e. The official handshake, decoder ring
and gang sign.]
We are based out of LA but I wanted to post this in DC because everyone there
is a political junkie. You can work from there and we'll do this via conference
call, email, Skype, etc. [We are based
out of LA but I wanted to post this in DC because I told you going in, this was
probably crazy.]
Thanks for your time and attention. Together we can save America.
I hope to hear from you. [You may now engage
your life lever to the resume position.]