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Democracy cannot survive in a society where a small minority
of citizens owns and receives the lion's share of the nation's
wealth and income. In the United States, those who own that
wealth now easily dominate the media and corrupt the
country’s most important institutions -- including the
political process -- in order to acquire for themselves an
ever increasing share of the nation’s bounty. In fact, our
country is no longer managed or administered of, by, and
for the People.
With a certain class of
individuals now operating above and outside the law, the
Constitution is essentially suspended, and the repercussions
are reverberating throughout every corner of our society.
These facts have been documented adequately by me and others (e.g.,www.gpln.com).
Citizens can no longer trust government officials to adhere to
the rule of law, and confidence in our institutions is
breaking down almost universally: citizens no longer believe
that our system of health care, our legal and law enforcement
institutions, our banking system, the media, our
transportation system, food production, our energy policies,
our schools and institutions of higher learning, our
scientific institutions, our military, or our domestic and
foreign policy initiatives are operating with integrity for
the benefit of our society or the world community as a whole.
Instead they operate for the benefit and profit of
those who dominate our key institutions by virtue of the power
that accrues to them through their ability to acquire
wealth… (not their acquired knowledge, wisdom and integrity).
Progress as we once thought
of it is not happening. The Earth’s ecology is degrading; a
mass extinction has already begun. Economies are becoming more
unstable. Peace is not advancing or anticipated. Critical
thinking is taking a back seat to illusions, delusions and
popular entertainment. Respect for the truth is dwindling.
Standards of living are declining and democratic institutions
are breaking down. Not everyone agrees with this assessment.
Some are oblivious or in a state of denial. Some say it’s
always been this way, but I don’t think so. I think our
posterity is on the verge of losing their birthright: the
right to live in freedom and peace and receive the blessings
of liberty, decency, and goodwill among peoples.
I know a lot of people now
finally agree with what I am saying. Some people are awake and
conscious to what’s happened. These people -- you-- are
the hope of the world. What I wrote above is a preface to
making two suggestions which I think could possibly make a
difference. It might be our last and only chance:
1) Never again vote for any
candidate for any public office who does not have the
courage and integrity to tell the truth about the current
state of affairs and explicitly demonstrate by word and action
that they are prepared, willing, and able to keep their oath
of office… which is to say, they understand what’s
happened and convincingly intend to restore "We the
People" to our rightful place as sovereigns of our own
republic and then honorably preserve, protect, and defend our
Constitution and the rule of law. (I might add, this means
that very few of those currently in office -- from local
officials to the President of the United States -- qualify
for the office they now hold.)
2) Read and understand the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and devote your time
and energy to making sure that each article is honestly being
pursued by every organ of society, particularly those who
occupy elective office and those institutions and
organizations with which you personally engage and support.
With respect to Item 1
above, this probably means that our system of voting must
change. If it does not, most citizens will continue to be
afraid to vote for people we know we can believe in for fear
that it will only help elect those we particularly do not
believe in. This has to change if we expect our grandchildren
to live in a free country. We have to win back that freedom
and to do that means we will have to reclaim our own honor,
integrity, and muster the courage to change the way we participate in life and relate to
the world we live in.
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