Our Plight and Our Solution

The word plight refers to an unfortunate or dangerous situation. It adequately describes the state of our nation and global community.  Democracies are in a state of decline and despotisms are on the rise.

The only hope for a positive future is to stem this tide and turn it in the direction of civilized living.  Civilized means democratic relating that acknowledges the worth of every human, seeks their common good, and upholds their community rule.  But being civilized is more than our relationship with humans.  It extends to the environment of our living.  We must begin treating our  environment with the same sense of mutual worth as other humans. 

There is a glimmer of hope in America.  This glimmer is those citizens who, in defiance of the nation’s political history, elected a majority of democrats in the Senate and returned an unusual number of democratic members to the House during a critical mid-term election.  This may portent an awakening.

The ultimate issue is how do we overcome the conversion of corporations and the  Republican Party to economic imperialism and re-introduce democracy as the ground of American political perspective?

Maria Ressa is a current Nobel Prize Winner.  Awarded for safeguarding freedom of expression. She is a Philipino/American journalist who was persecuted by the Philippine government.  In a recent interview she suggested that two things must happen to save democracy around the world:

• Education is the long-term solution
• Legislation is the short-term substitute

I have touted education as the solution to America’s troubles for years.  For such to be effective there must be a uniform democratic civics taught at every grade level in every state.  This means the only solution is a national education curriculum that touts a uniform history and concept of civics.  There is no other  solution to the disintegration of American democratic politics.

Ressa suggests that legislation is the only stop-gap measure short of a uniform civic education.  However, such a solution depends on who is in political power.  In America, the Democratic Party remains the guardian of democratic principle.  This means they must be empowered by the electorate in all four branches of government: presidency, senate, house, and supreme court.  Otherwise, American democracy will continue to erode into a despotic economic imperialist state.

What actually rules the nation at this moment is an economic oligarchy of billionaires who purchase the allegiance of both politicians and officials.  This is why, aside from a common citizenry education and supportive legislation,  the Supreme Court is the third long-term key to retaining American democracy.  It was the Supreme Court that empowered the economic oligarchy, through its Citizen United decision, to regain purchasing America’s government.

Currently, while the presidency and the Senate is in control of democrats the House and the Supreme Court are in control of the Republican economic oligarchy.  This casts Ressa’s legislative substitute in doubt.  Aside from legislation, what are other champions of democracy that might step in the breach?  Tom Chulak, American Unitarian Universalist minister, suggests supporting organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

I also suggest supporting the liberal news media, both printed and oral.  Indeed, I doubt this current mid-term democratic election aberration would have happened without their exposures and urgings.  They have been as influential in support of  democracy’s empowerment as the conservative Murdoch news empire has been in support of democracy’s decline.  If any institution has the capacity and opportunity to educate while reporting, this is the one.  It could be more important than legislation because people vote their mind rather than the law.

In whatever way we can, each of us must re-empower democratic principle to rule our nation’s politics

What could be a better New Year’s resolution?

Robert

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