MY MANIFESTO—AN INTRODUCTION

By the time I got to first grade in 1952, the baby boom was in full swing. All the boys were talking about what their fathers had done to help win freedom for the world. But now, it seems the bad old days are back, and in the irony to end all ironies, the USA may be on the wrong side this time around. 

By now I’m sure you know, one of the ‘gang member terrorists’ ICE flew to El Salvador was a legal resident, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who has had a work permit since 2019. He’s married to a US citizen with whom he is expecting a child. He’s also helping her raise two she had when they met.

He had already been to court before this incident. Prior to being captured by ICE, a judge determined he had NEVER PARTICIPATED IN GANG ACTIVITY, and ordered him NOT to be deported. He left El Salvador Since we deported him anyway, a second judge ordered him returned. The administration is not only refusing to comply, but is appealing it.

The volume of undemocratic and wrong-headed things this administration has done would fill the Pacific. Abrego Garcia’s case may be only a millionth of the volume, but the injustice makes it an excellent example of the lawlessness  we’re up against.

WHERE’S THE OUTRAGE?

The term ‘extraordinary rendition* means KIDNAPPING—Innocent people taken by force, thrown into unmarked vans, and ‘disappeared’. It’s not anything that should EVER happen in the USA, but it’s going on, and not for the first time, I might add. This is the first time, however, that the administration isn’t trying to hide or deny it. 

SOS SOS SOS Our ship of state has hit an iceberg. We have a life raft, BUT we’re in big trouble because there’s a gigantic hole in it. I’m talking about the coalition of those of us who oppose this dystopia. The hole includes the division within the Democratic Party. It also extends to conscientious Republicans who have had their home party co-opted by MAGA.

I COULDN’T NAME IT BACK THEN

I attended a large organizing event in the early 90s when progressive politics was new to me. The organizers announced an opportunity later to bring up anything we wanted to discuss. Something was bothering me, but I couldn’t figure out how to talk about it.

Eventually I thought of words to describe my discomfort. It had to do with childhood poverty and hardworking parents—the paternalistic way politicos dismissed “Joe six-pack who votes against his own interest,” As if Joe, and not the disinformation machine were the problem.

But what did I know? I didn’t have years of experience like so many other attendees, nor a degree in political science or sociology. I couldn’t bring myself to speak up. 

The ideological divisions on the left are big enough to drive cyber trucks through. The citizenry of the USA is in desperate need of family therapy and Ho’oponopono, the traditional Hawaiian practice of reconciliation. First, between Democrats and then between all of us.

WHAT ELEPHANT, WHAT ROOM?

The tug of war between Democratic moderates and progressives is well-known, but little discussed. We avoid conflict. We’re the nice people who allow the extremists to label us groomers and traffickers without raging back at them. Fox tells their followers that ‘the radical left’ wants to destroy the country. The irony is that most of us are gentle people who would rather set a spider free than kill it.

Centrist Democrats seem to think that with enough time and perseverance, we can create justice without upsetting the apple carts of our business leaders. In 12-step programs they define insanity as doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Some of us ran out of patience decades ago. 

The entire country has moved so far to the right that the drop-off into Germany 1933 is like a yawning chasm at our feet. It seems to me that our only hope is to unite against the forces of tyranny. Can we patch our lifeboat and survive?

EUREKA…

My moment of clarity came as I was traveling home on the 101. We were driving by a stretch of trees between Santa Barbara and Ventura, listening to public radio stations. Cory Booker had just finished breaking Strom Thurmond’s record for speaking on the Senate floor. 

I resonated like a tuning fork with everything I heard Cory say. I found a write-up online with a good picture of him at the podium, and posted it on my Facebook wall. People gave me Likes and Hearts. I responded similarly to other peoples’ posts.

…OR MAYBE NOT

The next YouTuber I heard was much less thrilled with Cory’s accomplishment. They  used words like ‘showboat’ and ‘grandstanding.’ A fist squeezed my stomach into a tight knot. 

Cory’s achievement was no longer the light of joy, but a reminder of feelings accumulated through decades of disappointment. Why did I run at the football again like a gullible Charlie Brown? Suddenly I remembered why Mr. Booker’s presidential bid had not appealed to me, and thought of the lukewarm support for Kamala among many of my friends. The same old Democratic identity crisis was in my face again.

The entire country has moved so far to the right that the drop-off into Germany 1933 is like a yawning chasm at our feet. It seems to me that our only hope is to unite against the forces of tyranny. Can we patch up our lifeboat and survive?

NAMING THE ELEPHANT

I barely had time to post a meme celebrating Cory’s marathon before I began to hear about his dicey contributors, questionable alliances, and controversial Senate floor votes. Our issues are real and valid, but when we make the perfect the enemy of the good, we limit our ability to act as a coalition. My childhood taught me the needs of the working poor firsthand, but now we need unity.

MEET ‘CLASS,’ THE DISAPPEARING ELEPHANT

Our current economy lets all of us down.To be financially needy in this country is to be at risk of hunger, and homelessness. It’s hard to keep your dignity when you’re at the mercy of others for life’s necessities. It seems that most working families live with a toxic level of stress. Even the wealthiest seem to never be truly happy.

Legacy media in the USA pretends that our society is classless. Although it’s far from true, the brainwashing goes deep. I was 40 years old before I understood why I didn’t have the fashion, makeup, or hair styles the popular kids had when I was in school.

For most politicians the commitment to economic justice is performative. Staying in office is hellishly expensive. Few of them can survive without wealthy campaign donors. The public doesn’t believe their act anymore, and many Democratic party members are simply fed up.

Like the rebel child in a dysfunctional family, I have named the beast. This society of equally-created men and women has never been classless. May the truth set us free.

AT HOME AND ABROAD

We have not recovered from the two great moral failings at our root, slavery and native genocide. We have also failed to meet the needs of the working people who produce the very wealth which has often been used as a bully pulpit by both parties against them. I’ve heard that the difference between a liberal and a progressive lies in understanding our foreign policy.

The World Bank, meant to make a positive difference in the world, has often been villainous. If you’re interested in learning more, you might start by reading Confessions of an Economic Hit Man  by John Perkins.

Our international relations are not always guided by altruism or the desire to spread democracy in the world, but profit. Everyone now knows the term ‘black ops’. When I was a child, I believed that the USA represented my highest ideals. It’s unrealistic to expect a large nation to be more moral that its denizens. Knowing how badly we’ve behaved on the international front makes it hard to be 100% enthusiastic. 

WHY WE LOST IN 2024

IMHO, Kamala lost because 1) We weren’t united and enthusiastic enough, 2) We didn’t craft a repeatable bullet-point message in an election cycle when we really needed one, and 3) We weren’t able to get the buy-in and coverage we needed from mainstream media.

We knew that a second dip of 45 would be a disaster, but I never realized he would move so quickly. We are in a state of emergency. We can’t wait for the midterms; something must be done ASAP.

WHY I CARE SO MUCH  (WARNING—FLASHBACK)

In 1981 I stood on the stage of a self-actualization seminar and declared, 

“I am the possibility that every child born on planet Earth has adequate nutrition, housing, health care, and culturally appropriate education, and I am the possibility that the United States of America is truly a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

This is the vision that has guided my path from that day.

R U A PATRIOT?

As far as I’m concerned, this country was founded for one purpose, and one purpose only—to create a more perfect union of equal citizens.

The American Revolution did not start as a grassroots movement of indentured servants dreaming of self-rule. Nearly all of the Yankee rebels would have been noblemen had they or their forebears remained in England. Only white males could vote, and in some states they had to own land. 

Colonists ran the gamut from plantation-owning slaveholders, to dirt farmers and Indian fighters. Nearly everyone was, or pretended to be, Christian. Women were not included, and no one thought they ever would be. Homosexuality? Well sir, everyone back then knew it as sin, perversion, and a form of mental illness. 

To this day I am inspired by the the soaring ideals our forefathers penned into our Declaration Of Independence and original Constitution. Succeeding generations were inspired to clarify the language as society changed. Now, “We the people” refers to everyone, regardless of race, creed, sex, or sexual orientation. 

THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED

Did you know that the majority of our citizens agree with a number of Progressive goals? They want ~

• Common sense gun laws
• The government to make it possible for everyone to have health insurance
• The Feds doing more to reduce harm from climate change
• Paid maternity leave
• Government support for child care
• An increase in the minimum wage

Some countries have strong social safety nets coexisting with democracy and freedom. Don’t you think it’s possible for intelligent adults to put ideology aside and discuss economics in a constructive way? Isn’t that what we want our legislators to do?

WHEN THE DAY COMES

Here are some of the questions we can address when we have reclaimed enough power to hash out the issues standing between current civic reality and our dreams—

1. THE WAR MACHINE ~ Do the funding sources and voting record of your legislators or candidates reveal ties to the war machine?
2. POPULISM ~ When I was a child in school, populism meant policies that favored working people. How on earth do billionaires get labeled as populists? Who stands up for the interests of regular people trying to feed and house their families?
3. HEALTH CARE ~ No more need be said. 
4. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY ~ Let’s get real, please. 

WHERE WE MIGHT END UP

If we can grow up enough to put some tough conversations on the shelf for a while, maybe we can congeal like sweet cream long enough to save this flawed but beloved experiment in self-governance.

Don’t you think we’re going to have to prioritize education? Did you learn about the revolutionary influencer Thomas Paine when you were in school? He wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense, that was instrumental in persuading the colonists to support the revolution. One of Paine’s topics was the necessity of an educated electorate.

We face a long list of formidable issues including

• Environmental sustainability
• Creating a just economy
• Food, Agriculture & Family Farms
• Health Care
• Homelessness
• Addiction
• Transportation

These topics are complex, and they can be confusing. Many people today have not learned critical thinking skills, making them easily manipulated at election time. If we bring logic back to the table while limiting the exaggerated influence of the greedy, we can find solutions. My political views may seem h, but that’s only because This have become so reactionary that my political views, moderate in an other liberal democracy, seem extreme here in the land of my birth.

TIME TO FLY IN FORMATION

Many of us feel compelled to stop the dystopia seizing our land. We need each other like migrating birds whose combined updraft lifts all. There are armies of us working, praying, and dedicating our lives to the possibility of a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world.

The Wizard still hides behind the curtain, people. But a small minority, maybe as few as 23% of our people, have delusions of their naked führer in magnificent robes. Most of us see a desperate man in bronzer and hairspray.

Here’s how the comedian George Carlin (1937-2008) described power in the USA, “Its a big club, and you ain’t in it.” Let’s all be Toto and tear the curtain down. 

Who’s with me?