State of the Union 2014

Did you watch?

Are you happy with the way the country is being run?  If you didn't watch, if you don't respond to what you liked and didn't like, then, in my opinion, your opinion about what was said doesn't count for much.

I've felt, for a long time, that what's mostly wrong with our country is us, the citizenry.  On the one hand, we want to hand over responsibility for running things to complete strangers; we want to trust in a mythological "daddy" out there who will look out for our best interests.  We've been thinking and acting this way for a very long time.  On the other hand, we're really, really unhappy with the way things are being run.

I ask you, what's wrong with this picture?  How long do you continue to behave in the same way and expect things to be different?

It's time to rethink, reassess and take hold of the reins.  You voted for somebody.  How often to do tell that "representative" what you think, what you want?  I'm guessing not very often.

How often do you actually sit down and mentally layout, for yourself, what you think about all the issues:  national security, foreign policy, commerce, education, the economy...?

This is our country.

Back to the State of the Union Address --

It's required, loosely, by the Constitution:  "He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient:..." It's supposed to be a REPORT to Congress about - guess what - the state of the union - what's wrong, what's right - and proposals for the future.  And, in my assessment, that's exactly what last night's speech was.  The President reviewed what had been done by his administration and what he intends and wants to do in the future.  In a vacuum, the speech, on its own, was fine; not too much pomp and circumstance; not too much bullshit.  However, there were several things that I noticed that I think are problematic:

The energy policy is too much same old, same old.  I was absolutely not happy that production is up; that the President is standing behind natural gas which means - FRACKING.  This is a disaster.  Almost immediately after making those statements, he mentioned something about the preservation of federal lands.  So here's my assessment of that.  He's OK, Washington is OK with poisoning our communities by fracking for natural gas but federal lands will be protected so we can escape from our polluted neighborhoods by visiting national forests and parks.  REALLY!?  Remember this is a president who believed in CLEAN coal.  So, F for energy policy.  He did mention other energy sources but mostly in passing.

Next, I noticed policies of partnering with major corporations - the usual players - for various programs.  This is same old, same old.  Our economy is a disaster because of big business, Wall Street, the entire financial industry.  If we don't divorce ourselves from these 'partnerships', that serve them more than they serve us, we will eventually be doomed to slavery to them, which, BTW, we nearly are already.

Education, some OK thoughts but defining education as training for a job is just another step in the United States of American Business.  I didn't go to college to get a  job.  I went to college to be educated, to explore things I'm interested in, to expand my knowledge and outlook, and, in the process, decide what kind of work I wanted to do.  We do need updated vocational education; everybody knows that.  But, because we've turned our "think tanks" over to corporate bean counters and accountants, we've ignored the real geniuses that have come from our educational system, from scientists and economists and, yes, philosophers, social scientists, engineers, psychologists, thinkers, who have more constructive and positive solutions to our economic and social problems than whorish businessmen whose sole aim in life is to find more and more ways to make money.  So, D for education policy.

Finally, many of the assumptions on which most policies in Washington are based on are outdated and erroneous.  Everyone in Washington keeps going to the usual players for answers; the usual players are ALL self-serving and will, in my opinion, NEVER do what right unless it means a profit for them, and it usually doesn't.  There's a John Bunyan quote (I just discovered the source) that occasionally goes around Facebook, that Washington should recite every morning, as a mantra:  

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”

My Fellow Americans, have a good day.

Getting Rid of Citizens United - Being a Citizen

It is the 4th anniversary of Citizens United when the Supreme Court granted citizenship to corporations, allowing them to inordinately influence decisions affecting the lives of each and every one of us.

Yes, corporations are a collection of people but by granting corporations personhood and citizenship, each and every member of the corporate board and each and every voting shareholder, is, thereby, granted double personhood and citizenship, on their own, as citizens, and through their corporate influence.  DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!

This legal action has doomed the rest of us to always be outvoted and out-influenced by corporate interests.  And, if you think that national and multinational corporations have your best interests, our country's best interests, our planet's best interests at heart, I'm afraid I think you're a fool.

Watch this video and educate yourself.

Legalize Democracy

It is extremely important that we overturn each and every one of these decisions and that a constitutional amendment be enacted to define, once and for all that a citizen is a single, individual homo sapien and that the laws of the country apply only to so defined citizens.

Be a Citizen - (American Heritage Dictionary)

"1. A person owing loyalty to and entitled by birth or naturalization to the protection of a state or nation."

Even that definition (matched by Webster's), is outdated and, in a democracy, insufficient.  Remember, in our democracy, as defined by our Constitution, We The People, the citizenry, ARE the government.

Much of what's wrong with our government today, is a result of our throwing away our rights as citizens and by being lax in our responsibilities as citizens.

We are, in fact "governed" by layers of governments; from our local municipal, county and state governments to the federal government.  Are you informed about each and every one of those governments?  Do you know your state Constitution?  Do you know the ordinances of your town?  How many city council meetings have you attended?

Think about your answers to these questions, because if you are not acting and functioning and taking responsibility as a Citizen, what do you think will be the result; government functioning without you.  Complaining about decisions that are made, laws that are enacted, after the fact, is pointless.  You and I must, pro actively, become citizens who include our citizenship in our daily thinking and activities.

Go to your town's web site.  Who's who?  Can you find local ordinances there?  If not, call the Town Clerk and ask how to find your local ordinances.  You public library often has a copy of the Ordinances.  Also ask for the schedule of Council meetings and how to get a copy of the agenda.  You may have to pay for a photocopy (saving the taxpayers money, of course).  DO NOT let anyone intimidate you.  I have had town clerks ask me who I am and what I need the information for, in an authoritarian tone. I simply give them my name and tell them I'm a resident, home owner and voter and I need the information I'm asking for.  They don't need to know why.  

Some towns, that have the correct attitude, that information about their operations is open to The Public, will have that information on their web site, posted in the municipal offices and/or available at the local library.  You have a right to this information.  Don't let anyone tell you differently.  In some cases, they have so seldom been asked that they have acquired wrong thinking and bad attitudes about the loftiness and privilege of their activities and become secretive.  We are responsible for that as well.  

I'm a librarian.  I have been a public employee (differing from a public servant in many ways), serving the public in public libraries in many municipalities in 4 states.  I have attended many public meetings in my capacity and a librarian and a citizen.  Over time, when very few people show interest in what you're doing and how you're doing it, you just stop thinking about how what you do affects them.  So, as citizens, we have to be ever vigilant about how our various levels of government function and continually communicating our wishes to our public servants (our elected representatives).  How else can they represent us?