"In every revolution, there is one man with a vision," Captain Kirk said to the bearded Mr. Spock in "Mirror, Mirror," a Star Trek episode that transported Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura into an alternate, belligerent universe.
The Enterprise crew were conquerors and rather than negotiating with other life forms, they stole property. Rather than bring new planets into the Federation, they destroyed them in favor of the Empire. With his words, however, Kirk convinced Spock to turn the Empire in a Federation that explored new worlds, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture.
This country, like that alternative universe in Star Trek, needs a philosophical shift, a revolution if you will, in its approach to monetary gains, human value and a fiscal system that can reward this country and its people as a whole.
Indeed, the "bad" Spock knew the Empire would be overthrown eventually--much like the fall of the Roman Empire. Kirk argued that its inevitable outcome made its mission a "waste." He was right.
In the U.S. today, the approach to consumer spending as 70 percent of gross domestic product is also unsustainable and a waste of wealth that people cannot even call their own.
This economy thrived for the past 30 years because credit extensions allowed all consumers--rich, middle class and poor--to take part in "The American Dream" of buying fancy clothes, expensive jewelery, nice dinners, huge television screens, state-of-the-art sound systems, cool sporty cars, oversized SUVs and--yes--the McMansions we once could only dream about while watching Dynasty or Dallas in the 1980's.
Now, we sit watching a small segment of the population--major celebrities and entertainers, top executives, CEOs and some astute investment bankers--truly live within their means and enjoy the rewards from the excessive pay they receive.
(I still believe these people earn way too much compared to directors, managers, laborers--you know, people who are not part of "the club" that hangs out with the wealthy. This may all sound conspiratorial but, if you do not "play the game," it doesn't matter how hard one works in this lifetime--the executive status is not there. After all, if it wasn't for his daddy, how else would George W. have been President of the United States, much less make more than $30,000 per year).
It's about who you know and most people in this world don't know millionaires or billionaires. However, a good piece of advice might be to become friends with a millionaire or billionaire--like Dan Snyder befriended Mort Zuckerman who invested $1 million on a college newspaper that failed and then invested another $1 million on a telemarketing firm that succeeded. Now, Snyder has enough money to invest in an amusement park that failed and football team that has been failing for the past 10 years. [Note: If he does not meddle with Shanahan and Allen, he may just succeed again as he did in the telemarketing firm].
So, we have a majority of good, decent people who work hard and--if they live within their means--may never achieve the aggregate of a huge home, a guest home for visitors, a tennis court in their backyard, a huge high definition theater screen with blue-ray DVDs, the antique furniture and authentic Monet pictures. They may get the huge screen, they may get the nice furniture, they might just get a nice dining room table with chairs. But it is difficult to have it ALL in this world if we all live within our means.
Our two parties--Republican and, yes, Democrat--believe in false promises. They want to say,"American Dream," "Land of Opportunity" and that those dreams and opportunities equate to fame and fortune. Be famous like Tiger Woods so the rest of the country can judge disapprovingly of your immoral behavior. Be extraordinarily wealthy like Bernard Madoff, until you discover fraud and send him to jail for his improprieties. Be powerful like Timothy Geithner or Ben Bernanke who favor large banking institutions and change regulations and laws to suit political purposes.
Yes, Sting and The Police were correct when they said, "Poets and priests and politicians are jamming our transmissions."
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for a new party: The Progressives.
Notice, I did not say liberals. Those were the hippie 1960's and early 1970's, part of an extremist baby-boomer movement--the same extremist movement we have seen throughout recent financial history with decades of booms and busts. Extremism in fitness, health, style, sex, drugs, partisan politics, causes (right or left), religion and--yes--consumer spending. It has been decades of not living within proper means and asking ourselves, "Why don't I have any money? Why do I have all these things, and I'm miserable?"
No, the liberals are not progressive. As Bill Maher said, the Democrats are the new Republicans and the Republicans are the "looney party."
The Progessives--a new third party--are socially liberal, fiscal conservative moderates who believe the American public needs to live within their means. After all, why must I have that fancy grill my next door neighbor has if my own grill fits my needs? Why must his neighbor have a 52-inch plasma television when a 42-inch screen is all he or she can afford?
The founding fathers wrote of "truth, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," but our Congress seems to believe in "deception, debt slavery and pursuit of more material items." Let's return to the fundamentals and, ironically, that means becoming "progressive."
It means leaving behind the material 1980's, the increasingly debt-ridden 1990's and the ridiculously out-of-control 2000's.
The Progressives are about a Congress that works together to achieve goals for the common good. Obviously, not everyone will be happy, but at least the common man or woman will be happier than heads of large corporations, special interest groups and lobbyists who contribute to lawmaker campaigns.
Greed and ego are not in the Progressive Party agenda. The Party believes that lawmakers decide on policy for the common good of the country--Education (including a financial education in middle and secondary schools); Affordable healthcare insurance for EVERYONE, regardless; Social Security for people 70 years and older; Medicare for 55 and older; letting big banks, small banks, big companies, small companies, anyone fail if they are insolvent, bankrupt or inefficient based on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; deleveraging all of the toxic debt based on mark-to-market accounting rules so that people who invest know where they are putting their money; consistent risk and regulated costs in bank and insurance underwriting; and, most important, public campaign financing so that politcal officials--people in power--are not taking money to make important decision on the country's laws and regulations.
The Progressives believe in reducing the amount of debt available and balancing the country's budget, creating greater savings for consumers and the country and, for goodness sake, legalize marijuana--adding a heavy federal, state and local tax--like cigarettes and alchohol. Make it 21 or older. Make driving while drinking illegal--period. None of this .08 crap. Treat marijuana like alcohol. Unlike caffeine, it is unacceptable in public (except where there is a permit) and in the workplace. The "War on Drugs" money goes back into the Federal Government. Frankly, if people abuse drugs, that is their problem, their life and they need to be responsible for themselves.
The Progressives believe everyone has a right to a gun, but there will be a "War on Guns" like a war on drugs. All guns without permits will be confiscated; federal officials will seek out illegal gun dealers and incarcerate them. It will not be easy to receive a gun. It will include an extremely thorough background check. A person who does have a permit to carry a gun will then need to always provide the types of guns they purchase through legal gun dealers. Make it really hard for someone to obtain a handgun. For example, harder than for police officers instead of easier.
No world is a "utopia," but how much is enough in a world driven by rich, greedy people who only look at the highest earnings at the lowest cost? What is value at this point in today's world and, indeed, what do we value? People, prices or merchandise? What is the value of human life is that life is deemed valueless by health insurance companies and credit agencies--the same group that may even promote the Pro-Life segment of the population. What value is choice for Pro-Choice advocates if teen-age girls feel inferior to bulimic, air-brushed celebrities in magazines and on television.
That said, we should promote available resources for people in need of food, shelter and clothes--basic human needs must have significant government funding. The trillions spent on bailing out banks, starting wars and sheer entertainment could go to healthcare, homeless shelters, mental health rehabilitation clinics, which can include substance abuse centers for alcoholics, marijuana abusers and other people who decide they want to change their lives. Tax credits go to large corporations who put money back into Main Street, helping families and children see a future world outside of poverty, crime and gang warfare.
And, most important, this country must start "Green" manufacturing--electric cars, electric fueling stations, electricity, energy. Quit paying Saudi Arabia--home to legacy terrorists--for oil so that it can funnel down through its families to rebellious, spoiled and religious, fanatical brats like Osama Bin Landen, etc., etc.
And, while we are at it, let's quit giving validity to the term "terrorists," crazy religious fanatics, raising them above kids who kill 32 college students or seven high school students in classrooms around the country.
Here are some terms for ANY HUMAN BEING who kills a large group of people--"EVIL. ASSHOLE. DICKHEAD. INSANE." Did I say "asshole?" I don't care if it's for religious beliefs, political beliefs, low self-esteem, extreme pressure, the drug trade, organized crime, unable to pickup women, a man cheating, etc., etc.
If you kill a human being--or many human beings at one time--you are usually an extraordinarily evil person unless it is a military event in a war or self defense.
And, as a general belief, The Progressive Party realizes that life is relatively short so let's not take it too seriously because we are not on this earth for a very long time. Let's lighten up, learn to enjoy ourselves and each other for who we are and--if we are over the age of 18--try and behave like adults. Try to be smart. Be serious. Don't stereotype. But, have a sense of humor to laugh at ourselves and each other. We are only on this planet once--I think--let's enjoy ourselves here and realize the responsibility we have to others.
In general, The Progressive Party likes good people and we hate bad people, and we will work very hard to give the best in this world to the good people and protect them from bad people.
Now, who are good people? Ones who do no physical harm to others unless in self defense. Honest people who respect the rights and privacy of others. Who are bad people? Those who steal, cheat, do physical harm to others for no reason, kill people for no reason, disrespectful of their fellow citizens and disrespectful of privacy and rights of others. They are bad. I hate to sound like the elder George Bush, but Progressives "good," Democrats and Republicans "bad."
And, who shall be the first leader of The Progressives? My vote would be for the Independent Bernie Sanders from Vermont. Perhaps it might be my job to walk up to him one day, letting him know about The Progressives and hear what he has to say about it. "In every revolution, there is one man with a vision," I would say. And he would call the cops.
Unlike in Star Trek, there is no "device" to weed out enemies that allowed the bearded Spock to carry out his revolution. That said, the Deep Space Nine writers ended up screwing up the story anyway, as if Kirk made a mistake in telling Spock to change things and the Bajorans take over. Right. Like that would ever happen. Perhaps, in the end, future Progressives would screw things up, too, but the concept is true.
Just as CBS and NBC soon saw a third network on the horizon with the call letters ABC, the Democrats and Republicans may see the dawn of a new era. A group of leaders whose cause stands outside of their own agenda. It will be a new agenda for every man, woman and child in the United States of America. For the white, the black, the Hispanic, the Asian, the Jew, the Muslim, the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, the Catholic, the Methodist, the Southern Baptist, the atheist, the agnostic, the mentally ill, the physically handicapped and the families in this land, a new agenda to promote security and courage in facing the future.
It is time to stand up for the majority of this population--not the moral majority--but to understand that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. The common good must overwhelm personal greed and individual power so that each young person in America born every day understands during their lifetime that their existence has value beyond a dollar sign.
This is The Progressive Party--leading the way into a new decade, a new century, with the understanding that happiness is found, not from without, but from within. And true individual happiness can only be found through collective generosity to our fellow citizens. From there, we expand to diversities of other nations, creeds, colors and genders. We accept diversity--we do not fear it--and we accept change, flexibility and the future--we do not fear it.
This country needs a revolution--the world needs compassion, not hate--and out there, somewhere, is one man or woman with a vision to stand up and lead. To take the United States, and the world, to the highest heights.
Imagine a world working together--countries, continents and world leaders--with the common goal that we are all human beings in this lifetime striving to help each other, not hurt each other; to contribute, not overpower; to push each other to our highest potential...so that no human being may go poor and hungry.....and that we can all live a fruitful and fulfilling life....
Nah!
Happy New Year's everybody!
