A New Lease on the American Experiment

Let’s just imagine a better future for a moment or two. What could it be like if we defeat fascism and start to repair the core issues that plague our society and keep people from realizing their full potential? Let’s make it ok to be an idealist, and a visionary, and let’s not settle for the austerity (thanks, JYS, for this characterization) that we’ve been told is a necessary part of life on this planet (unless you somehow manage to win the genetic lottery). What if we were to abolish that relic of slave days, the Electoral College, and allow the president to be elected by the popular vote? What if we were to strictly limit the amount of money that can be spent on electioneering and campaigning? What if we put a timeframe around campaigning that limited it to a month or so before an election, and ensured that all federal representative and presidential races included a policy-only debate before the vote? What if we were to limit terms to 2-3 per person, and require that presidential candidates pass at the very least a citizenship test? What if we were to abolish ICE and the DHS, and re-vamp our immigration laws, so that anyone with a sincere desire to become part of our country could come to the border and request admittance, then be admitted with a clearly laid out path to citizenship? What if “dreamers” were no longer a thing – just citizens? What if we were to re-imagine the concept of law enforcement? Add a couple of years to the training of officers, delineate their roles so that they would clearly be protecting and serving the community, not the few. Provide a more nuanced approach to needed services to deal with crises that community members face – like fear for others’ welfare, mental health crises, traffic law issues, lost or loose pets. What if we were to re-examine drug laws to decriminalize most drug offenses, and to provide health care intervention when warranted? What if we were to “un-privatize” prisons and re-focus them on the goal of rehabilitation to re-join the community after time served, making job training, and mental health treatment a big part of time “inside”? What if we were to examine the effects of permanent stigma after time served, and remove the barriers to resuming or becoming productive community members after incarceration? What if we were to focus education on best practices and brain science, and equitably fund preK-college so that our graduates have a firm grasp of civics, ethics, and sorting information from rubbish? What if we were to consciously teach about the true, white supremacist history of the country with a goal to becoming anti-racist for the future? What if our workers were paid a living wage, and housing was affordable and available to all, so that if you work a full time job, you do not have to choose whether you or your children will eat or you will pay the rent. What if our communities had lots of gardens and neighborhoods grew food in front yards that could be shared with all? What if we were to write industry regulations that kept the air clean, the water potable, and plant and animal diversity strong? What if we would pursue green energy solutions that would provide jobs and a sustainable energy future? What if we made healthcare part of the basic fabric of life in this country? What if old people (or any people) didn’t have to choose between their medication and food on their table? What if we consciously, every day, were asked by, and asked of, our legislators and community leaders: What are we doing today to advance the stated goals of our country: liberty and justice and equality for all? It’s NOT too much to ask. We have put people on the moon, off of this planet. We have developed incredibly ingenious and hideous ways to kill others. We have engineered genocides and systemic racism. These goals are NOT beyond our human imagination, nor our human capability to make them happen. They seem to be, for now, only beyond our collective will. We can change that. We must change that if we want this grand experiment to survive and thrive into the future