After the implosion of the American economy and the continuing multi-billion dollar economic rape by banking institutions, lobbyists and politicians in their pockets, its time to install FDR’s Economic Bill of Rights.
It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.
This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.
I just read the most AMAZING book, The Unforgiving Minute, by Craig Mullaney. If our soldiers are like this guy, then we need to step up our game and be faithful to them while they are serving our country, and when they come home. He is an amazing young man, smart but compassionate and thoughtful. He takes the lives of his platoon to his own heart.
The book is fantastic, read it!
The Amazon page has a great video, and you can get the book as a Kindle or Audiobook.
Scientists would love to have you believe that social media use (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) is making you less empathetic, less human.
Bullshit.
Lets look at our previous forms of communication and how they affected our empathy.
Hmmm.
TV news, newspapers and magazines, AOL’s front page, these old school forms of media are B-O-R-I-N-G. And DEAD.
We’re creating and finding new forms of communication, based on things that made us happy: gossip sites (that took stars off their pedestals), American Idol (where instant votes show that YOU have an impact, and you can cheer or jeer with millions of members of the family of man), and Facebook (where you can connect with all levels of ‘friends’, making connections to people with whom you share interests).
Twitter?
Twitter is proof there is a God, lolz.
FINALLY, a mode of communication that matches our brain power. It doesn’t have to be USEFUL, it matters that it matches what my brain can handle. We think it, we get turned on by it, we share it. I have nearly 3000 followers and I follow 2600 people. I watch a steady stream of brilliance whenever I have Tweetdeck up on my screen. I share stories that are meaningful to me and I find that many people across the planet agree with me.
We live in a new world, that Twitter has illuminated. There are no borders. Sure, I’m American, but Twitter has connected me with like-minded humans in many countries. We all give a damn about each other, we really give a damn about our collective future.
The scientists who say quick social media dampens empathy don’t understand the new brain… Its capable of zillions more connections than old educational systems, job environments and entertainment provide to us. Its capable of seeing and hearing from thousands of other humans from varied backgrounds, without judgement. Its capable of deep empathy and action spurred from that empathy.
They’re just trying to rip Twitter, because they don’t understand it. Twitter is a symbol of the great hope of our future. That we can see and hear each other across continents, that we can give a damn, that we can share and laugh and cry.
“True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
Something to think about when there were 50,000 layoffs today, from companies including Home Depot, Caterpillar, ING, GM, Sprint Nextel and Pfizer…
Do you think regular working Americans are okay with Citigroup taking $45 billion in bailout money and using part of it to purchase a new $50 million corporate jet (which seats 12) after the banking giant announced cutting up to 50,000 more jobs? Citibank recently posted an abysmal $8.29 billion loss, as regular working Americans are struggling to keep credit cards paid, home mortgages paid, businesses open without a bailout.
Sounds like the makings of a revolution… Thankfully, Obama’s election shows regular Americans trust he will intercede in these corporate shenanigans.
I can’t convince you that my way is better than your way, in politics or in life.
I have learned that each side has its wisdom. The fastest way to piss you off and close you off to my opinion is to tell you I’m right and you are wrong. Instead, the fastest way to get you and me into a conversation is to tell you a story or show you something from an angle you haven’t yet considered.
Opinions are not reality, they are how YOU see reality. So show me how you see things, and I can understand in some small way how you came to your opinion.
The whole ‘Red State-Blue State’ argument is futile. Every single time we break out into two sides, we are not whole. We are set up for eternal warring and failure because polarization blinds us to anything but our own opinion.
I’ll only tell you how I see things. In my own country, I see that we have a schizophrenic nature. We have values that we project out to the world, yet its easy to find examples where we don’t practice what we preach.
I believe this schizophrenia is not intentional. I believe its because of the complexity of our rules and the apathy we’ve settled in to, counting on ‘the government’ to keep things chugging along so we don’t have to pay attention. This blanket faith in a faceless ‘government’ has resulted in a crazy patchwork of rules for others that we don’t follow ourselves.
It is time to bring these out into the light, so that we may become whole, so that our actions and our words match. I believe that the USA will be stronger, more moral, more potent on the world stage.
I believe that the internet has forever changed the landscape of the planet. Everyone still has their opinions, but a sea change has occurred.
Stories are now available from many sides of an argument, videos share how people really live instead of leaving us to old stereotypical stories about foreign cultures.
We can check in with the global community in a way never before available. The Spice Trade centuries ago opened up cultures to each other, but in very limited ways, separated by delays of years between reactions.
Now, cross-pollination of ideas is instantaneous. Stories, instead of being unique to one country, have siblings around the world: same story, different names.
Our oneness is apparent.
So, SchizoAmerica.com, to me, is a place where I show you what I see, from a different angle than you might have experienced. I’m interested in how you see things. I want to have a dialogue.
