Looking at the current stand-off between “Yes, We Can!” and “Yes, We Will!” and considering the difference between “Vote for Change We Can Believe In” and “Standing Up for Jobs and Standing Up for You,” we see a movement based on belief opposed by a campaign founded on action. Let me offer the slogan--“Working Together to Change America”—to show how the Obama campaign would get us from here to there. In the contrast to Hillary providing “Solutions for America” where her gifts for the people could be found last Christmas already wrapped under Hillary’s tree, Barack’s message has always been inclusive. After years of being divided from one another, citizens are finally considering the notion of working together for a change—something we seem not to have done since Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
As we shift from belief to action, we need to consider how to initiate change. Rather than focus on long-ranged goals, we need to focus on the process that will get us where we want to go. Steps within that process provide the specifics that pundits and the public have sought from Obama. Let me share some specifics that seem, to me, safe to introduce into the campaign. These specifics are based on the belief that our national security depends upon our internal strength. That strength depends upon our working together to change America.
The first specific is the creation of National Service, whose mission is to “Retrofit America and Benefit the World.” This involves fighting Global Warming with “Cool Projects” like solarizing cities and towns. It includes military service for those so inclined and offers rewards for such service. It supports repairing our infrastructure and rebuilding areas, including the city of New Orleans, and it provides entry-level training for those needing employment. It also provides people (many of whom are at the point of retirement and are worried about making ends meet or wish to do more than enjoy an extended “Happy Hour”) with the opportunity to work as Ambassadors of Good Will, providing health and educational services throughout the U.S. and around the world.
These projects increase production, put money into the hands of workers, train people who might have marginal skills, purchase American goods, and provide services needed by the general public at more affordable prices. Each dollar put into circulation through public works has a greater effect upon our economy than six dollars given in rebates and tax breaks.
Tied to these projects is the belief that we should control our own destiny. We must take control of our towns through public franchise. Cities (and nations) have the right to regulate businesses that operate within their boundaries. Too often, we have been afraid to exact from businesses a fair price for their being allowed to make a profit from us. Civil Rights legislation was based on the idea that businesses had an obligation to serve all the people of the community. Zoning restrictions and other regulations can be imposed to guarantee that businesses are fair. Such contracts can insist that a certain percentage of workers hired for public works contracts be from the city or county where they are employed. Businesses can be asked to guarantee that they will remunerate the community if they decide to close down or go elsewhere. Those businesses could buy insurance to guarantee their ability to do that should they fall on hard times. Corporations can be forced to pay taxes if they choose to operate within our borders. Anything less compromises our sovereignty. Our national security demands that we protect ourselves.
As we look at immigration and the concerns raised about sovereignty and protecting ourselves, let us not disrespect people who have chosen to live and work here. One way to show that respect is to promote Heritage Language studies within our schools. This is not bilingual education. Rather, it is recognizing that teaching reading and writing—whether it be in English, Spanish, Mandarin, or Farsee—is the only way to guarantee that children will be literate and able to use that language well when dealing in our global economy. Heritage Language programs build self-respect. They also provide an opportunity for native English speakers to immerse themselves in a foreign language, getting help from peers who already speak that language. By working together in this way to change America, we strengthen ourselves within the global economy.
The first area where specifics have been called for is the Obama Health Plan. The specific that sparks the imagination the most is “choice.” Some people want midwifery care. Some want chiropractic. Many want counseling and the ability to choose their own counselor. Hospice care with time-off for relatives to see their family members through to a more comfortable end is a needed alternative to being strapped to machines and invading by tubes. By increasing our health care options, we enrich the entire health care industry. To make this work most effectively, our first step must be transitional. A mandatory program closes all deals and provides no option for growth or change. The costs could be so high that drug manufacturers and insurance companies would never feel the competition. Obama's program would consider research to evaluate what is truly safe and cost-effective. As well, it would consider what procedures and protocols could bring medical care to isolated groups now not easily served.
The truth is that America's best defense is to increase our internal strength. What is homeland security without universal health care, without a working infrastructure, without mutual respect, and without controlling our own destiny? It is time to become united and whole. To do that, we must work together.
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