Wow! John,
You've got some great ideas here! I think you have the makings indeed for your own book! Would you care to shre with us some examples of how effective this method of 'preambling' someone has been? Do you feel you have won over any voters to our side using this method?
THX for your contributions!
Karen
From: John N. [mailto:jnerikaat@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 12:34 PMTo: 'karenhansen'Subject: RE: You are hereby invited to a cyber book circle named The Art & Science of Political Persuasion Group
Hi Karen,
Therefore the honest persuasion that I try to do is the persuasion toward our Constitutional values which all US Americans agree with in general. So for example I challenge republicans who are anti-union by pointing out in debate/dialogue that one of the objectives/goals of our Constitution is, "….for a more perfect union….", so if you are against unions then you are basically against a Constitutional value. Same with government run social security and universal healthcare - these are easily connected with the idea of, "….promoting the general welfare…" clause in the preamble. Taxes are needed to run the "commons" and like in an extended family a person earning more may be expected to pitch in more to the family operational expenses, the people who make more money may be expected to pitch in more toward the national operation expenses.
Below is a summary of how I connect the day to day issues we fight about to the preamble (mission statement) of the USA project or organization. My politics and persuasion is based on linking issues to our Constitutional values and living and practicing those values.
******************Meaningful Politics:Politics today has become about fighting and "winning" on issues regardless of breaking rules and laws, regardless of who loses, it has become in a zero sum game. As such our politics has become about issue-only addiction. Politics is the use of power to execute or implement a common agreement or plan. Politics (use of power) comes into play when people have conflicting interests or interpretation in executing or implementing a plan or agreement. When conflict happens, unity or the union of the people involved can be preserved only by calling to attention our common purpose and mission, by rising above and transcending to find the highest common meaning and shared understanding and not by getting into a pitched battle of the least common divider.
The agreement in the national context is our Constitution and the mission statement is our preamble. Therefore any meaningful politics must be predicated upon realizing, living and practicing our Constitution and constitutional values. All issues that lead to conflict must be resolved by looking at the essence of constitutional values.
1)We the People, in order to form a more perfect Uniona. Understanding and following the bill or rights (and duties) and our Constitution b. Respectful social and political dialogue for national integration and unification
2)Establish Justice and insure domestic tranquility (peace)a. Paper ballot based free, fair and accurate electionsb. Fair and equitable economic compensationc. Progressive taxationd. Economic, social, political, environmental and spiritual consciousness elevation
3)Provide for the common defensea. Free and Fair Trade promotionb. Foreign Policy based on invited, co-operative intervention and non-dominationc. Department of non-violent defense (not offense) for national protectiond. Department of Peace through Peace perpetuation
4)Promote the general welfarea. Publicly governed single payer universal healthcare and social security institutionb. Free and fair K thru College public educationc. Independent, free press and media communicationd. Open and fair policy for refugees, immigrants and immigration
5)Secure blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posteritya. Education for the reduction of mindless consumption and earth depletionb. Energy conservationc. Sustainable, clean and green energy creationd. Environmental protectionThe Constitution is the original progressive document that asserts the power of "We the People" in an increasingly inclusive way.
Progressives are about fulfilling the promise of "We the People", while conservatives have proven time and time again that they are about, "We our own few People" in an attempt to establish a hierarchy of olden times where a very few rule over the very many so that in time the fewest can rule over the most. This mindset can be summed up in one word, "authoritarianism" which violates the value of Equality and Justice.
The value of justice is a common theme in a) the declaration of independence b) the Americans creed c) the pledge of allegiance d) the preamble of our Constitution. The authoritarian mindset leads to other problems like, a) racism - authoritarianism of one race over another. b) sexism - authoritarianism of one gender over another c) classism - authoritarianism of one group over another. Based on the above summary, republican, conservatives are for the most part opposed to constitutional values in the conduct and most of them are under-performing, under-educated, US citizens who need to be seriously re-educated.
****************** Equality 4 Justice 4 Peace 4 All
John Nerikaat
We the People, of the United States of America...
Do hereby and henceforth swear that we will no longer submit to the fear tactics of money hungry, corrupt and selfish politicians..
We the People will no longer turn a blind eye to the blatant corruption which has infested each and every corner of our Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches.
We hereby swear that from this moment on all elected officials will be held accountable for any and every nefarious miscarriage(s) of justice and any unjust deed(s) they may have enacted, were privy to, or participated in...
We will no longer allow our Constitutional Rights, given to us by our wise and revolutionary forefathers, to be systematically stripped away, one by one, by our elected officials who swore an oath to uphold said rights.
We the People will not allow our common sense to be over ruled by fear any longer.
We hereby pledge that we will no longer allow our politicians to get away with putting the welfare and benefit of the Corporation above the welfare and benefit of Every Single American Citizen, be they poor, middle class or wealthy.
I've just returned from Washington, D.C. to my home in California. I have a travel suggestion for Senators Obama and McCan't. I know that Sen. McCavil wants Sen. Obama to accompany him on a fact finding (photo op) "visit" of Iraq. Instead, I believe Barack should offer to take McCaper on a tour of our National Archives. It would be even better if they could get Bush the Lesser and Cheney to go with them.
On display in our National Archives are the Magna Carta (of habeas corpus fame), our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and hundreds of original documents from the founding of our great nation, our government, and our legal system. I'm sure you are familiar with these documents, they enumerate the rights that Bush the Lesser and Cheney have been insidiously stealing from us under the Emperor's cloak of being "Patriotic". These same rights are the ones that McCavity says are a hinderance to the protection of our way of life; thereby, ignoring the fact that these rights ARE our way of life. That they ARE the foundational principles upon which all of our other rights exists.
Between the choices of visiting Iraq or visiting our National Archives, Barack should offer to visit the Archives. Reading these documents together might go far toward jogging Sen. McCarrion's memory of what life was like prior to Bush the Lesser, and what actions are necessary for our nation's future.
We once enjoyed a wealth of such statesmen, who's available media technology consisted of a precious supply of parchment, quill, and ink, and who graced this parchment with language worthy of the effort and expense to communicate their ideas and heartfelt opinions.
Back when this nation was young; when people took writing seriously because it was the only media; the skillful, elegant, and erudite use of language was a requirement of leadership and statecraft. For example: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
In the comments to my previous posting there was a sense of hopefulness that I found admirable. I suppose it’s necessary to have that kind of hope and conviction if you’re going to put in the time and effort it will take to get a candidate elected. One has to believe that he, and he alone, can and will solve the problems that the future holds. Therefore it is with mixed feelings that I continue to add posts with the same sense of caution as before. I have no desire to diminish anyone’s belief in the Senator but if hope is to be realized it has to be accompanied by an equal amount of understanding. Since I can’t participate in American elections I hope to at least be able to contribute a different perspective and perhaps some new insights.
This particular post will focus on what I feel is the primary reason most Americans were so willing to accept their governments arguments for the need to go to war on Iraq.
When Michael Moore did a whole movie on the American fear, it struck a cord, not just in his own country, but in the world. "Bowling for Columbine" was a brutal unmasking of the most powerful nation in the world. The movie is a very unsettling experience all the way through, but the scene that affected me the most was at the very end. Michael Moore had come full circle in his failing pursuit for an answer to the question why Americans are so eager to shoot each other. As a last resort he turned to the President of the National Rifle Association, the former movie star, Charlton Heston. The old man greeted him graciously and was then pulverized by questions he had no more answers to than any of the other people Moore had asked.
It was a deplorable encounter in many ways, filled with unfocused anger and fear, but what stayed with me was not the interview itself but the end. Mr. Heston tried to leave when he realized he couldn't stick to his usual lines, but Moore went after him in his usual bulldog-style. The camera caught a last moment between them, as Moore stood on the steps with a picture of a gun-victim in his hand. Mr. Heston turned around and they both focused on the image of a dead six year old girl. For a moment the two men, normally separated by vastly different lives, came together in mutual bewilderment over the world they shared.
The only theory that was presented in the documentary, as a possible reason for the gun craze that apparently has America in its grip, was a rather interesting history lesson. Michael Moore argued that the fear originated with the pilgrims. They went to America because they were afraid and when they got there they got even more afraid. They were afraid of the natives and eventually the Africans they had imported. It was an amusing story but hardly a scientific theory with merit. Unfortunately my theory is far more complicated than Michael Moore's little tale and not even remotely amusing, but I hope you will hear me out, anyway.
America was discovered by adventurers who sought the land of unlimited wealth. The settlers who first came were mostly dreamers whose ideas and hopes simply didn't fit in the land they were born in. Some came for reasons of greed others for hopes of a better life. After all, in America you could be anyone you wanted to be. If you had been a slave (and with slave I mean the many poor farmers in Europe, who worked like slaves for the rich King and Noblemen who owned the land) you could come to America and be richer and more powerful than you ever dreamed possible. In the old countries already set in their ways, social rank was an important factor in everyday life; if you were the son of a farmer you became a farmer. America changed all that.
Although everyone who came to America did so for reasons of their own, they all had one thing in common. They left the relative comfort of a life they were born into, to cross an endless ocean in order to reach the ultimate unknown. That takes courage. Today we may not think much of the journey across the big, blue waters. We hop on a plane and arrive a few hours later; complaining of boredom and jet-lag. But during the immigration to America, the journey itself was a massive ordeal with crowded ships, storms and decease. Perhaps you were one of the lucky ones who got to enjoy the maiden voyage of Britain's pride and joy, the Titanic. Luxury and comfort beyond anyone's dreams and of course the complementary sea adventure and subsequent death. No, the ancestors of Americans today were anything but fearful.
So what happened? I believe a part of the answer lies in the fact that America was founded in the hearts and minds of mankind, long before the continent was ever discovered. A powerful idea of a perfect land; peaceful, powerful, wise and serene, that could be the ultimate role-model for all of mankind. This dream has, in my opinion, been an important driving force behind the creation of many of mankind's civilizations. Unfortunately, reality has always managed to get in the way, carving human flaws into the building blocks of every creation, but the dream itself has never died. And it was this dream that became the foundation of America; land of the free, home of the brave. Here everything was going to be done right. No one would stop anyone else from reaching his or her potential. Dreams were the focus of a nation determined to show humanity at its best.
These are the words written by a man trying to set mankind on the Right path. America was going to rectify all the bad things mankind had done in the past and go forth into the future, empowered by the knowledge that they were going to do better. Of course, this dream wasn't shared by everyone and there was a lot of bloodshed going on, as the Wild West was won. This is nothing unusual, and America is probably the least blood drenched nation on earth. The elimination of the native population was normal procedure in a world where the strong took what they desired, regardless of the consequences. The fact that America is still expressing guilt and concern for this elimination, however, tells a lot about the nation’s collective state of mind.
I my next blog I intend to outline my thoughts on one of the more interesting reactions to the conflict between the desire to create a land of glorius ideals and the brutal reality of life; slavery.
It’s frightful how the tyranny of one King George is repeating itself through another George.
Indeed, so many of the abuses detailed in the Declaration of Independence apply 231 years later:
"He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good;
"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice;"He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone;
"For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury;
"For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences …"
Once again, Americans who support Barack must help him painfully extract ourselves from the same kind of misrule all too well characterized in 1776 as a “history of repeated injuries and usurpations.” Beginning today, July 4th, 2007, and fully in the sprit of the Declaration of Independence, Americans must push back.
We must push back against an administration that believes in the separation of Bush and Cheney from state.
We must push back against the illegality which they have foisted upon us.
We must push back against the unwarranted and warrentless incursion into our homes, our beliefs, our associations, our privacy and our thoughts.
We must push back against the hopeless and ill-considered wars begun with lies and carried on with incompetence and deceit, all the while robbing us of our heritage, our values and our treasure.
We must push back against the ongoing abuse of trusting Americans who gave – are still giving, today, this very minute – their lives, their body parts and the very sanctity of their minds in faraway and little understood lands all for the vainglorious misadventures of dangerous men.
We must push back against the dark forces who seek to make us afraid of ourselves, of each other and of those who simply want to be a part of the dream we once offered so openly and freely to the world.
We must push back again a government that believes some people in this land are entitled to untold and untaxed riches while leaving far too many others unhoused, unclothed, unfed, uneducated, unwell and unnoticed.
We must push back against the dismantling of everything the United States of America has stood for ever since this very date in 1776.
We must fly our flag proudly outside of our homes but fly it upside down, the international symbol of distress.
We must march in the streets, proclaim our anger from rooftops and, especially, vote for Barack Obama to end the tyranny.
We must, each of us, rededicate ourselves to the document that was signed on this day and date. To do any less is to reduce to ruin the great experiment our forefathers brought forth on this continent 231 years ago.
