How to Fix a Broken America
I love America, but it is broken and needs to be fixed.
The good news is that there are easy solutions to most of our problems, many of which were created by the actions of our elected officials in Washington and in state and local governments.
I support progress and change.
I don't want to divert back to the fifties, but there are definitely some things I miss about that era.
Growing up, we wandered the neighborhoods without fear, went to the movies or downtown on Saturdays and felt safe in school even though there were no armed guards to protect us.
In the summer we slept with the windows open and often played outside or took the dog for a walk without locking the door behind us.
Today, many children live in unsafe neighborhoods.
Approximately three American are killed each hour every day by gunfire, not by terrorists, but by fellow Americans.
We are lucky to live in a country where our forefathers ensured that we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as part of the Constitution.
Among these rights outlined in our current Constitution are: religious freedom, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state.
Much blood has been shed insuring these sovereignties to us.
Yet today, many extremists in our country want to disband these sacred liberties, while at the same time interpreting the second amendment as a right to amass an arsenal of military style weapons.
They no longer want separation of church and state, but rather a theology form of government, not a democracy.
The Supreme Court, who is supposed to clarify our laws to keep our democracy intact, instead has ruled to let billionaires buy elections.
Voting rights of everyone are being questioned and efforts to suppress the vote of those who disagree with you are everywhere.
Women's healthcare rights are being diminished and the poor are being kept in poverty with no American dream available to them.
Throughout history, people in power have understood that there would be different views and opinions on how to run and grow our great country.
But they also grasped the importance of listening to one another.
They recognized that in negotiations, no one gets 100% of what they want, and that compromise is good and productive.
This style of competitive, but compromising government helped us to create many innovations that would thrust us to the forefront in the world.
Today, that value system of compromise has been replaced by an obstructive voice that responds "No" to everything, rather than a voice of reason and solution.
When one person, such as the Speaker of the House or a Senator filibustering, can stop the will of the majority, the government is a dictatorship more than a democracy.
When the wealthy control Congress and Congress passes only laws that benefit them, our democracy is turning into a plutocracy.
Whether we are heading more for a dictatorship, theocracy or plutocracy, America is definitely heading away from being a democracy.
Our government has three branches designed to provide necessary checks and balances to insure fair and just laws.
Like a three-legged stool, if one branch is dysfunctional, the whole system is in peril of toppling over.
Fixing America won't be easy, but it can be done by working together on some very common sense approaches to running the country.
To return to a true democracy while moving our country and economy forward, ordinary citizens must take an interest in what is happening in our country and speak out for change.
The good news is that there are easy solutions to most of our problems, many of which were created by the actions of our elected officials in Washington and in state and local governments.
I support progress and change.
I don't want to divert back to the fifties, but there are definitely some things I miss about that era.
Growing up, we wandered the neighborhoods without fear, went to the movies or downtown on Saturdays and felt safe in school even though there were no armed guards to protect us.
In the summer we slept with the windows open and often played outside or took the dog for a walk without locking the door behind us.
Today, many children live in unsafe neighborhoods.
Approximately three American are killed each hour every day by gunfire, not by terrorists, but by fellow Americans.
We are lucky to live in a country where our forefathers ensured that we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as part of the Constitution.
Among these rights outlined in our current Constitution are: religious freedom, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state.
Much blood has been shed insuring these sovereignties to us.
Yet today, many extremists in our country want to disband these sacred liberties, while at the same time interpreting the second amendment as a right to amass an arsenal of military style weapons.
They no longer want separation of church and state, but rather a theology form of government, not a democracy.
The Supreme Court, who is supposed to clarify our laws to keep our democracy intact, instead has ruled to let billionaires buy elections.
Voting rights of everyone are being questioned and efforts to suppress the vote of those who disagree with you are everywhere.
Women's healthcare rights are being diminished and the poor are being kept in poverty with no American dream available to them.
Throughout history, people in power have understood that there would be different views and opinions on how to run and grow our great country.
But they also grasped the importance of listening to one another.
They recognized that in negotiations, no one gets 100% of what they want, and that compromise is good and productive.
This style of competitive, but compromising government helped us to create many innovations that would thrust us to the forefront in the world.
Today, that value system of compromise has been replaced by an obstructive voice that responds "No" to everything, rather than a voice of reason and solution.
When one person, such as the Speaker of the House or a Senator filibustering, can stop the will of the majority, the government is a dictatorship more than a democracy.
When the wealthy control Congress and Congress passes only laws that benefit them, our democracy is turning into a plutocracy.
Whether we are heading more for a dictatorship, theocracy or plutocracy, America is definitely heading away from being a democracy.
Our government has three branches designed to provide necessary checks and balances to insure fair and just laws.
Like a three-legged stool, if one branch is dysfunctional, the whole system is in peril of toppling over.
Fixing America won't be easy, but it can be done by working together on some very common sense approaches to running the country.
To return to a true democracy while moving our country and economy forward, ordinary citizens must take an interest in what is happening in our country and speak out for change.
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