Defending Democracy

Today we hear many voices that claim to be patriotic. They shout about issues that are important to them, trying to make us angry and change our focus. They spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt to distract us from what is important. Respectful Americans are people who appreciate the rights and priveleges that come with being a United States citizen, and hold those in power accountable when we are denied our rights.

We have a history of being misled by those who profit from our long-term misfortune. The tobacco industry told us for decades there is no link between smoking and cancer, making billions as people died from using their products. Scientists all over the world warned us of the danger, but Americans were slow to accept the truth and take action. Those who profited told us the risks were minimal, and people ignored the scientific facts and continued to smoke. Today we see global warming changing our environment in a bad way. The oil and gas industry told us for decades there is no link between carbon emissions and global warming, making billions as people now suffer through increased flooding, more frequent and more severe storms, and significant property losses. Scientists all over the world are once again warning us of the danger, but Americans were slow to accept the truth and take action. Those who profit tell us the risks are minimal, and people are ignoring the scientific facts and continue to use oil and gas products at the expense of our environment. It is our children and our children's children who will pay the price for our inaction today. People who say climate change is not our problem are sharing their fear of what it will cost us to address this issue, but they are not telling you the whole story.

Many movies in the Western genre depict sheriffs as the first incarnation of local law enforement in America. However, it was the economics of business that moved communities to formalize a police force. The first police force was formed in the Carolina colonies in the early 1700s to chase down runaway slaves, thus preserving the use of free labor. The first publicly funded police force in an urban area was created in Boston in 1838 to protect commercial shipping interests. Throughout our history, the role of a publicly-funded police force has primarily met the needs of those with influence. In the 1800s through the early 1900s, businesses that worried about the influence of organized labor, people who feared new immigrants in their community, politicians who wanted to harass their opponents, and wealthy land owners who wanted to monopolize resources all looked to their local police force to maintain their version of "law and order". It wasn't until the mid-1900s that police professionalism was taken seriously and became widespread. The inequity and brutality grievences of today have a long history, and all citizens have a right to expect the police to evolve into what serves us appropriately. People who tell you they oppose changes to policing policies are expressing a fear of a more unruly society, but they are not telling you the whole story.

People want to come to America because we respect the rights of our people and offer opportunities like no other country on Earth. Today as in the past, we hear many people talk about immigrants as being dangerous or living off the largesse of our citizens. And yet, the vast majority of immigrants seeking entry into the United States do so to escape the living conditions of other, less prosperous countries. Their goal is to improve their lives and the lives of their children by following our laws and becoming productive members of our society. Many say they have safety and security concerns about our immigration policy, focusing primarily on our southern border. However, the immigration issue in our country is really about economics and politics. As the baby-boomer generation ages, our country is facing a worker shortfall. Social Security and Medicare are federal programs financed by the people who work in this country. As we see the number of working Americans decrease and the number of Americans choosing not to have children increase, that funding source is shrinking. Accepting immigrants into our country who are willing and able to work will breathe new life into our nation's social safety net for the elderly and those in need. People who say we should increase our border security to reduce immigrant crime in our country are voicing their fear of America transitioning to a minority-majority country, and they are not telling you the whole story.

Individual States bear the responsibility for public education in America, so the quality of public education varies throughout the country. Economic class, ethnicity, and disability have always played a significant role in the availability and quality of public education. As some in the mid-1800s did, those who fight to underpay teachers, underfund public schools, and divert their tax dollars away from public education today are simply not interested in educating other people’s children. We also see some people throughout the country diminishing the quality of education by sensoring materials and topics to fit their view of how children should be raised. Organized groups have formed with the goal of electing School Board members and local officials supportive of their perspective. With the help of six-figure donations from a few wealthy donors who have their own agenda, these groups seek to limit the opportunities for all children to learn about things that have happened and continue to happen in our country. Many adolescents might choose a different path as adults were they to learn in school about the injustices perpetrated on various people throughout our country's history. Our young adults will not be prepared to correct the mistakes of the past if they don't know about them. People who say schools should ban large swaths of books and restrict discussion of certain topics in public schools to protect children are often expressing an opinion about content appropriateness, but they are not telling you the whole story.

You may have recently heard people in positions of authority say that America was founded as a Christian nation. They say the Constitution supports their assertion, but an examination of our Constitution’s Bill of Rights reveals the opposite is true. Those who first came to America were in search of a place where they could follow their own religious beliefs without fear of a government-sanctioned religion. It was for this reason the First Amendment to our Constitution, adopted on December 15, 1791, states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". This means our government shall never have an official religion and is not to favor one religion over another. We also hear some people speak of America as a Christian nation in the context of a moral compass from which our governance should take direction. They cite the decline of organized religion without talking about the growing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in America. They speak of the anarchy occuring in our urban areaas without discussing the significant increase in gun ownership in recent years. They profess to have a feeling of distrust for their fellow citizens without addressing the growing economic disparity between the haves and the have-nots. People who say America is a Christian nation are sharing their aspirational opinion, but they are not telling you the whole story.

Casting our ballot to elect our representatives is a privelege guaranteed by the Constitution and multiple laws. The voting process should be accessible, convenient, and quick for all citizens. Recently we have seen legislation enacted or proposed in multiple States that makes it more difficult for some citizens to exercise their right to vote. Strict voter identification laws, reduced early voting, restricted ballot drop-off availability, reduced polling locations, and aggressive purging of the voter rolls are ways in which one of our major political parties has attempted to control the number and types of citizens who are able to vote in an election. Some have even passed laws that prevent people from providing free drinking water to those who stand in line for hours to vote. They claim their interest is purely to ensure the security and validity of our elections, but their unstated goal is to keep those who oppose them from the ballot box. When faced with consistent election results that show their positions are not favored by a majority of the voters, their solution is to reduce the number of opposing votes cast in each election by making it harder for citizens who oppose them to vote. People who say our voting process should be more secure to ensure the integrity of our elections are sharing their belief that candidates they support should be winning more often, but they are not telling you the whole story.

The success of our Democracy depends upon a well-informed electorate willing to support good governance and choose elected representatives who will protect their rights and freedoms. To make clear their intent, the Founding Fathers wrote in the First Amendment to our Constitution that Congress shall make no law "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press". News organizations have a unique and consequential responsibility to present objective facts that allow us to make an informed evaluation of an issue. While the majority of companies that portray themselves as news organizations take their responsibility seriously, there are some who favor revenue over responsibility, blurring the line between journalism and commentary. News organizations must have a sustainable funding model that allows them to report on the activities and policies of our government and the world around us without fear or favor. The citizens of this country have a role to play as well. We have a responsibility to support news organizations that perform to this standard and reject those that do not. Fake news is not news we don't want to believe. It is the presentation of information void of objective facts designed to generate partisan support and profits. We need to listen to opposing views, discern the difference between objective facts and subjective opinion, and support policies and people that advocate for our best interests. People who say the mainstream media is the enemy of the people are sharing their opinion about the information being presented, but they are not telling you the whole story.

Our ability to manage our government is through the ballot box, where the "one person, one vote" principle allows each person's vote to be equal to another person's vote. However, those in positions of authority have often used their control to skew the population of their legislative district to gain political advantage. This is often referred to as "gerrymandering", a process by which representatives pick their constituents instead of the constituents picking their representatives. Using modern technology and data from various public and private sources, representatives are able to identify voters who are likly to support them in future elections and tailor the boundaries of their district to ensure their continued employment. This has resulted in representatiaves who are no longer required to be responsive to the needs of all their constituents, creating a permanent minority voting class within their districts whose interests are never adequately represented. Even more concerning, some State legislatures are choosing to ignore judicial rulings that require them to make corrections to their legislative district boundaries. People who tell you we don't need a better process for the legislative redistricting that occurs every ten years are happy with the way things are because their interests are adequately represented, but they are not telling you the whole story.

Most of us believe we live in a Republic governed by the will of the people, which implies majority rule. Since enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, free and fair national elections have been held in America without question. Only recently has one of our two major political parties taken the position that elections are somehow rigged. The facts bear out the truth that in modern times our national elections have been free and fair with an incredibly small number of exceptions. However, nearly half of our citizens support those who believe the 2020 Presidential election was somehow corrupted on a massive scale, though no one has presented any factual proof that such corruption occurred. Their issue is not really about the validity of our national elections, but the outcome of counting all of the votes that are cast. As our Republic has matured, constantly refining the way in which our citizens are treated and the freedoms they may enjoy, a significant number of Americans woke up one morning to find people who don't look or think like them in positions of authority. The shock of this realization caused them to embark on a long-term campaign to wrestle political, legislative, and judicial control away from the voting majority in this country. People who tell you our elections are rigged are upset because the comfort of their past way of life has been disrupted by those who see a different future for America, but they are not telling you the whole story.

For many years, our two-party system has represented two opposing points of view - that the federal government should be a provider of service and support to its citizens as well as being responsible for national security and the country's sovereign interests, and that the federal government should only be concerned with national security and the country's sovereign interests. Today however, one of our major political parties has become obsessed with gaining and maintaining control of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government so they can remain in power indefinitely. Their agenda, once they attain full control, is to eliminate the majority of the policies and services the federal government currently provides to its citizens, restricting its resources to national defense and protecting sovereign interests. Social programs designed to act as a safety net for less fortunate Americans such as welfare, food stamps, and job programs would be eliminated. Federal agencies and departments designed to improve the quality of life in America such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and the Department of Education would be substantially reduced or eliminated. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid would be privatized, making it more expensive for those who need it most. Without fear of any checks and balances, they would simply dismantle what they don't want and reform what they feel is necessary to remain in power. People who say that government should be downsized to reduce the taxes paid by all are looking to turn those government-provided services into profitable businesses, but they are not telling you the whole story.

We often see people in positions of authority respond to a question by talking about something entirely different. Their response is often about something they want you to focus on instead of what was asked of them. This is a tactic designed to avoid telling you what you need to know about a topic that may be uncomfortable for that person to address. Recognize this as an attempt to distract you. Remain focused on what is important to you and be persistent in your communication with others.