WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT IS WE ARE NOT MORE ENGAGED IN IT

MY THOUGHTS

I feel part of our country's major problems are . . .

In a nutshell

1) Corporate owned media
We care about what we know about and yet our media decides what we want to know. And more often than not, media coverage decisions are based on what "sells" or what is titillating. And not on what will inform or help our lives by knowing a news story.

2) Corporate-beholding elected officials
Needed is campaign finance reform (we won't get it, until we, as a people, demand it). Why do we think Washington is so out of touch with what we citizens want? Because they have to spend unthinkable amounts of money to get elected, therefore take donations from corporations, who they answer to and not to the every day USA citizen who just wants a job and some reasonably priced health care.

"We the corporations"

On January 21, 2010, with its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, entitled by the U.S. Constitution to buy elections and run our government. Human beings are people; corporations are legal fictions. The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule.

We Move to Amend.

We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:

• Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
• Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our votes and participation count.
• Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.

Make democracy legal in the USA. Send a message to the Supreme Court
movetoamend

3) Education
is a) not supported more by us as families, adults and b) standards could be higher by our educators in many cases. But it is both of theses things.

Granted this is from a 2002 report, however in a google search this is all that came up in a 15 minute search:

"South Korea has the most effective education system in the world's richest countries, with Japan in second place and the United States and Germany near the bottom, a United Nations study said Tuesday.

The ranking "provides the first 'big picture' comparison of the relative effectiveness of education systems across the developed world," the UNICEF study said."
Source: www.cbsnews.com/

Whitehouse plans to improve education

4) Not engaged in democracy and not knowledgeable of government's actions
We, as individuals, are not engaged in our government's actions. Sometimes we believe hearsay over reality. Most of us don't bother to vote and many times when we do vote, we do so uninformed. Many of us don't know the names of our own elected officials. We don't know what way our representative politicians are voting. Which means, we can't then hold them accountable even if we are the sort who would call or email them. How many times have you lobbied your elected officials about anything at all?

5) The world view is limited
The majority of USA citizens are not informed about our own government, but we have very limited, if any knowledge, of other countries' histories, governments and news. Our interests are insular. When I traveled to Europe I was so surprised that they knew our history better than I did. I had a public school education and I have undergraduate and graduate degrees.

I have learned more on PBS and good news shows and now online, than I ever did in a classroom or in a text book.

I suppose pointing this out may not be enough. There would unsurprisingly be a number of those who would believe there is no reason to be interested in other countries on the planet. We can't close up our borders and live in a capsule that isn't affected by others. We need to know what others do outside our boundaries. The harmful, but the wonderment created elsewhere just as much.

Photo from book: Please Touch
by Edwin M. McMahon and Peter A. Campbell

6) Children's welfare
We don't really care. The foster care system is broken. And how could it not be otherwise? Especially when the budget for it is axed year after year. It is a crime how we disregard the years of childhood. We should all hang our collective heads in mortifying shame.

Failing a child becomes legacy

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Alice in Space

Ridin' the Palisades up to her place
Wheels leave the ground, yeah the air here is laced
And I'm gone, I'm long gone
And its a long way out to Alice in Space

I visit Alice cause she understands
More of the child and less of the man
She don't game me
And she won't fall
But its a long way out to Alice in Space

She'll lift you up and she'll shed your disguise
And I've seen the ancients in Alice's eyes when she smiles

And its a long way out to Alice in Space
She'll lift you up and shed your disguise
Then see the ancients in Alice's eyes when she cries

Millions of people and one little lie
Zillions of children whose spirits have all flown away
They're long gone

And its a long way out to Alice in Space
And its a long way out to Alice in Space
Its a long way out

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Websites

adopt us kids

childrens aid society.org/adoption

Ten Ways to Help Children in Foster Care

Recommended books by Alice Miller

The Body Never Lies

The Drama of the Gifted Child

The Truth Will Set You Free