For the defenders of democracy, the first order of business is to win control of Congress back from the cult-like Trumpsters who now preside there. Then of course, to win the Presidency in 2028.
But neither of those alone will be enough to heal the cancer that’s now deep in the bones of our democracy. We have broken our most basic social contract: the idea that government should secure our unalienable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We have become a government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations, leaving us with too many Americans for whom America is simply too expensive a place to live, a planet imploding under the weight of our irresponsible environmental policies, and militarism the dominant factor in our foreign policy.
Enough is enough. We need to rethink, repair, and regenerate what is good, true, and beautiful about our country and the world.
Conscious citizenship means more than that you have a passport. It means you have an emotional investment in the well-being of your country. You understand the responsibilities that come with power, you understand the gravity of the mistakes that we have made, you understand the depth of the problems we face, and you are dedicated to being part of the solution.
All of us are responsible now for all of the above. We need to see citizenship itself as a layer of any meaningful, well-lived life. We need a movement of Americans now ready to think, feel and act our way into a new America. Out of this period of chaos can emerge a new beginning, but only if we are willing to make it so.
Let’s goooo!
Thanks to Maddie Hale for having me on this week’s Trump Report.
And don’t forget to join me for a Town Hall for paid subscribers on Monday, April 27. You can find the login info here.
Marianne, you correctly describe the status of our government as being of, by and for the corporations. I would add that this reality began in the 1970s and is by now quite consolidated. What you have not said, and must be recognized by the public, is that that situation can in no way be alleviated by elections because part of that “of, by and for” lock involves controlling elections so that they do not threaten the status quo. What do you have in mind for the movement you call for that would be powerful and militant enough to permanently push aside the corporate power structure?
Let’s recognize and honor the gifts that democracy, forgiveness, peace, and planet truly are. We won’t survive without them.