One of my recent articles prompted a brief but revealing exchange.
This person accurately pointed out that my proposed electoral strategy required an enormous amount of work.
Why should this come as a surprise? The ruling elite has over five decades contributed millions of dollars, tens of thousands of hours, gone to great lengths to take our democracy apart, skew the laws to maximize their profits, marginalize and silence opposition, reduce the voice of everyday citizens to a pathetic whimper, perhaps worst of all, promoted war and ecological destruction, bringing us face-to-face to possible human extinction. And we should expect to undo all of this with an article here and there, a few comments, and some Twitter and Facebook posts?
I don’t mean to criticize or mock anyone. But I get this all of the time and every time I’m truly astounded that well-meaning, concerned progressives think there’s some quick and easy defense to the wrecking ball taken to the building blocks of our “democracy” and the value system that underpins it, and to repair the colossal damage already done by the oligarchs to our current quality of life and potential for a decent and harmonious future.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen and everything in between, there’s a lot of work to be done. And with some reservations, I’m inspired by the enormous amount of energy and time devoted by the few sane activists among us.
Unfortunately, almost all of that energy and time is completely wasted. It isn’t going anywhere and never will without some serious rethinking and creative strategizing.
Change is impossible without “the people” and the vast majority of people are pretty much left scratching their heads at BLM, woke, cancel culture, Antifa, QAnon, Proud Boys, build back better, and especially the incapacitating, binary weaponizing of everything into left vs. right, Republican vs. Democrat, and all related iterations: liberal vs. conservative, Trump vs. Biden/Sanders/Clinton.
Here’s the main problem as I see it. People vote against their own interests because they’re overwhelmed, confused, misdirected, brainwashed. They step into the voting booth thinking they’re voting for one thing and end up getting the opposite. The science of messing with people’s minds has surpassed quantum physics in sophistication. Soon we’ll all be implanted with neural interfaces and directly turned into clueless, obedient drones. But that’s for another article.
What I try to do is introduce issue-by-issue some genuine clarity. Remove any possible ambiguity or misinterpretation. If you want this, then do that. To the point of this article, if you want to know if the candidate you’re voting for is truly on your side, then perform a simple, straightforward, sensible test. You can and will know. The result will be a clear and unambiguous ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
That in a nutshell is the whole idea behind the electoral strategy I’ve been talking about for ten years. Another topic for yet another piece, as if I hadn’t already written three books and hundreds of such articles already. But for now let me quickly reiterate, the candidate contract electoral strategy represents issue-by-issue clarity and real choice. A candidate is either for the proposed change, or against it. He or she signs on the dotted line making their commitment crystal clear. If they sign, we know where they stand. If they don’t sign we know where they stand. In either case, we as voters know exactly what to do.
Why don’t current activist demands for real change ever make a difference?
Two reasons . . .
FIRST: They are directed at the wrong people. They are directed at those in power who are not listening, will not act, will never listen, will never act favorably. We only need to look at the record to know this is true. Very legitimate, extremely popular reforms simply NEVER GET DONE. Do I need to mention a few?
• Decent good-paying jobs
• Fair, equitable, livable wages
• Health care reform (Medicare4all)
• Serious attention to climate change
• Election reform (getting $$s out of politics)
• Law enforcement and comprehensive prison reform
• Ending the wars (reversing military expansion)
• Comprehensive immigration reform
Mind you, there are huge consensuses on these and similar issues. How do we know what these areas of agreements are? There’s no mystery. Poll after poll, year after year, point to pretty much the same things. Without exception, concerns about the economy are at the top of the list. People now more than ever are struggling. The American Dream is fading and prospects for the future are becoming increasingly bleak.
SECOND: Many activists are personally committed to a cause, feel enormous passion for that cause, can’t imagine a world without it, can’t imagine any decent, aware human being being opposed to that cause.
Unfortunately, they’re often wrong and despite their best efforts, nothing changes, nor will it ever change. Either the object of their devotion is unpopular and/or it simply doesn’t even get noticed. There’s not sufficient public awareness, perhaps little enthusiasm, for whatever they’re promoting. Such niche issues are important and can be addressed when we have a Congress and White House listening to and on the side of the people. But until we put in power who actually represent the interests of the vast majority of citizens — NOT those of the ruling elite, Wall Street, the MIC, big banks and big corporations — NOTHING WILL GET DONE for the people. PERIOD!
These two undercurrents are intertwined and synergistic . . . in the worst possible way. Making impassioned pleas to our elected officials when they’re not listening is a non-starter and enormous waste of energy and resources. Focusing on issues which have little popular support ends up discrediting activists and knee-capping more promising activism, all too often turning the majority of citizens off. This not only drives away support, but infects the citizenry with cynicism about anything positive ever getting done. Predictably, resignation and apathy sets in. Just look around. Look at the comments we see on articles like this. Hopelessness is growing. Surrender is the new pandemic.
The system is rigged … AGAINST US, WE THE PEOPLE.
It’s certainly foolhardy to think that the people who benefit from the rigging are going to unrig it. They will continue to do what they’ve been doing. Serving themselves. Ignoring us. They will thrive. We will suffer.
Maybe naively I believe we can refocus, unite, change things. Maybe foolishly I believe we can rock the boat enough to get the scoundrels on board into the drink, without sinking the ship.
But I don’t think so.
We can fight this but we have to work together.
So what do we do?
First, we apply the Ultimate Wedge Issue Test. What is that? There are certain issues which are crucial to the survival of our nation as a democracy which “promotes the general welfare.” The test determines who is in favor of a nation that works for everyone, not just a privileged elite, and who is too selfish, myopic or misinformed to want what is the foundation of our society … equality, justice, peace, harmony, opportunity.
This is the wedge. Either you’re for working together as a society . . . or you’re for continuing on the road to oligarchy, tyranny, fascism. This applies both to citizen voters and candidates for office.
I sincerely believe that the majority of citizens want a country that works for everybody.
Issue-by-issue we find out what we as citizens think is important, then issue-by-issue we see which candidates are willing to commit to getting the job done.
We only vote for those candidates who are on the side of the vast majority of Americans.
No excuses. No compromise. No exceptions.
While applying the “wedge test”, we always keep in mind, this has nothing to do with party or label or ideology. It’s strictly about where candidates come down on those items which the vast majority of citizens have targeted as essential — in most cases things we’ve needed all along — things across the board that haven’t been getting done.
As I said, we all already know what these issues are. And we know those now in office have not nor will they ever support us in promoting and instituting the necessary reforms, such that WE THE PEOPLE get what’s long overdue . . . a fair stake in the vast wealth, blessings, and opportunities of the allegedly richest country in history.
WE ONLY VOTE FOR CANDIDATES WHO GUARANTEE RESULTS.
Not just talk about it. Not just say pretty words and make empty campaign promises. Not just continue to spew out sound bites and pleasant-sounding word salad so we will again trust them, fall for their shallow rhetoric, and vote these hypocrites back into office.
Enough is enough!
ONLY VOTE FOR CANDIDATES WHO GUARANTEE THEY WILL LISTEN TO AND SERVE THE NEEDS OF EVERYDAY CITIZENS.
It’s that simple. I didn’t say easy. No way will this be easy. But it’s certainly simple.
It starts with us no longer being gullible fools. Those in power will continue to lie to us, continue rigging the system in their favor and that of their patrons, the privileged elite, if we let them.
But we can stop this right now. By getting serious about installing a government of the people, by the people, for the people. By electing “people’s candidates” who have proven themselves worthy of our vote.
No negotiation. No compromise. No fear.
It’s our future. It’s up to us.
