Brass Taxes

[erikred]

I'm not a Democrat. Some of you are going to find that hard to believe, and others of you are going to nod and say that you've always suspected me of being a pinko commie, which also happens to be untrue. I'm a reformer. I believe that all human beings are born capable of doing good and making the world a better place. Whether all human beings reach their potential to do so, of course, is a completely different story. A lot of what I believe is predicated on the assumption that the ultimate good will be achieved when all human beings are given an opportunity to make good on that potential.

The world as it now stands is not suited to fostering that potential for everyone. The world as it now stands is in a much better position to do so, worldwide, than the world as it stood two hundred years ago; advances in technology and social attitudes toward equality have lifted us far from the madness and arbitrary uncertainty of the 19th century. However, as far as we've come, we have a long way to go before we can offer true support for universal potential.

It's usually about this point in the conversation when the diigressions appear. Some people will argue that human beings are flawed and need strict guidance. Some people will attribute the failure to reach potential to the individuals who seem be failing. Some people will wonder aloud where their given religion/political party/pet economic issue fits into this whole schema of fostering universal potential. Some people will wonder, louder still, where the blame lies for the current situation.

Very few people will accept as writ that the situation is flawed and then knuckle down and start looking for feasible solutions.

I oppose continued dependence on fossil fuels, particularly at the expense of research into and implementation of alternative energy sources (solar, in particular, comes to mind). I support the use of force against countries that threaten the United States or, for that matter, torture, imprison, and execute their own citizens for protesting against the government; I do not support the use of force when the threat is neither immediate nor clear, and I expect all avenues to a non-force-oriented solution to be exhausted before we commit our forces. I despise inefficiency and incompetence, particularly when it comes to a lack of vision, foresight, and preventable catastrophes; if you can't plan your way out of a paper bag, you have no business charging into one. I strongly support the right of all people to own guns, except when they've demonstrated an inability to behave responsibly; I also strongly support strict background checks, a ban on assault weapons and armor-piercing rounds, and sgnificant technological barriers to the misuse of guns. I'm absolutely in favor of economic prosperity and success in business, as long as such success is not founded on deceit, coercion, fraud, or exploitation; if you can make your billions running a fair-trade factory and all of your workers are healthy and well-cared for, more power to you. And by the bye, a corporation is not an individual, does not possess the same First Amendment rights as people, and is not protected by the Fourteenth Amendment; CEOs and other company executives (including the boards of directors) who lead companies down the tubes should be made to drain their own accounts before letting a company fall into bankruptcy. (Will this fix everything? Of course not. Will it make CEOs think twice before agreeing to lead a company or pretending not to notice accounting discrepancies? You betcha.)

I want to reform schools, but I want to begin by reforming parents. If you want to have children, you need to be willing to commit to the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of those children; if you're already there, great, but if not, I have only a few qualms about making you take classes and a test before you're allowed to procreate. I also want to reform government, police, and social services. These fields should be a vocation, not simply jobs. Before I let you audit someone's taxes, I need to know that you're going to give your utmost professionalism to the process. There should be no cracks for people to fall through, and it should never be acceptable that "these things happen." (No offense, amywithani.)

And while we're on children, parents, and the government, no woman should be forced to bear to term a child who could threatens her health, is the product of incest or rape, or is gentically predisposed to dying a painful and horrible death within the first few years of life (Tays-Sachs'). The woman who is pregnant has the right to choose whether to abort or bring to term her pregnancy. People (teens and others) should be educated about the reproductive process, means of preventing pregnancy, and the risks of STDs and HIV/AIDS. Education is going to save more lives in the long run than dogma. Consenting adults should be free to choose to love whom they want, and marriages of members of the same sex should be given the same social and economic (i.e., tax) status as heterosexual marriage. Marriage is not all about procreation, or childless couples (like us) should not be allowed to claim tax credits for being married.

Prisons should be horrible places where people do not ever want to go or, god forbid, return to, but they shouldn't be run by convicts and people out to exert authority over others. The death penalty should absolutely be applied to to those sociopaths whose guilt can be established without a single doubt in anyone's mind; every possible avenue of evidence that suggests such doubts should be explored exhaustively before the needle goes in.

Elected officials should be held responsible for lies, exagerrations, and gross incompetence. Elected officials who reward political donations with exclusive contracts, pork, or positions (including ambassadorships) should be flogged publicly. Elected officials who pervert redistricting laws to give their party a stranglehold in certain areas should be shot on sight. Elections should run a maximum of thirty days, each presidential candidate should received equal on-air campaign time, and news organizations should refrain from passing on spurious remarks and unsubstantiated propaganda to the public.

This November, I'm voting for Kerry. I know he's not a knight in shining armor, and I know he's not down with everything I've written above; frankly, I would have preferred Clark. The thing is, I've seen GWB in action, and he's against everything I've written above. Even if he pulled a 180 and endorsed every one of my reform ideas, I still would not be able to trust him. He's lied about important matters of state, and he's dodged responsibility for a number of faulty policies. His reforms have all favored special interests and his political backers to the exclusion of ordinary Americans. It's time for him to leave.

Comments

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

For the record, These Things, They Happen is a saying that I picked up years ago when I was learning how to drive. It refers to the bumps and scrapes we insur as we learn and move along.

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Right on, and duly noted. I just wanted to make sure I didn't sound like I was picking on "These Things, They Happen" when I said that government agencies should not be allowed to excuse themselves by saying, "These things happen."

'Cos you're absolutely right, in real life, These Things, They Happen.

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* I wish I could edit comments, but in the meantime, I am tickled at the quais-spoonerism of insur when I meant incur. (Because I'd been talking about driving, the word insure was looming in my mind.)