It’s January 3rd, 2008. I didn’t make any new years resolutions. But I do have a list. It’s about what I want. And given that today is the first day of primaries for president, I think it’s a good day to share it. Here is my list – and it is in no particular order: I want peace. I want the war over NOW. I want our soldiers brought home and treated right.I want NO preemptive war.
I want those responsible for this war and its horrors charged with war crimes, found guilty and sent to prison. And I want those who will not do this charged as accomplices. I want no nuclear warheads and weapons. I want my country to take the lead in this by disarming all of ours NOW. I want comprehensive universal health care for everyone in my country. I want safe schools for every student, teacher/staff and family. I want a good education free for everyone in my country – through college – a bachelors degree or its equivalent in some other way such as technical school. I want that ‘everyone’ to include undocumented residents who should be treated as guests and thanked for their contributions to our society. I want the arts to be considered an essential part of education – music, literature, theater arts, fine arts, etc. as well as reading, writing, history, math, science & technology.
I want public service in things such as the Peace Corps, Vista and Job Corps to be encouraged for people of all ages. I want homeless and poor people to be treated with respect and welcomed as part of all communities. I want everyone in my country to have enough good food to eat. I want everyone to have shelter. I want workers unions to be allowed and respected in every profession. I want a livable minimum wage, and I want all the politicians who vote on what that is to have to live on it. I want drugs legalized, and drug addicts treated as persons with an illness, not as criminals. I want elections funded by the public through taxes and I want an end to the two party political system in my country so there is room for politicians who do not fit into the two boxes. I want our prisons and our military funded only by the public, and those who supply them supervised by citizen committees whose job is to make sure those companies are not making unreasonable profits. I want victimless crimes decriminalized and crimes with real victims criminalized (like war crimes, child abuse, partner abuse, elder abuse, rape, assault, murder, etc). I want an end to the death penalty in my country. I want the maximum penalty for the worst crimes to be life in prison – I want those persons treated humanly but with no possible parole ever (unless future evidence proves them innocent). I want our police to respect and honor our citizen’s right to protest and demonstrate peacefully. I want hatemongers to be treated as people who are mentally ill – and as criminals if they are responsible for any harm or for instigating others to do harm. I want parents and caregivers who assault or throw out their children who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in my country to be treated charged with child abuse and expected to pay for the care of their children in safe loving homes until they are of age. I want true complete separation of church and state. I want birth control available to all persons, and abortion kept legal. I want an end to hate, biased based incidents and discrimination – including in employment and housing among other things. I want true celebration of the diversity of my country including real or percieved: class, socioeconomic status, education level, ethnicity, geography, family status, gender, gender identity & expression, housing status, health status, language / accent, mental / physical dis/ability, physical appearance including size, race & color, religion & non-belief, political belief / activism / allyship, sexual /affectional orientation, work status / profession, youth & age. I want marriage equality in my country so that same sex couples have exactly the same rights in all states as straight couples. I want my country to take real care of our land and planet – to stop polluting and do everything we can to end global warming including using alternative energy sources we have access to now and investing in finding more and better ones. That’s a start of what I want. What did I forget? Please comment.
I want equal rights for all citizens of this country as well. For the truth about gay marriage check out our trailer. Produced to educate & defuse the controversy it has a way of opening closed minds & creates an interesting spin on the issue: http://www.OUTTAKEonline.com
Excellent, my friend. I”ll join your parade. And, here’s another: I want money available to patients for alcohol and drug rehabilitation to be put at the top of the list on the “War on Drugs.” I want the 2nd item to be excellent training for the professionals who help the patients and the professionals who are the gatekeepers for the resources for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. I want this country to get real about the effects – personal and societal – that drug and alcohol addiction perpetuates in our country. And, I want the new leadership in this country to set a plan for saving one of our most precious resources – human potential for the good of all – from the ravages of drug and alcohol addiction.
I also want this country to create and institute a requirement of no less than two years of civil service per person. Perhaps a peace corps model within this country. Non-military. Social service oriented with a certificate and a scholarship for education granted upon successful completion. We got ourselves in this state of affairs by tolerating apathy. Civic participation needs to be embraced and encouraged and rewarded in every community. Take back our country from too much corporate control by creating human cooperation.
Ok podium free for the next person… Love you, Gabi from Catherine.