Autumn 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Judah Freed, 303-722-2110,
EMAIL: http://MediaVisionsPress/contact
http://globalsense.info/pressroom
What Would Thomas Paine Say
Today?
BELOW are a baker's dozen hot-button political and
social issues along with what Global Sense author
Judah Freed believes Thomas Paine would say about them
today.
1. Bush White House Power Abuses (War on
Terrorism)
President George W. Bush is acting like King George
George III by trampling on the natural human rights and
liberties of Americans and others around the world (e.g.,
signing statements that dismiss or alter laws passed by
Congress, domestic spying on common citizens, condoning
the torture of prisoners, suspending habeas corpus,
creating historic national debt and trade deficits,
cutting taxes for the rich while cutting the safety net
for the poor, etc.) We let Bush get away with this abuse
of power because of our authority addiction.
2. Iraq War (and media coverage of the war)
The mainstream press is playing down the chaos and
mounting civil war in Iraq caused by corrupt U.S
policies. Killing insurgent leaders will not stop the
violence, but will only incite more violence. Beyond
continuing to report the apparent lies used by the White
House to justify an invasion of Iraq, media needs to
cover efforts to rebuild Iraqi infrastructure and empower
Iraqis for self government, track the oil money to
document corruption, and report on initiatives to involve
international peacekeepers, so U.S. troops can
withdraw.
3. Election Reform
Paper-trail voting machines are only the beginning.
We need to remove private money from public election
campaigns, making them taxpayer supported. We also need
to require equal media time for candidates and ballot
issues (within reasonable limits); and reform the
initiative process so that deep pockets can't buy ballot
access, including truth-in-petitioning laws.
To counter abuses of power by the elected leaders who
are more loyal to the lobbyists and other financial
backers than to the voters, as an interim step toward
genuine democracy, we need to establish "direct
republics," where our elected legislators draft the laws,
but final ratification by referendum comes from the
voters, not from some president or king.
4. Citizen Surveillance
White House approved domestic surveillance of common
citizens violates our natural rights along with the
Constitution's Bill of Rights. We are sacrificing our
liberty for the illusion of "homeland security." Truly,
the whole earth is our homeland.
5. Education Quality
Education empowers and preserves democracy. More
schools mean fewer prisons. An uneducated populace cannot
vote intelligently, or may not vote at all, which may be
the intent of degrading public education. We need to
actively support universal literacy. (Note: Judah Freed
donates 10 percent of his net earnings to literacy
projects.)
6. "Net Neutrality"
Allowing major telecom companies to control Internet
traffic and access violates our natural rights. We need
to empower the Internet to fulfill it's potential as a
liberating force for democracy.
7. Marriage Amendment
The proposed marriage amendment is merely disguised
sexism We need to outgrow "alpha male rule" and end the
"battle of the sexes." (Note: Paine wrote one of the
first essays supporting the rights of women). Instead of
opposing equal rights for the small fraction of us who
want same-sex marriages, let's do something positive to
help the 50 percent of all marriages that end in
divorce.
8. Climate Change and Oil Addiction
The only people today who dispute global warming are
those with a vested interest in the status quo. The world
needs to hear from more of us who know it's in humanity's
best interest to end our addictive dependence on fossil
fuels and invest in alternative energy. We need to move
beyond lip service. Once we are aware that we are all
globally interconnected, we naturally change our choices
to be more environmentally responsible.
9. Progressives vs. Libertarians
Progressives and libertarians both lack a clear
vision of genuine democracy in direct republics as an
alternative to unethical, utilitarian corporate control
of our planet. If libertarians and progressives unite to
advocate personal and social responsibility balanced by
calls for smaller government and less state intrusion
into private lives, the coalition could win most
elections.
10. Dictatorship, Blind Obedience to Authority,
Leader Worship (Authority Addiction)
Why do we not care if a king is bad or good so long
as he's a king? Is any king better than no king at all?
Paine referred to a dependence that modern psychology
labels as an "addiction." To coin a phrase, the central
problem is generational authority addiction, an unhealthy
relationship with power passing from generation to
generation.
The ideal of genuine democracy scares us because it
means we have to confront our authority addiction. Global
sense is a single, simple idea already contained
naturally within our true selves, but authority addiction
(in the world and in ourselves) is an exceedingly
complex, complicated matter that defies nature and
natural law.
The utmost stretch of our wisdom cannot offer any plan
short of separation from our authority addiction that
promises the world even one day of certain peace. Obeying
power addicts in hopes of security always was and will be
an absurd fantasy and fatal fallacy. If we feel too
spellbound by our dark fears to choose freedom, we let
our authority addiction tip the scales of politics and
society.
Even as we pledge nonviolence in our pursuit of social
justice, the precedent of doing our personal growth work
and recovering from authority addiction explicitly
threatens those still compelled by their insecurities to
rule others.
As we face dark clouds menacing an apocalypse created
by our authority addiction, popular illumination from
global thinking may be the one silver lining in our
misfortune.
11. Estate Taxes, Inherited Wealth
Since we choose external government over internal
self-rule, we surrender part of our property and privacy,
such as taxes and airport searches, so the state has the
means to protect our possessions and our lives.
Hereditary dynasties have controlled most of the
world's property and power. If each of us is created
equal with inalienable natural rights and duties, if we
each are aspects of God, then no leaders or groups
(whether in a position of authority by accident of birth
or ascent by merit) have any right to put their family or
friends in perpetual power and to exclude all others from
leadership. No leaders have a natural right to pass power
to their kin.
Are all republics today so driven by private capital
that the name of democracy no longer suits these
governments? Indeed, given vast corruption, can they
rightly be called republics?
Any government that fails to protect the power of the
common people to become self-sufficient mature adults is
unworthy of its power. Such a grim regime is no
government at all. It lacks true moral legitimacy by any
enlightened standard, so the people pay their taxes for
nothing.
Instead of tax breaks for the rich who can afford
their taxes, let's see tax breaks for those struggling to
make ends meet.
12. Immigration Laws
Historically, kings and dictators have used the
emotionally loaded terms of fatherland, motherland and
homeland to control the gullible, unthinking masses. Our
natural human needs for "home, family and security" have
been manipulated at our expense. Why must we sacrifice
our hearts, minds and blood for any nation with man-made
borders when the full compass of the globe is our
abode?
Global sense tells that we are all part of one human
family, so we cannot define the world as "us or them"
because everyone is "us." Promoting global prosperity is
the price of peace and security.
13. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The ancient feud between brothers Isaac and Ishmael
must stop. Their fight over the paternal birthright now
threatens the world (especially with fervent Christians
for Armageddon). If the Scriptures are true, God promised
land to both sons of Abraham, so let's create a two-state
solution. If blood brothers can learn to live together in
peace, to let go of collective guilt and projected hate,
then the whole world might be able to give peace a
chance.
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