It is far past time we defined where we are heading as a nation. What will the America we build together look like? Because make no mistake, good or bad, we’ll build that future together. Just like we built our current crazy (sur)reality together.
Through a myriad of actions, mostly in the form of doing nothing, our current path was developed over decades of civic disinterest. Our shared pain should clarify our shared responsibility. Our shared power. Power that only exists when wielded by a motivated electorate meeting their individual duty as citizens.
Our system of government doesn’t work without active participation.
An American Renaissance
The most obvious benefit of hitting rock bottom is we can only go up from here. I already wrote how the current unstable system is ripe for takeover via the midterm primaries. If you have questions regarding how easy it would be for American voters to rise up and implement the thoughts below, please give it a read.
Another piece of good news is the opportunities for exponential growth at all levels of American society have never been greater. The rest of the world heads for the 21st Century ahead of us as we abdicated our leadership role following the end of the Cold War. Power abhors a vacuum and all that, so local and regional interests quickly outweighed anything America could offer from afar as an absentee landlord.
The end of American economic colonialism will come by way of the global capitalist society we created to enrich the wealthiest among us. The Vandals are definitely at the gates, and unlike Rome, our downfall comes from within our own ranks. What replaces it is still open for raucous debate, but those of us with good will and good hearts better get the fuck off our dead asses and take control before it is too late.
Staying home for primary and special elections is the first habit you must break.
Oh, The Places We’ll Go!
I am choosing to advocate a different path than the political anarchy I’ve witnessed my entire life from both sides of the aisle. Once we change out the idiots in Congress, as well as the local idiots who benefit from anemic turnout, the possibilities for progress are endless.
Investments in People
People are our only truly renewable resource, and we leave most Americans in the gutter. From student debt relief to vocational/technical training for jobs that continue to go unfilled all in every corner of the country, there is plenty of need to go around while infinite resources are hoarded by the sociopaths at the top of the ladder. We are not a poor country, yet most Americans live in conditions found only in the “developing” world today. Solutions exist to alleviate the suffering we see at every level of society (except the highest) and are relatively easy to implement with an ongoing mandate from a motivated electorate.
Investments in Infrastructure
America is crumbling. We are rotting from the inside-out and most politicians continue to ignore the problem. The housing market imploding in 2009 found millions of homes empty (not to mention the human toll involved) and thousands of neighborhoods abandoned to weeds and decay. Decades of crooked government contractors pillaging ever more austere budgets have led directly to a country bordering on third-world standards in too many locations for a first-world nation. Addressing this problem would actually be a win-win-win as it delivers benefits far beyond the infrastructure being saved for future generations.
Investments in the Future
Finally, we can plan for tomorrow rather than constantly being surprised by its sudden arrival. We can treat our future as if it mattered, not holding our children ransom to our apathetic self-indulgence and lack of critical thinking skills.