Who Will Make It Happen?

For John, BLUF:  Some think only they can save this nation.  Ignoring the People.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

"This Country Won't Fix Itself."

That is the title of an EMail I received last evening from Nation of Change.

Despite the comforting corporate-sponsored speech yesterday,♠ to the tune of $124.3 million from civic-minded citizens such as Bank of America, Coca-Cola and AT&T, things are not under control.

A ban of high-magazine clips will not prevent more mass shootings. Our underfunded education system will not repair itself.  The planet will not protect itself from the unrelenting blows of a faceless Corporate pugilist.  The poor will not will themselves out of poverty and those with nearly all the wealth of this country will not give it up without a fight.

It turns out that Board President Donna Luca is telling us that (1) only she and her team can fix this nation and (2) they need our money to do it.

To be fair, I agree that:

1. A ban of high-magazine clips will not prevent more mass shootings.
• I suspect they and I draw different conclusions from that simple fact.
2. Our underfunded education system will not repair itself.
• No, as President Obama said in a recent radio advert, we all have to get involves.  Are you running for School Committee or supporting someone who is?  You should!
3. The planet will not protect itself from the unrelenting blows of a faceless Corporate pugilist.
• Actually, I am not sure what this means.  "Faceless Corporate pugilist"?  How many corporations are extracting natural resources for the fun of it?  They do it because they can make a profit.  Check the mirror.
4. The poor will not will themselves out of poverty...
• I fully agree with this.  Our poverty problem is partly the problem of perverse incentives we put into place in the 1960s and early 1970s.  We need to change those incentives, and at the same time find ways to allow the economy to grow, thus creating jobs for those who are currently in poverty.
5. ...and those with nearly all the wealth of this country will not give it up without a fight.
• Especially the Middle Class people with retirement plans, like State and Local Employees.

If you would like to donate to Nation of Change, you can contact them here.

The other possibility is studying the issues, thinking about them in light of history and then getting politically involved in your local community.  While the phrase "All politics is local" can obscure some important points, it also contains a lot of truth.  Politics is a trinity of (1) The Party, (2) The Candidates and (3) The People.  We are part of The People and we need to play our role.

My preference is for the American People to be active in their own future and my belief is that we are capable to determining our future path, politicians notwithstanding.  Call it American Exceptionalism.

To answer the title question of this blog post, one needs to answer "Me!".

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  I am presuming from the accompanying photo of the West side of the Capitol that they are talking about President Obama's second Inaugural Speech.