My brain’s been saturated by exposure to endless TV and radio politics, hundreds of unwelcome campaign phone calls and lots of candidates who ring my doorbell, which encouraged a weird political dream.
It went like this:
I (a little old lady who likes dirt and the stuff that grows in it) possess a smattering of hard-earned common sense. So, in the way of dreams, I’ve been randomly pressed into public service by VIPs- (these are desperate times, requiring desperate measures)- mainly because I’ve also mysteriously acquired Extraordinary Power. I can effect huge political changes immediately. With my scrawled signature, all Dee-crees become reality for the United States of America.
(Note: I’m allowed just ONE world-sized decree, though. See #8.)
Here are a few selections from my list of changes.
Presidential campaigns shall last precisely six months.
Candidates representing a maximum of four parties, who are chosen in state and local elections, will be granted a budget of one hundred million public dollars each- and not one penny more- to map out and present their platforms. All major television news stations, as a public service, will feature the chosen candidates on the first Sunday of every month, for three hours. Voters will dine on the ‘meat’ of their arguments and
proposals, presented concisely. (A disinterested third party will pay each candidate’s submitted ‘vote-for-me’ ads, with the money drawn from their fund. (No one has to be wealthy to win.)
The American public shall mine for talent and innovative ideas, and listen to- and debate- every debate.
2. Those candidates caught in a lie shall be promptly eliminated from the competition. A committee of nine respected people of any profession dedicated to Truth, Honor and the Reasoned Way, will thoroughly check a statement’s veracity, then decide, based on collected verifiable evidence, if lie(s) exist. (Prompt access to solid, reliable data is much easier these days.) The Nine shall be paid well for this service, which lasts the entire six months. Their decisions are final.
The threat of elimination will keep political ads honest.
3. Elections shall be by popular individual ballots only. No ‘delegates,’ no ‘representatives’ -which have been rendered antique in this technological society, anyway. If a single rotten ballot is discovered (ballots will be randomly reviewed to weed out dead voters and non-citizens from anywhere) then ALL of that particular county’s ballots shall be rendered void. (Losing so many votes because someone tries to sneak in a ringer, will stop the dishonesty. If an idea cannot survive without cheating to promote it, that idea should be chucked out.)
4. The President and Congress shall serve six years, with no second term. His/her entire time in office is spent actually running the country, undistracted by fundraising or pandering to his or her base, some of whom funded his/her rise.
All presidential decisions and Congressional bills and votes shall be posted weekly for the country to read.
5. A Congressional bill shall be simply stated so that every citizen may understand it, then published so that everyone may read what is proposed.
No riders- no ‘remora eel’ attachments- are permitted, ever.
6. Oh- The very first word learned in school shall be ignorance-a big word (not nearly as big, though, as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious) but one of the most dangerous to ignore. Ignorant people, stuffed with ideology, religious precepts, or just plain pigheadedness, say and do awful, unthinkable things to other living things. Children will learn, for example, that not one single human being has ever been able to choose his or her skin color. So hating people for something they have no control over is the very essence of ignorance.
(Bonus: If one learns to reason, and becomes adept at playing ‘devil’s advocate,’ one also cuts down the number of times he/she makes an idiot of him/herself. Thus, the concept of tolerance is born.)
Information, gleaned from verifiable facts, shall be carefully taught. Questions are encouraged. When updated data appears, it shall be welcomed. After basic reasoning skills are mastered, there’ll be more time to luxuriate in love, compassion, generosity, fellowship, fun, and the gentle art of accommodation and compromise.
7. There will be time for all these things because Wars anywhere will become extremely unlikely. The reason? The sitting president, with his/her staff and Congress right behind him, shall physically lead any war they declare or provoke.
*This same Dee-cree shall apply to every world leader- prime ministers, ayatollahs, mullahs, dictators, kings, queens, emperors, etc., including his/her staff and their congress, politbody, rubber stampers or whatever these groups might be called.
Leaders. Fight. First.
8. The first book read to toddlers will be The Sneetches and Other Stories, by Dr. Seuss. Children will ponder Sylvester McMonkey McBean’s Star-On and Star-Off Machines, and who was what, and why….
The other three stories, Too Many Daves, the Zax, and What Was I Scared Of? are- well, just perfect for helping to sort out life’s vagaries early.
9. Everyone shall pay for doctor visits. Cash, checks and credit cards accepted. This is done in hardware stores, clothing shops, food stores, airports, dry cleaners, etc. Just pull out the wallet, and pay for the service. Second, third and forth party government bureaucrats are not allowed to interfere. The price of health care will plummet to sub-basement levels. Comparison-shopping shall blossom. Word will quickly spread as to which physicians, clinics and hospitals excel, and which are dogs. The price of every test, and all medicines, shall be posted.
10. Congress shall NOT have a separate, Special Health plan. They shall receive precisely what they mandated for the rest of us.
11. Mandatory Catastrophic Health Insurance shall cover any medical disaster. All Americans, except the documented indigent- must purchase this policy.
Anyone genuinely needful- people who just can’t pay- will be assisted using a generous federal, state or local government fund set aside to fully cover their medical expenses.
12. Lawsuits shall be filed with great care. Frivolous filers will incur a mega-fat fine. If a civil lawsuit goes to trial, the losing side shall pay both bills. Nonsense will stop as wallets become emaciated.
13. Elementary schools shall teach reading, mathematics, history, geography, English, logic (critical thinking) and a foreign language. Homework will be rare, because home time shall be reserved for family interactions, for jobs, for play.
Parents may drop in anytime to quietly observe their child’s class. Teachers, on the merit system, shall be tested periodically to insure professional competence. Large bonuses will be awarded for teaching excellence, as determined by the learning that is demonstrated. Older children’s’ reasoned, written evaluations of their teachers’ performances at years’ end shall be encouraged.
Everything not academic is not required, and shall be offered in afternoons. Schools will have sign-up sheets for sports, music, art, driver training, shop, etc.
All I do is sign a special paper...and the above deeclarations become the new reality.
As the infant 2016 pops into view, as optimistic and hopeful as ever, I drift off again, perchance to dream of even more improbable profundities-
Dreams are still free, eh?