The 28th
Amendment: We the people are faced with a government that is gridlocked and
incapable of governing. No matter who we elect, no matter how inspirational the
ideas, no laws will be passed, no problems will be resolved, nothing will get
done. No one believes any longer in the possibility of compromise and good
governance. Our political system has deteriorated into a system of legalized
bribery and extortion. Lincoln famously observed that Republics do not last,
often they break apart under the stress of factionalism. Our Republic is in the
process of breaking apart due to factionalism, political dis-function, and
economic inequality. We are declaring by our presence here today that it is our
intent to publish a list of common sense reforms and laws to rally around the
greatest number of supporters to fix this sad state of affairs. These reforms
and laws are the basis of a political movement of civil disobedience and public
action against our government. Voting by itself will not fix the problems that
confront us. We do not intend to destroy this system, but to achieve reform and
break three decades of gridlock we intend to bring this government to its knees
by our refusal to participate or cooperate. We publically reject all violence
against persons and property. We declare our movement as peaceful, but do not
mistake our intent, we will bring this system to its knees, to the very brink
if necessary, in order to reform and preserve our Democratic Republic. This
movement will march in protest, it will engage in work stoppages, in sick outs,
it will obstruct the wheels of the machinery of government in order to save
that government from itself. We will support and vote for like-minded
politicians who formally agree to support our platform of reforms. Finally, we
will engage in a boycott, a tax revolt, to force our government to conform to
our will, our just cause. All domestic political reforms herein are designed in hope of stopping a
collapse of faith in our public institutions, and breathing new life into our
dying Democracy. We feel that a divide and conquer strategy has been used
against all Americans and with that in mind we have crafted reforms that bring
together both liberal and conservative voters to solve some of the problems
that confront us, and to enshrine an amendment to the Constitution that forever
ends our current system of legalized bribery and extortion that is killing our
Democracy. The 28th Amendment will mandate public funding for all
federal and state elections, and in doing so will permanently remove money as a
negative influence on lawmakers.
The Platform
consists of a constitutional amendments and over a dozen laws. The Constitutional
Amendment provides for the public funding of elections, gun ownership rights,
gay rights, and revoking birthright citizenship. The platform of reforms are centered
upon Tea Party inspired VAT tax, Black Lives Matter civil rights reforms, free
junior college, Occupy Wall Street reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, a $15/hr.
Minimum Wage, one year government service at 18, a women’s health initiative, internet
users bill of rights, fair and just immigration reform, employment upon demand,
a national energy plan, and a national industrial and trade policy to put
America back to work.
The
amendment and platform function as the basis for our mass protests. We will
vote for these reforms, but we will also engage in civil disobedience. The US
constitution that is purposefully vague designated a state that evolves and is
self-correcting. The Constitution is referred to as a living document because
it evolves and is reinterpreted by each new generation. In the beginning there
were no political parties as we know them, nor any mention of them in the
founding document. Running for office was a no holds barred anything goes
endeavor that featured the Founding Fathers engaged in negative campaign
tactics that might make even modern practitioners of the art blush. The current
state of political parties and the legislative process finds a deadlock that
ensures little or nothing will get done. The term banana republic comes to mind
with their examples of ossification, corruption and dis-function. This cannot
be the future our founders had in mind. Our institutions are in a crisis that
no one seems to be able to answer. It is time again for the Constitution to
evolve.
“Mankind is
born free and everywhere he is in chains.” The rise of transnational
corporations, international financial institutions, and other supranational
entities dwarf our public institutions in their wealth, political power, and
unchecked influence upon our lives. It has been repeatedly stated by many
social scientists for over a generation that transnational institutions would
increasingly control our lives, and that eventually governments would become no
more than a fig leaf for lending legitimacy to their larger designs. In an age
of repeated epic financial fraud and collapse, and wars without end, we
increasingly realize we are no longer in control of our own destiny. African
American and Hispanic working class people have seen all the economic gains of
the last generation wiped out in 2008 in the wake of the largest financial
fraud in history. Economic social justice has been set back twenty years. The
destruction of the working class in America has led to at least half a million
deaths by middle aged white Americans, most of these deaths by suicide. This
mass die off is without precedent in the entire world and is similar to the
demographic catastrophe of HIV. It is clear that this economic violence is just
the beginning. The standard American model of a robust middle class has largely
given way or is in the process of giving way to a South American model of a few
fabulously wealthy families and a population mostly composed of low wage
“slaves”. It is clear under these new circumstances that a Republic cannot
prevail and that authoritarian government is the default setting for the
future. A system of such inequality and basic unfairness can only be sustained
by violence, the kind practiced by a police state upon its own people, similar
to regimes in the south. This probably includes the widespread use of torture
and death squads to intimidate the masses. If the exact form of the South
American model is not used here, it can be sure that some approximation of it
will come to pass. This awful model is very widespread across the face of the
earth, and has been for a very long time. The US has historically been seen by
the rest of the world as a bulwark against the triumph of this onerous model
that moves humanity towards a perpetual state of despair without hope of
deliverance. Even those who condemn US foreign policy in strident terms, often
inquire with their next breath about the possibility of obtaining a visa to
live and work here. As Lincoln observed, we truly are the last best hope of the
human race. We did not conceive, nor originate this system that brings hope; we
have inherited it from those who came before us. It did not come cheap, for
often they purchased it at the cost of their lives.
I have come
here not to castigate the current generation, nor to praise it, but merely to
map out a manner of keeping what we have been given. It is difficult to know
where to turn or how to answer questions that seem to have no easy answers. In
the words of the poet, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full
of passionate intensity. Things
fall apart; the center cannot hold.”
Our
institutions and leaders do not seem up to the task for reasons that are not
entirely their fault. The fault is not in our stars dear friends, but within
ourselves. We have participated in the divisions and mistakes that are leading
us down a path to decay and collapse. Happily since we are largely the cause of
our own problems in life, then by definition we are also the answer to the
problems seemingly without solutions. Democracy was enshrined on the plains of
Marathon in a desperate battle between the independent city states of Greece
and the super power empire that marched to deliver their destruction and
submission. The shared sacrifice of the wealthy land owners and the poorer
citizenry sealed a bargain, and without that social compact of shared sacrifice
this is not a system of government that can long endure. The social compact has
been broken and it must be renewed.
The
corrupting influence of money upon the political process was acknowledged and
dealt with 100 years ago. The Progressive Movement curtailed the worst abuses
of the Gilded Age, and set in motion the zenith of American power and influence
on the world stage in what came to be known as the American Century. No person
or nation is completely selfless and without fault, but the defeat of Fascism
and Communism cannot be argued away. We have saved the world on more than one
occasion, so let us on this hopeful new day go to the trouble of saving
ourselves. There is nothing new under the sun. The historian tells us how great
nations and empires rise and fall, it is no great mystery. Simplified and
condensed, the elite take the opportunity to garner the lions’ share of
resources within their society for themselves. The term used is rent seeking
behavior. The Ottoman Empire decayed because the administrators of the realm
changed the rules to allow their children to inherit their power and wealth.
The French kings sold off the rights to tax the citizenry to an aristocracy
that made themselves immune from taxation, and slowly bled the populace dry. To
put the problem in modern terms, no one can resist the power to print money.
Political power confers the right of financial entities to violate the basic
tenants of fairness and common sense in order to make vast sums of money in
schemes that are eventually bound to fail. The term “Casino Capitalism” is
appropriate. Political power purchased with the wealth earned in this manner
allows them to ignore the laws and rules we all play by. These institutions
become much wealthier; they then use that wealth to purchase more political
power that in turn leads to increased wealth. It is a feedback loop that seems
to have no end; however everything must end, witness the Ottoman Empire and the
French Aristocracy.
Blame your
representatives all you want for this deplorable state of affairs, it is mostly
our fault. The first step towards solving a problem is to admit it exists. Next
one must accept responsibility for the problem. Finally, we the people must
take the necessary steps to solve the problem. Our political system has evolved
into a system of legalized bribery and extortion. The fault is our own, as is
the responsibility to correct the error. We are now going to do more than vote.
Voting in the election will not reform the system. We are going to create a
platform of various reforms that will unite us together in sufficient numbers
to change our entire political culture. To succeed we must do more than vote,
we must engage in protest, civil disobedience, and economic boycott.
The 28th Amendment will publically
fund all state and federal elections, not to exceed a reasonable number of candidates
per office. Elections will not exceed one year. All public officials who
solicit or accept bribes shall be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Current legislative and other favors for the understanding or accomplishment of
future employment shall be adjudicated as bribery. All public business shall be
transacted transparently on publically funded property using means paid for by
the tax payer. These same communications and transactions of public business
shall be made part of the public record within 12 years. Willful evasion of
transparency and comprehensive record keeping will constitute a violation of
law.
Gun Ownership Rights Amendment: The
Second Amendment is open to interpretation and is thus tenuous in its
provisions. The original language refers to a militia since there was no
standing army. It is only a matter of time before the current legal
interpretation is changed and current gun ownership rights are curtailed. This
Amendment to the Constitution shall codify for all time that adult citizens
shall enjoy the right of firearm ownership. A gun safety test and written test
shall be given, not to exceed the rigors of the standard automobile license
written and driving test. A state ID will be issued. Persons who wish to own
present day legal military rifles may do so, but must pay a standard yearly
fee, not to exceed the standard cost of the weapon. All persons who have
completed US military training and service are exempt from paying said fee. All
gun sales and thefts shall be reported. Cities with a population over 100,000
persons shall prohibit the carrying of firearms of any kind, and may prohibit
all firearm ownership, subject to a felony not to exceed five years for the
first offense.
Approximately
one out of every 25 people are not born heterosexual. They are born with a
different sexual orientation. Throughout history these people have been forced
into the shadows and persecuted. The United States of America at the behest of
our citizens wishes to recognize these individuals as human beings created in
the image of God, deserving of mercy, compassion, and above all, freedom. Gay
Americans are our family members, our neighbors and co-workers, and our
friends.
Gay Rights: All citizens are due
equal protection under the law, including all persons of differing sexual
orientations. This shall include freedom from employment discrimination, as
well as housing, education, and all aspects of public and private life. Sexual
relations between consenting adults shall not be criminalized. (This shall not
be construed to include acts of violence that involve serious injury or death).
The primary
responsibility of any government is to the safety and wellbeing of its
citizens. It is in the interest of the United States and its citizens to
control our borders and to confer citizenship as a privilege and a precious
commodity that shall not be conferred lightly. If US citizenship is a thing
that is given out for free, then eventually it will have no value. To this end
we declare ourselves intent upon putting a premium on US citizenship. Under
English Common Law native born children of parents, either invading the country
or who were enemies of the country, were not natural born subjects because the
birth lacked allegiance and obedience to the sovereign.
Birthright Citizenship Amendment:
Birthright Citizenship is revoked: All persons born to American citizens are
naturalized citizens. All persons born in the US to persons who are not
American citizens are not automatically naturalized citizens. Citizenship is a
right and a precious commodity that shall not be conferred without cause and
due process.
Many people
in the US wish to deport all of the nearly 12 million persons here illegally.
This mass expulsion is not going to happen. The Alhambra Decree in 1492, by the
king Ferdinand of Spain, ordering the expulsion of Jews from Spain was a cruel
act and a detriment to Spanish culture and society. In 1972, Ugandan dictator
Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's Asian minority, in effect the wholesale
ethnic cleansing of Indians, giving them 90 days to leave Uganda. The loss of
1% of the population that represented 20% of the economy was an economic
disaster. The United States of America will not follow in the footsteps of
European kings and African dictators. We declare a determination to maintain
the dynamic contributions from immigration while maintaining our quality of
life and cultural identity to avoid Balkanization into separate societies.
The Southern
border and other points of entry shall be secured against illegal entry. All
persons here illegally shall register online within six months to be considered
for naturalization. All persons here illegally for more than ten years who have
learned English, established a credible work history, and have shown a
willingness to assimilate into American life shall be naturalized within two
years. A national registry shall be created to establish legal citizenship and
all employers shall determine legality in good faith. Failure to do so incurs a
heavy fine and jail time for repeat offenses. All minors here illegally who
have completed five or more years in the school system shall receive
citizenship pending relevant issues related to criminal activity. All said
minors who have since reached legal age shall be granted citizenship under the
same caveat, that they are not involved in a criminal organization, are not a
habitual criminal, and are not a ward of the state, meaning they have a work
history, are financially self-supporting and are not dependent upon the welfare
state for subsistence.
It is
vitally important to the security of the state and its citizens that a large
racial underclass of poor disenfranchised and alienated people shall not be
created. This process is known as Balkanization and is a danger to a free
society. Cultural assimilation, intermarriage, education, and upward social
mobility are the keys to avoiding the creation of separate societies that may
at some point conflict. These four aspects shall be encouraged and observed
wherever possible in US policy pertaining to immigration. Future immigration
policy shall be predicated upon entry of people with a necessary cross section
of educational attainment and job skills. In order to create a tight job market
and raise wages it will be necessary to discourage and preclude entry of
unskilled and semi-skilled workers.
In
summation, The 28th Amendment is the shortest route to regaining balance within
the political system, and thereby changing the emphasis to the public good. The
Amendment secures the rights of gun ownership for all time while protecting the
lives of city dwellers and police forces from being under constant threat due
to widespread firearm possession and use. Gay citizens are forever afforded
equal rights and protect under law within the Constitution. Birthright
citizenship law is reformed and brought into line with the laws of the other
major developed nations as part of a just and fair immigration initiative. There
are no radical revisions. The 28th Amendment will lead to future reforms
in the interests of the people and not those of the oligarchy. The other reform
proposals are online for all who wish to read them in more detail. Our labor
has value, our lives have value. We refuse to be low wage slaves, we demand
social and economic justice. We demand that this country and its leaders live
out the words and promises of its founding principles, live out these high
ideals in concrete deeds and laws. We are here together to take back control
over our lives and our destiny.
Marshall Gregory
Thomas
01/29/2016
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