An
Ethical Musings' subscriber sent me the following manifesto from the Shalom
Center. While you may not agree with all of it (I personally find that, as is
true of most if not all manifestos, some of its demands are too far reaching
and many of them lack sufficient nuance), the manifesto highlights fundamental
problems in the US and possible solutions. At a minimum, the Shalom Center's
proposal is constructively provocative and worth the time it takes to read.
The Shalom Report
Independence Now!! from Corporate Domination
A New Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be
self-evident:
That all men and women are created
equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among
these are:
• life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• the sharing of community
• a life-sustaining share of the earth's
abundance
• honorable jobs with living wages and
income, based on livable hours
• a rhythm of work and rest that frees time
for family, neighborhood, citizenly service, and the Spirit
• democratic elections and legislatures not
controlled by wealth
• peace among all peoples
• and responsible relationships amidst the
whole web of life upon this planet
We affirm that governments, corporations,
and other institutions are founded solely to secure these rights and uphold
these responsibilities, deriving their just powers from the consent of those
they govern and whose lives they shape.
We affirm that at the present time,
the power of large corporations --- especially those in banking, the
military-industrial complex, health care, and fossil fuels -- is dominating
many branches and aspects of the American government and deeply damaging the
American future;
And therefore we demand:
1. Actual full employment with a living
income for all on the basis of a 32-hour work week
2. Universal health care on the model of
Medicare for all
3. An end to all US military action, overseas
military bases, and the use of violence against any person by the military or
any other US agency that have not been specifically authorized by Act of
Congress or by the issuance of a public arrest warrant by a Federal District
Court after public pleadings.
4. Restoration of full Congressional control
over declaration or initiation of any war, as well as adherence to the United
Nations Charter; the reduction and redirection of US military spending to meet
the needs of defense, not corporate subsidies; and the redirection of funds now
wasted beyond those needs to meeting the urgent civilian needs of the American
people and of poverty-stricken regions of the world.
5. Abolition of all surveillance and
collection of any data and metadata concerning any communication from or to any
citizen or resident of the United States, without the issuance of a search
warrant specifically naming and describing the person to be surveilled and the
data to be collected — such warrants to be issued by a regular US District
Court and made public no later than 60 days after issuance.
5. Strong laws to prevent global climate
disaster and swiftly move the US and world economies from fossil-fuel
dependence to renewable energy; such laws to include capping greenhouse-gas
emissions and placing a rising tax on the production and emission of carbon
dioxide and methane, with the income to be divided among (a) support for
renewable forms of energy; (b) support for poor nations to shift to non-carbon
economies; and (c) dividends to be paid to all American citizens;
6. Laws requiring that all large corporations
that do any business in the United States be periodically and publicly reviewed
by a jury of citizens chosen from the normal panel for civil lawsuits, in
seven-year intervals to ensure and enforce that they are meeting the needs and
balancing the interests of their stockholders, workers, customers, the environment,
and society as a whole
7. A Constitutional Amendment providing that
all persons born in the United States be registered to vote at birth, and shall
be qualified to vote in all elections upon reaching the age of 18
8. A Constitutional amendment to pay for all
election campaigns solely by public contributions by the US or the states, and
contributions from natural persons, i.e. actual human beings, under limits set
by Congress
9. Requirement that rules of the US Senate,
proposed laws, and confirmation of appointments be adopted or amended by a
simple majority vote, with provisions for time-limited debate.
And to the achievement of these goals,
with the help of Divine Providence and through our covenant
with each other, we pledge our hopes, our commitment, our nonviolent action,
and our sacred honor.
With blessings of freedom and community,
Rabbi Arthur Waskow
The
Shalom Center6711 Lincoln Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19119
United States
1 comment:
A reader emailed this comment to me: Many of these ideas were in place until keeping up with the Joneses crept in to our everyday living. I'm sure the work force would like the ideas but the corporations would hate it. For the future of the world some of this might be required.
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