A letter to politicians

Dear XXX,

I’ve seen many groups urging me to send a letter to my representatives, and always offering me a copy of what they think would be an appropriate letter to send, but that never seemed right to me. A letter of this type is really meaningless unless it’s in my own words and is saying what I really believe, and not what someone else is telling me to believe. So here it is, this is my letter to tell you what I think is important:

1) I believe that we are stealing oil from the Iraqis. I think what is happening is that we are pumping out Iraq’s oil and selling it to pay companies, like Halliburton, to help rebuild Iraq. The problem is that Iraqis are fully capable of rebuilding Iraq by themselves, they did it once after the first Iraq war, they can certainly do it again. Not only can they do it, they can do it a lot cheaper, and with their own resources and technologies, which they will be able to maintain. They’ll never be able to maintain what we build for them because they don’t know how it works. By trying to “help” them rebuild their country, we are making them dependent on us, and they will never accept this. Furthermore, I think the rebuilding of Iraq is only an excuse to funnel money from the oil wells to companies of countries that supported the war, and mostly the United States. For that matter, mostly Halliburton, which everybody knows is Dick Cheney’s old company. I think the people responsible for this war should die a painful death. They have murdered thousands of men, women and children in order to make money, and as far as I’m concerned, there is no more heinous a crime.

2) Our military is outdated. It is very effective at invading foreign countries where everyone is the enemy, but it sucks big time at fighting a modern war in which we need to rebuild a country after we’ve attacked it. In situations like Iraq, we need a force that is half military and half police force. We need a force that treats the citizens of the country they are rebuilding just like they would citizens of their own country. When our forces act to rebuild a country, they must act as if that country is their own, and that countries people their own people. It will be hard the first time, but if we can get a reputation as a nation that puts other countries interests ahead of our own, then we will begin to see the kinds of receptions that George Bush thought he would see in Iraq.

3) I also think we’re going too far when we insist that every country be a democracy. I prefer democracy, and I would fight for democracy any day in my own country, but I don’t think we should force it on other countries. What I do believe we should enforce is freedom of speech and the press (with possible exemptions for the restriction of pornography and advertising) and the freedom of people to leave a country if they wish to. I believe that these are basic human rights deserved by all people the world over, and that any attempt to deny these rights to anyone is immoral. I also believe that with these two rights, any people should be able to raise themselves out from under the yoke of tyranny.

4) I believe that our government should never imprison anyone without due process of law, whether that person is a U.S. citizen or not, and whether that person is imprisoned on U.S. soil or not. There may be situations in which it may be impractical to provide the same quality and timeliness of representation that we are used to in the U.S., but those situations, and the level of representation available in those situations, should be codified within our legal system. They should not be decided upon willy-nilly however our great and powerful leader sees fit.

5) I believe an international government should be responsible for deciding national borders, and that no country should invade another without the consent of that government. Maybe that government isn’t the U.N., and maybe it doesn’t exist right now, but it is a goal that we should work towards.

I think 9/11 provided a precious opportunity to work towards this world government. Instead of characterizing the attack as one against the U.S., it should have been characterized as one against the civilized world. I think George Bush squandered this opportunity and tried to use it to unify the U.S. against the rest of the world, rather than trying to unify the world. George Bush lost an opportunity for world peace, and, instead, plunged the world deeper into chaos. Thanks to him, the people who died in the twin towers died in vain. It would’ve been nice to have been able to say here that this was George’s greatest crime, but I think his invasion of Iraq is equally heinous.

6) In continuation of item 5, I also believe that borders should not be fixed in stone. Current international borders are not perfect, and the distribution of people around the world is bound to change over time, and we need a system that is flexible enough to change with them. What is needed is a legal and orderly way for borders to change. In the spirit of democracy, I would like a system that allows groups of people to vote to decide which country they will be a part of, but that may just be my own bias. The point is that, whatever the system is, it shouldn’t involve shooting people.

7) I believe that the U.S. should not pressure other governments to outlaw drug trafficking. We may not like it, and it may not be good for our country, but if other countries want to make it legal, they should be able to. Other governments should be free to act in the best interests of their people. If they do otherwise, they will lose the support of their people, and their people will act in their own best interest regardless of what their government says. I believe that this is what is happening in Mexico with the drug trafficking. Drug trafficking is a legitimate way for their people to make money, and money is what they desperately need. Unfortunately, the U.S. is able to pressure and bribe those in power to act against the interests of their people.

Okay, that’s about it on the international scene. On a local level:

1) I would like to see more power pushed down to the local levels. The national government should push whatever decisions it can down to the states, the states should push decisions down to the counties, and the counties should push decisions down to the municipalities. I think this practice would help to resolve a lot of controversial issues that don’t have definite right or wrong sides, such as abortion, rights of gays to marry, drug usage etc.. Both sides of these issues have a lot of merit. I say we let local communities decide which way they want to go on these issues, and then we can sit back and see which way works best.

2) I think states should charge more taxes, and the national government should charge less. Right now, the states hardly collect any taxes. Instead, the national government collects a lot of taxes, and then gives the states some money back. This gives the national government a lot of power over the states. I first became aware of this back in the 70s when (Carter or Nixon, I forget which) was pushing for the 55 mph speed limit to save gas. It was a worthy cause, but many states didn’t want to enforce it, and it really was supposedly their jurisdiction. Well, the national government decided that they wouldn’t kick back any money to states that didn’t enforce that law, and the states had to comply. I understand that some states have a lot more money than other states, and that some redistribution of funds may make sense, but, if that’s the case, then it should be done based on some economic formula, and not at the whim of some mighty despot.

3) I believe that, in this country, the ultimate legitimizer of a law is the people. If the people don’t agree with a law, then the law is illegitimate. A case in point here is the speed limit. If the legal speed limit is 55, but most people drive 65, then the legitimate speed limit is 65, regardless of what the legal speed limit is. I understand that it is the legal law that must be enforced, because that is the only law that has been agreed upon, but whenever possible, the argument that a law does not enjoy popular support should carry weight in a court of law and as an argument for changing a law.

4) I believe the electoral college should be done away with. The only legitimate vote is the popular vote. I could never whole heartedly give my support to a President that doesn’t win the popular vote. Of course, I reserve the right to withhold my support from any President that I believe is taking the country in the wrong direction, so that may not mean much, but I still think it should be gotten rid of.

5) I believe that the words “under God” should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. I do not consider myself a fanatic in this regard. I enjoy seeing the crosses on Battle Mountain here in Rancho Bernardo, and on Mount Soledad in La Jolla, and I do not mind the words “In God We Trust” on our currency, but these are all passive parts of my environment, they are not things that come out of me. When I say the Pledge of Allegiance, this is something that is coming out of me. I take this oath very seriously, and I do not like having to insert a lie in the middle of it.

6) I believe in school vouchers. I believe that parents should have a say in how their children are educated, and I don’t think our current school system is responsive enough to parent’s wishes. I believe that having school vouchers would give parents a stronger voice in this. In a sense, this is kind of a continuation of pushing decision making down to the local level. In fact, the decision of whether or not to have school vouchers should be made on a local level, not nation wide. If it’s a good idea, then areas that have this system will prosper and other areas will try to emulate them. If it’s a bad idea, they won’t.

7) The same thing goes for teaching creationism in schools as an alternative to evolution.

8) Finally, I am going to rant about advertising. I believe that humans have certain characteristic methods in which they learn how to be successful in their environment, and that these methods should not be taped into in order to make a profit. For example, children learn by following the examples of people they admire. When they see a commercial in which well dressed, good looking, active children are doing all kinds of impossible tricks on their bikes and riding all over the Grand Canyon, and then see them drinking a “Dew”, their going to want to emulate that behavior and drink a Dew too. This is evil. I’m sorry, but I don’t know what else to call it. They are tapping into the very thing that makes us who we are and subverting it in order to make a profit, and they take pride in their ability to do it. That, and child molestation, and killing people for money. These are the great evils of our society.

That’s all I have to say for now. I hope this letter reaches someone important. Sometimes I think politicians have a hard time trying to figure out how to distinguish themselves from the herd, how to find something to fight for that makes them stand out. All I hear about are the same old issues over and over again: Medicare, prescription drug costs, unemployment, etc.. I’m not saying that these aren’t important issues, but they’re certainly not the only issues.

Thanks for listening,
LeRoy James