The Journey to Alter America

Strewn with Failures

Stopped by Roadblocks

Notable Failures

·         Popular Movements

·         Single Issue Protest Groups

·         Third Party Political Candidates

·         Litigations

·         Personal Failures

Major Roadblocks

·         Corpocracy Power

·         Divided/Conquered Public

 Personal Failures in Mobilizing*

·         Reignbow Coalition

·         U.S. Democracy Corps

·         Peace Coalition

·         Twittersod Campaign

·         Numerous Petitions

·         Numerous Luminaries

Reignbow Coalition

“Reignbow” is a homophone for the Rainbow Coalition, a generic term for any coalition of groups or parties opposed to any current regime anywhere. The Reverend Jesse Jackson, leader of the Rainbow Coalition in the U.S., garnered over 3 million and 6 million votes respectively in his 1984 and 1988 presidential bids. While his coalition is mostly of historical significance today, I give him credit for what he did. He, like Ralph Nader, was simply up against the corpocracy.    

“Reignbow” is meant to connote a peoples’ movement intent on wresting reign from the corpocracy and returning it to the American people. Several years ago I attempted to mobilize 20 some segments of the  public into the Reignbow Coalition. It never got off the ground.

U.S. Democracy Corps

America has a Peace Corps but no peace. Several years ago I created the U.S. Democracy Corps and recruited hundreds of American citizens who have in their own ways been promoting peaceful and lawful means of reclaiming social and economic justice in America and establishing peaceful relations with other nations (see October 4, 2014 post). The Corps also included a group of honorary members who are distinguished Americans. The Corps still exists on paper but has never been activated.

Peace Coalition

More than a hundred antiwar and peace NGOs were invited to join together as a coalition to provide political pressure behind each proposed initiative to end America’s endless warring and spying. Only a handful of NGOs were interested. War sustains even NGOs proclaiming to oppose it.

Twittrsod Campaign

The “sod” in twittersod stands for save our democracy. There are millions of Americans who tweet but only a few hundred joined.

Numerous Petitions

Numerous petitions to be sent to political leaders were circulated on the Internet but there were not enough signers.

Numerous Luminaries

Besides the many luminaries who agreed to be named “Honorary Affiliates” of the U.S. Democracy Corps, many other luminaries (including a famous third party presidential candidate) were contacted over the years. Nothing materialized from these efforts.

Personal Failures in Organizing*

·         U.S. Chamber of Democracy

U.S. Chamber of Democracy

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is one of the most powerful and wealthy lobbyists for Corporate America. The core mission of the USCC is “to fight for business and free enterprise before Congress, the White House, regulatory agencies, the courts, the court of public opinion, and governments around the world.”

In the fourth chapter of my book, The Devil’s Marriage: Break Up the Corpocracy or Leave Democracy in the Lurch, I proposed a counterforce organization and named it the U.S. Chamber of Democracy. My intent was for it to be an “organization without bricks and mortar,” that is, a virtual Inter Network of existing organizations with the overall purpose of developing and carrying out a comprehensive strategic  plan in unison with a second source of “double-fisted” democracy power to be developed, a new and very large coalition of the corpocracy’s adversaries that I called the “People’s Reignbow Coalition” (see above) that would be a melding of many different segments of the populace and would provide the political muscle/pressure behind each and every strategy.

I asked over 100 NGOs to join, numerous wealthy foundations for funding, including one purportedly devoted to antiwar causes, and scores of local Chambers of Commerce that had left the USCC.  Very few organizations were interested. They would not exist if the corpocracy did not exist.

Post Mortem

So far corpocracy power reigns. Large corporations and the big banks dominate America’s business affairs, and America’s endless warring and spying has yet to end.

Next Blog in the Making

Real America’s Future if Alter America Fails

*My own failed, naive attempts to move Real America toward Alter America

If Alter America is to be Realized

First, Mobilize

(See Blog Posted 1/15/16)

Second, Organize, Strategize, Actualize

1. Organize

Organized/United Corpocracy Power

·         Corporations: Top-Down Organizations

·         US Government: Top-Down Bureaucracies

·         US Military: Top-Down Chain of Command

·         US Intelligence Agencies: Top-Down Bureaucracies

·         NGOs Compromised by the Corpocracy

Disorganized/Divided Democracy Power

Hodgepodge of Movements

Hodgepodge of Single Issue Activist Groups

Millions of Dissatisfied Individuals

2. Strategize

Corpocracy Power

·         Corporations: Corporate Strategies

·         US Government: Corporate Influenced Strategies

·         US Military: Military Strategies

·         US Intelligence: Spy Strategies

·         NGOs: Corpocracy Influenced Strategies

Democracy Power

A Few Poposals/Ideas Here and There

3. Actualize

Corpocracy Power

Ongoing and Ruinously

Democracy Power

Scattered and Ineffective

Next Blog in the Making

Recent Failures to Actualize Democracy Power

IF Alter America is to be Realized

First

Mobilize

Don’t doubt the power of one

But mobilize the power of many

“Our” government is always mobilizing for war

We the people need to start mobilizing for peace

Before it’s too late

In times of war and other military interventions “our” government mobilizes the troops to get them ready for action.  

If Alter America is to be realized someday the first step is for  Americans discontent with Real America to mobilize into action to prevent America’s corpocracy, including its military/industrial/political triumvirate, from continuing to make our nation a “ruination” headed for nuclear or environmental doomsday.

Mobilize the Discontented & Groups of Activists

A Potential Boiling Pot of Democracy Power

Most Americans believe government and corporations are too powerful. Most Americans think the rich are too rich and should be taxed more. Most Americans are sick and tired of US wars and other military interventions and think America should mind her own business, not that of other nations.

They Vastly Outnumber Americans with Corpocracy Power

·         The 1% filthy rich

·         The people in large corporations

·         The people on Wall Street

·         The people in the war and gun industries

·         The military and spy people

·         The politicians

·         The ideologues preaching imperialism

·         The people in the mainstream media

The Millions of Americans in the Boiling Pot with Potential Democracy Power

Anyone, Any Group Discontent with Real America

·      Aggrieved victims of injustice (e.g., Black Lives Matter)

·      Angry voters

·      Antiwar and peace groups

·      Authors and investigative journalists

·      Bloggers

·      Business and public servant exemplars

·      Consumer groups

·      Climate and environmental groups

·      Creative arts (the antithesis of warring and spying)

·      Enlightened super wealthy

·      Environmental groups

·      Front line volunteers (e.g. soup kitchens)

·      Grass roots movements

·      Individual social activists

·      Millennials

·      Occupy movement and its many groups

·      Organized religion (the positive elements of it)

·      Party twin alternatives (i.e. not Republicans or Democrats)

·      Feminist groups

·      Responsible corporate owners

·      Senior citizens with liberal or progressive orientation

·      Small businesses and their associations

·      Small farmers and their associations

·      Social entrepreneurs

·      Twitter People

·      Unions

This list shows that millions of discontented Americans are already mobilized. Now they need to be persuaded to join an umbrella organization that unites them into one grand coalition that can apply political pressure to get strategic reforms made on the path to the ultimate goal, Alter America.

Next Post in the Making

Organizing and Strategizing for Alter America

A Model of Alter America

Alter America does not exist, but a model of it does and it differs markedly from Real America:

·                     A democracy, not a corpocracy

·                     Peacemaking, not war making

·                     Domestically tranquil, not domestically violent

·                     Economic justice, not injustice

·                     Social justice, not injustice

·                     Environmentally responsible, not irresponsible

·                     Full employment, not outsourced jobs

·                     Adequate standard of living, not impoverishment

·                     Adequate health care coverage for all, not excluding anyone

·                     Fair, not rigged elections favoring the twin parties

·                     Viable political alternatives to the twin parties

·                     Public service politicians, not pawns of powerful, harmful interests

·                     The public’s public services for true service, not privatized services for profit

·                     Socially responsible, not irresponsible capitalism

·                     Creating localized economies, not globalized exploitation

Next Post in the Making

The Steps to Alter America

STARTING JANUARY 5, 2016

THIS BLOGSITE DEDICATED TO ALTER AMERICA*

Alter America Is Not Real America

Real America today has always been the Real America since her founding. The only changes have been in the diversity and growing prevalence of the problems facing the majority of Americans. At no time in her history has there ever been an Alter America.

The simplest and quickest way to picture Real America is to scan a list of current facts and figures called the “sadtistics” about the conditions of life most Americans endure.

Real America's Sadtistics

Corporate America dictates to government America

Corporate gouging of consumers

Corporate immunity from accountability for wrongdoing

Corporate indifference to unhealthy/unsafe products and services

Corporate outsourcing of jobs

Corporate welfare and tax evasion

Endless wars and other military interventions leading to countless deaths, indescribable destruction, and widespread human misery

Excessive deterioration of public infrastructures

Expelled from the U.N. Human Rights Commission

U.S. Supreme Court’s fraudulent ruling on the 2^nd Amendment

Almost as many guns possessed as there are Americans

Frequent domestic gun violence and fatalities

Government’s disregard for international accords/treaties

Government’s failure to promote the common welfare

Government’s inhibition and punishment of dissent and whistle blowers

Government lawlessness and unaccountability

Government’s surveillance of all citizens

Government’s use of torture

Huge income inequality

Nearly 3 million unemployed

Nearly 50 million people living in poverty

Half of public school students live in poverty

Over ½ million homeless

Nearly 15 million needy, hungry children

Large prison population

Lost domestic opportunities from a $1trillion national security budget

Low life expectancy

Militarized, brutalizing and homicidal police

Millions of financial hardships from medical bills

Millions of foreclosed homes

Millions of American livelihoods dependent on warring and spying

Polluted rivers/reservoirs/drinkingwater

Privatization of public services

Racial hatred and violence

Six deaths a day from lack of health insurance

Surprising but not unexpected blowbacks frm foreign enemies US creates with its military/CIA/imperialistic actions.

18000 crumbling bridges

CAN REAL AMERICA GET ANY “SADDER?”

Next Post in the Making

What is Alter America?

*Major resources for this blog site are (1) The Devil’s Marriage: Break Up the Corpocracy or Leave Democracy in the Lurch [see http://tinyurl.com/nsrjubn ], (2) America’s Oldest Professions: Warring and Spying [see http://tinyurl.com/n9ew856 ], and (3) Corporate Reckoning Ahead [see http://tinyurl.com/npkqzpo ].

VOICES AGAINST WAR

 DOWN THROUGH THE AGES*

Alfred Adler: To all those who walk the path of human cooperation war must appear loathsome and inhuman.

Aeschylus: In war, truth is the first casualty.

Aesop: Any excuse will serve a tyrant.

Anonymous: A great war leaves a country with three armies: an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves.

Issac Asimov: Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent.

Major General Smedley Butler. War is a racket.

Albert Camus: We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives...inside ourselves.

Bennett Cerf: The Atomic Age is here to stay--but are we.

Agatha Christie: One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.

Clarence Darrow: True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.

Bob Dylan: Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks

Barbara Ehrenreich: No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Albert Einstein: The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that refuse military service.

Albert Einstein: Force always attracts men of low morality.

Albert Einstein: The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.

Abraham Flexner: Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.

Benjamin Franklin: There never was a good war or a bad peace.

Chris Hedges: The failure to dissect the cause of war leaves us open for the next installment.

Herodotus: In peace sons bury fathers, but war violates the order of nature, and fathers bury sons.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

John Lennon: All we are saying is give peace a chance.

Basil O'Connor. The world cannot continue to wage war like physical giants and to seek peace like intellectual pygmies.

Anne O'Hare McCormick: Today the real test of power is not capacity to make war but capacity to prevent it.

Charles Eliot Norton: The voice of protest...is never more needed than when the clamor of fife and drum...is bidding all men...obey in silence the tyrannous word of command.

George Orwell: Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. War is peace.

Harry Patch, Last surviving WWI soldier: War is organized murder, and nothing else.

Alexander Pope: O peace! how many wars were waged in thy name.

Ayn Rand: Do not ever say that the desire to "do good" by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity is good motives.

Jeannette Rankin: You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.

Bertrand Russel: War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

Antoine De Saint-Exupery: War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus.

Arthur Schopenhauer: All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

Butler Shaffer: In this war – as in others – I am less interested in honoring the dead than in preventing the dead.

Bruce Springsteen: Blind faith in your leaders or in anything will get you killed.

Charles V of France: Name me an emperor who was ever struck by a cannonball.

Howard Zinn: We need to decide that we will not go to war, whatever reason is conjured up by the politicians or the media, because war in our time is always indiscriminate, a war against innocents, a war against children.

---------------------------------------------

From America's Oldest Professions: Warring and Spying. See:

http://tinyurl.com/n9ew856

A FRAUDULENT PEACE PRIZE

The winner of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize is the same person who has authorized drone strikes that have killed thousands of innocent civilians, including children. He's the same person who has authorized military operations in hundreds of foreign countries. He is the same person who has turned his nation into a police state.

ALFRED NOBEL

WOULD TURN OVER IN HIS GRAVE------ 

and we should hang our heads in shame

and we should demand accountability

and we should demand peace over war

A REAL PEACE PRIZE

Stephan E. Nikolov, Ph.D. a writer for the  TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment based in Bulgaria, has recently written about a "Sound and Persuasive Voice against War" He is referring to Svetlana Aleksievich, a Belarusian writer and journalist, who recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Her writings are an eloquent and touching account of the curse of war. 

You can read more about her and the prize by going to this link:

https://www.transcend.org/tms/2015/10/sound-and-persuasive-voice-against-war/