Twenty-one Theses
To perfect our democracy
Democracy must be preserved, in part by making registration to vote and voting as easy as possible and accessible to all citizens.
We all are equal, have equal rights, and protection of those rights is a part of governmental function. We do not discriminate by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or national origin.
A woman has an absolute right to control her own body, and she must have access to reproductive health care, including contraception and abortion.
Education is a public function that should serve all students and that must be supported at a high level by public funding. All our educational institutions have a right and an obligation to teach science, civic values, and all other subject matter that are objectively, empirically true and that support our democratic way of life.
Americans possess a right of freedom of religion. No one has a right to impose her religious beliefs on others. Our government is and must remain secular.
Capitalism is a powerful economic engine, and it must be regulated carefully so that it works equally well for everyone and does not enrich only the few.
Workers’ rights will be preserved and the ability to unionize will be protected.
Taxation must reflect our egalitarian values by being both an instrument for supporting the functions of government and a tool for preventing the accumulation of huge amounts of generational wealth.
The federal debt limit will be abolished. Each Congress will owe to the American people expression of a specific plan to reduce national debt while covering expenditures with adequate taxation.
Money is not an aspect of free speech, and spending upon and contributions to political campaigns should be limited by law.
Corporate entities possess neither personhood nor the legal rights of a person and will not be regarded legally as persons.
Gerrymandering must be eliminated through federal statute and a standardized method of judging fairness of districting implemented.
Because it is an existential issue, the climate crisis must be the highest order of business for our governments and is our most important challenge other than preservation of our inclusive, egalitarian democracy.
The Constitution must be amended to limit members of the House of Representatives and members of the Senate to a total of three terms, regardless of whether those terms are consecutive.
The Electoral College must be abolished and presidents elected solely by popular vote.
No prisons that are owned and operated privately will be used to house prisoners of any governmental entity and all prisoners of the federal government will be housed within the borders of this nation.
Immigration law must be rewritten with several values in mind: Immigration is a wellspring of strength for our nation and must be less fraught for those who come here. We must provide a refuge for those who are oppressed and whose lives are endangered. It is a proper function of government to limit immigration when the intent is ethically defensible. All “Dreamers” and those in similar circumstances must be granted a path to citizenship immediately.
Term limits must be set for judges on the United States Supreme Court. No judge should serve longer than ten years.
The Supreme Court of the United States should be expanded to 15 justices.
Appropriate regulation of guns must be implemented, to include banning assault weapons and handguns. These United States must put into place a national database tracking guns and the individuals who traffic in them and must license all gun owners after a background check.
Attempts to overthrow our egalitarian, inclusive democracy are treason and must be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Interesting and much appreciated. I must take issue with #14. Limiting members of congress to 3 terms (6 years) would destroy any institutional knowledge or the ability to develop leadership. We have term limits - they are called elections. We need to educate ourselves
Getting corporate (and billionaire) money out of politics will do more to fix our democracy than almost anything else. Thanks for this thought piece. Good stuff.