Where Do We Go From Here?

 It's hard to know where to go next. Three months of persuasion and Get Out The Vote calls and canvassing and election night is a perfect dud. You never believe your side is the losing side until election night numbers turn against you. Somehow the reminder that we live in a democracy and that the majority just gave you the raspberry do nothing for your hard feelings. Even knowing you are right and the winners are just going to make a big mess doesn't help, does it?

In the words of The Old Philosopher, Eddie Lawrence, "Is that what's troubling you, bunky? well L- L-L-Lift your head up high and take a walk in the sun with that dignity and stick-to-it-iveness and you'll show the world, you'll show them where to get off, you'll never give up, never give up, never give up — that ship"! As a kid those words alway made me feel better and I hope they do the same for you.

More importantly, those of us who are invested in the Democratic Party and in the democratic process must think hard about where we go next. It should be obvious that we didn't comprehend the depth of the fear and anger that led to Donald Trump's election. The rise in our own party of a Socialist challenge to the party regulars should have forewarned us that a Fascist uprising in the party on the right was also a possibility. My thought is that the Democrats need to return to community ideas and community organization as a way to move forward.

The premise behind community organizing is simple; find out what the community wants, ask them how they want to proceed and then help the community get it done. I think the embarrassing problems at The Democratic National Committee that led to the resignation of Debbie Wasserman Schultz show how far from the community organizers ideal we've gotten. Bernie Sanders might not be everyones favorite candidate, but he did have widespread community support. Hillary might have been able to tap that community, but I never saw any indication that she or her campaign ever tried. How then can we organize ourselves to become a Democratic community and use that Democratic Community to quell the Fascist menace of Trump and his followers?

A few ideas, (I bet you have some too):

 1. Regular meetings (simple, but should have fun, community building elements)

 2. Goals set by the community (not imposed by party hierarchy)(this takes hard work)

 3. Communication among members both formal and informal (Newsletter, email/phone, outside
journalism)

 4. Goal attainment should involve more people that just members of the party elite (acting
committees should have rank and file members)

These are just a few of the nuts and bolts things that help communities work and prosper. I think they're important. When we think of ourselves as part of a community, the things we do help the group prosper. If we let ourselves become just once every four years voters, we lose the reason we joined a political organization in the first place. We are left as little atoms in a vast universe of larger forces. Let's get together and become a giant snowball for change.

What Does The Second Amendment Mean?

Well, that's what it says, but what does it mean? Some folks thing it means we can and should have lots of guns and the deadlier the better. Others think it's all about providing for state militias and police forces. These differing ideas about our constitution need to be resolved before the pro-gun folks end up in a shoot-out with the state militias.

This last week should give us some ideas about what happens when we leave these questions unresolved. Cop killing and civilians killed by cops is not what the founders of our country were thinking of when they wrote The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. They were worried about the intersection of the rights of individuals and the needs of all of us for safety and security in  our homes and persons.

If we leave safety and security in the hands of state bureaucracies we abdicate our responsibilities as members of a democracy.  On the other hand, if we allow those with the most guns and ammo free reign we may all die in the shoot-out. Let's have a conversation please. I do understand the worry of bureaucratic overreach, after all I lived through the Red Scare of the Fifties. I also worry about the fact that an entire nations worth of guns is in the hands of less than a third of its citizens.

Here's my opinion: First we need to revitalize the democratic process by getting corporate money out and providing for truly universal suffrage. Secondly military weapons have no place in our homes unless we approve universal military service and allow weapons for active reservists. Third, until police forces learn how to use restraint we restrict their use of force to non-lethal methods. Lastly we need a mandatory gun buy-back program.

Those are my ideas. What are yours.

Let's Put The Arms Makers Out of Business

Yesterday One Hundred and Three Americans were shot. Today we seem to be blaming everyone from The Islamic State to Donald Trump. Don't you think that fixing the blame might take second place to fixing the problem? What problem should we fix: should we fix ISIS or Donald Trump, maybe we need another layer of law, how about making it harder for bad folks to get implements of destruction, or maybe all of the above? Not easy to decide? Well yes, it is a problem with many parts, but I think we should start with the thing that does the most and does it quickly.

Let's start by getting guns off the streets and out of the hands of angry people? We have always come up against the "second amendment types" and the supposed power of the National Rifle Association whenever anyone suggested the end to American gun culture and a reduction in the number of guns in America. The Second Amendment to the Constitution was originally written to regulate State Militias and can easily return to that interpretation with a little help from the courts. Even if we don't get immediate help from the judiciary, we must let them know what we think they should do.

The NRA is a different problem. In reality there are only 5 million members of the NRA, only 5 to 7 percent of Americas gun owners. Their real power comes from check writing and lobbying Congress to prevent real gun death prevention and legislation. Yes, your congressman and mine are listening to the NRA instead of to you! Fixing the NRA problem will require voters input and enough of it to drown out the idiots who think more guns are the solution to crime perpetrated by criminals with guns. The only way that argument works is if you pile the additional guns atop the perpetrator.

(Place Perp Here)

I think that Australia had the right idea. When there are too many guns for safety just remove them. The Australian solution will cost money to buy back the guns and it will mean the end of the gun industry as we know it. I know that lots of people worry that arms manufacturers will starve if they have only military and legitimate hunters and law enforcement to sell to. Remember that their greed costs the United States approximately 32,000 gun injuries and deaths every year. There are over a million AR 15 assault weapons currently in use in the US and an unknown number of other assault weapons that have been sold here. US arms manufacturers made 3.9 million pistols in 2014 (the last year with statistics). That might be profitable for them, but what value would we put on that 32,000 casualties from gun violence each year.

I'm ready to work for a country with fewer guns, how about you?

Democracy as a Participation Sport

Many Washington Democrats spent twenty-five or more hours over at least three days selecting representatives who will select the state's nominee for President. This was a convoluted and arcane process that left many with the feeling that the Democratic Party begrudged their input. I'm sure that some party members think that,  like Mommy, "they know best " and would be happy if the rest of us just stayed home.

What's important isn't that some want to be in charge or that others find the whole process taxing. We all know in the back of our minds that democracy (the small d variety) only works well when we embrace the needs of the whole electorate and heed the majority while honoring the energy and desires of the losers. That said, I'd like to talk about some of the gripes and whining heard during the nomination process.

The biggest gripe was a lack of understanding of the party's process. While it's true many didn't understand what was going on, there was no end of information coming from the party explaining how it all works. What was missing was a way to reach and educate all of those who consider themselves members of the party, but who don't pay dues or attend meetings and as a result are out of the info loop. I guess we can blame the party or maybe the news media for that? Maybe not though, who has the ultimate responsibility for our ignorance? Is it them or us - I think we have that to be active members of the electorate and demand the information we need no matter where it resides.

Another problem is the so called "super delegates". These are mostly elected and appointed party officials who's choice of candidate seems to be at odds with the rank and file of the party. Most of these delegates are long time members of the party and have known Hillary and Bill Clinton for years. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, is an unknown who hasn't spent the last two election cycles running for president. If the Sanders supporters want that to change they must work to change minds and not just complain about flawed systems.

The gripe that is loudest and one that I find personally offensive is the one that says I'm here and I'm loud and I want my way now! If you want to be an organizer and a changer of minds and think that what you want is important, please show up in between the election cycles. The folks who go to the meetings, pay their dues and volunteer to man the phones and pound on doors will only listen if you back your ideas with the kind of help that gets things done.

Don't be a Fair Weather Patriot. When the election is over, whether you win or lose, please keep working. Democracy fails if it's not constantly fed and renewed.

And Then There Was One

I started out with three sisters. When we were young we called them Sissy(Donna), Door Knob(Dornie) and Baby(Lorna). As the eldest child, I initially thought of them as toys, accessories, or just annoyances. As they and I have aged, I've been forces to revise that opinion somewhat. It turned out that they each had unique personalities and abilities. Each in their own way became indispensable members of the family.

The eldest, Sissy(Donna) left us several years ago. A victim of cancer like our mother before her. We lost a huge dose of happiness with her passing. She was without a doubt the most cheerful member of the family. We mourn that loss.

Yesterday we lost Door Knob(Dornie) also to cancer. Yes, cancer is a recurring theme in my family, but that's not what we are talking about. Dornie was the most responsible of my sisters. She spent a lifetime trying to organize her family, her friends, and of course her Labor Union and Her Political Party. You won't be surprised that she caused some friction with her organizing. That's how organizing works: you annoy people until the change.

In spite of her organizing tendencies, she was and is much loved. She was a steady source of energy for moving forward. There were always hugs and encouragement to go with her pushing. Her courage was enormous. Even those who were only acquaintances recognized that she would never succumb to fear. If you're wondering, I loved and approved of my sister Dornie.

Dornie was not religious and neither am I. I wish I could believe in a future life and that we
would see Dornie again, but we will not. I'm going to hold her in my memory and my heart for as long as I can and I hope you do as well.