Hello. I know this isn't anything much, but I thought now as good a time as any to begin making public political statements to the web. I'm something of a luddite, and without either facebook or twitter, I thought a blog a necessary tool to get some message out.
This is to be primarily a political blog, and I will endeavor to keep things civil and factual, but still fun. I first became interested in our political system after reading Cormac O'brien's "Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents" (a book best described as Howard Zinn for kids) a gift from my uncle Jay when I was 14. I was astounded to learn how involved decisive government action had been in achieving the victories of the Civil Rights movement, the beginnings of the environmental cause, and in combating the Great Depression. Diving deeper into historical matters, I fixated on the Great Society of Lyndon Johnson and the campaign of George McGovern as the high-water marks of government on the behalf of the people. Caught up in my newfound passion, I began enthusiastically volunteering for then-Senator Obama'a campaign, driven by his early opposition to the war in Iraq. After a grueling primary process and a massive general election effort (During which I canvassed in spite of pneumonia) I watched my man win, albeit without the votes of my native Missouri. My stepfather made arrangements for our family to attend the inauguration, and I waited for the capstone achievements of American government to stream forth.
They didn't, and the resulting disappointments were crucial in teaching me how much injustice remains in our world, and what has to happen to address it.
About a year after he entered office, I began to grow critical of the administration's lack of action on Civil Liberties, imperialist wars, Public Health Care, Tax justice, and above all environmental protection. The final proofs here were the passage of the Affordable Care act which could have been taken from the McCain platform, without a public health care option. Study of both the patterns of corporate influence in politics and Socialist writings (most notably those of Friedrich Engels and Huey Newton) led me to conclude that the modern Democratic Party, or at least its current leadership, was not as perfect as I had thought. Watching the days of Democratic control of Congress dwindle, I still saw no action taken on tax justice or environmental protection. No employee non-discrimination act was even mentioned by anyone in the administration. More air-strikes on "suspected militants"-read-schoolhouses, were conducted in the first year of Obama's presidency than in all 8 Bush years. The office of faith-based initiatives continued subsidizing conservative, homophobic, and anti-women churches, and principle was consistently pushed aside in favor of an illusory bipartisanship. On Obama's watch, the Republican agenda has been advanced nearly as effectively as it was under his predecessor, with disastrous consequences. Washington is not broken, however- the years of Bush's administration show us that with discipline and ruthlessness, significant changes can be made when the president has even the smallest margin of control in Congress. Whether the failure of our side to do the same is the fault of Obama, the Democratic Party in general, or both remains to be seen. The following, however, is clear.
Our nation remains the largest per capita consumer of all the world's resources, and contributor to environmental damage.
Our tax system is increasingly skewed in favor of the wealthiest capitalists.
We have expanded our military reach worldwide, draining our country's reserves or wealth, and killing thousands of our own soldiers with little to show for it except increased profits for weapons companies
We have not come close to addressing the legacy of slavery and lingering racism in our society, let alone addressing social biases against other minorities.
We are the only industrialized nation in the world without a reliable system of national health insurance.
The rate of employment continues to be dependent on the market, rather than direct government action.
None of the above have been addressed by this administration. I invite you to join me in a search for those leaders who will. I will endeavor to post at least weekly a summary of my political activities, policy proposals, and other relevant thoughts.
Solidarität
Genosse Graham
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