What is the matter with the American public?
What is the matter in your country, where so many feel at the mercy of others?
A poll by the Pew Research Center finds the following:
60% of Americans think the country will be less important in the World.
73% believe the gap between rich and poor will grow.
65% believe the country will be more politically divided.
87% ! are worried that the country political leaders are not up to the challenge.
They also believe the national debt will continue growing.
The majority also believe the economy will be weaker, that health care will be les affordable.
70% of Americans are dissatisfied withe the way things are going in the country.
80% are worried about the way the government in Washington works.
55% believe the national government will have a negative impact on the countries future problems. I take this as Americans saying the national government makes the problems of the country worse.
77% worry about the ability of public schools to provide quality education to students. Because normal people do not talk like that, I suppose what they mean is that they believe public schools are unable to do their jobs.
Most also doubt the financial viability of Social Security.
The reports provides information on many other issues.
My question to the American people is: if you are so pessimistic about so many crucial things and also believe the politicians are unable to give the nation a better future, why don’t you do something?
It is obvious that neither Republican nor Democrats can fix the country; Carter and the Congress of the time did not make much of a difference, Reagan made a difference with the Soviet Union, but the life of Americans and the future Americans see now for the country, did not change much either, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, did not change the pessimistic outlook Americans have on the country. It does not look like Biden will be the fellow who turns around the pessimism of Americans.
The hard reality for Americans is that no matter who gets elected president, no matter who ir elected to the house of representatives, to the Supreme Court, I am sure Americans will not become more optimistic about their future.
Every election the politicians come out with “catchy” but phony slogans that change nothing; “yes we can”, “change we can believe in”, “make America great again”, “our best days still lie ahead”, “putting people first”, “leadeship for the new millennium”, “a safer World and a more hopeful America”. and on an on.
Such slogans mean nothing in reality, they are just cooked by hard nosed cynics to see if they can fool enough naive voters to tilt the election.
It is time of Americans to take control of America, it is time for them to decide the laws and policies of the country. It is time for them to demand direct democracy.
Direct democracy puts the people in charge and puts the politicians at the service of the people, how?, it is simple; anything the politicians want to do, any law, policy and regulation they come up with, can be stopped dead by a popular referendum that the people, not the politicians, can call.
The people can also propose laws and changes to the constitution.
Direct democracy will radically change the state of mind of the American voter; from passive victims of the politicians, to the people in Charge.
As a direct democracy, the American people will be able to do what is necessary for the schools to do better, to prevent growing disparity, to make sure there is universal and afferdable health care, to make sure Social Security does not grow broke, to end political polarization, to be in charge of their future themselves, instead of being at the mercy of politicians and the lobbies who use their billions to make sure all elected politicians of the Left or the Right are indebted to them.
The Swiss found inspiration in the American and French Revolutions to set up their democracy, but they went a step beyond; the Swiss elect politicians but, unlike Washington, the people also vote to decide issues and to have the final word on any issue if enough people consider the issue important.
America is not the best democracy, Switzerland has, by far, the best democracy but, because of its size and economic power American, together with India, is the essential country to ensure freedom survives and to stop the push of the primitive and inhuman authoritarian or totalitarian regimes, religiouos or late.
Th Swiss demanded direct democracy and got it, Americans will have to do the same if they want to turn around the direction of the country.
Victor Lopez
