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Striving for better America important

(Last updated: 11/10/08 7:59pm)

Last week, Americans went to the polls to inform their government that they want to see a change. President-elect Obama has received a powerful signal from the American people. We have shown clearly that we are unhappy with the direction this country has been headed during the past decade, but I am concerned we have not been clear as to the path we would hope to be on. So, why are we unhappy? And, most importantly, what will we demand from Obama in his first term? What kind of change, exactly, are we seeking?

Shane Dicks

We are unhappy that we remain caught in a tragic occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan in which thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed. Billions of dollars have been spent on these conflicts, burned up in the desert, wastefully handed out in no-bid contracts to American war profiteers and mercenaries. These conflicts, and the foreign policy theory behind them, are literally and figuratively bleeding this country to death.

A move into Afghanistan is hardly an improvement. No foreign military power in history has successfully occupied those mountains. We must demand a new direction. Isn’t it time for an investment in the infrastructure of peace and prosperity over the machinery of destruction and death? Surely we can be out of Iraq in 16 months as promised, unless corporate profiteers force us to stay. It will be our task to remind them war profiteering was once considered treason. If the Democrats put American troops in harms way in Afghanistan, or if they don’t take us out of Iraq, then we will be forced to take them out of Washington, and we must be prepared to do so.

We are unhappy because corporate power has grown stronger while critical infrastructure crumbles, our education system decays, millions of Americans go without health care and our protection under law is reduced. Protection of our rights from corporate abuse in legislation such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Freedom of Information Act and a number of other truly progressive pieces of legislation have been all but ignored. Corporations have been given free rein to abuse labor and the environment and to seek wealth at any cost without oversight and fear of retribution.

It is important that companies in America be free to seek profits — indeed, that is the American way. But most Americans certainly believe this freedom cannot come at the expense of a citizen’s rights to health and happiness.

When we allow the provision of public security, health, education and infrastructure to be handled by profit-seeking corporations, we can expect that profits will be found, but we can’t guarantee that high quality public goods will be provided. Are you willing to settle for bargain basement in order to see higher third-quarter profits for your favorite multinational corporation?

The interests of American corporations should always take a backseat to the interests of individual Americans. Obama has promised a new day, the expansion of the health care system and reinvigoration of the education system with no new taxes on 95 percent of Americans. Don’t listen to the doubters — this is absolutely possible. It is simply a question of organization and political will. We must keep our end of the deal and stand behind him as we set out on this historic task, but we must be ready and willing to throw him and his Congress out if they lose their nerve.

Can it be considered unreasonable to ask the most powerful country on the earth, a country that belongs wholly to its citizens, to guarantee all of its citizens a real opportunity to succeed? Can the country that overcame fascism, reached the moon, guaranteed civil rights and outlasted the Soviets, really be excused for its failure to provide its citizens with education, health care and legal protection of rights appropriate for its status as a world leader?

I understand that politics is a difficult business, and there will be challenges and setbacks, but we should not settle. We can no longer afford to let our leaders get by on broken promises and half-truths. We must demand action and hold our elected leaders accountable for their decisions.

It’s time for American government to be made responsible to the people it represents, but this can only happen if we choose to take responsibility for our government.

Shane Dicks is a State News columnist and an international relations senior. Reach him at shane.dicks1@gmail.com.

Originally Published: 11/10/08 7:05pm