CULTURE DEFINED: … Race, religion, language, beliefs, arts, morals, technology, customs, history, climate. and eons of time, all merge to create a distinguished Culture for each country and region. We are all shaped by our cultural heritage.
Here in the year 2015 America is burdened with cultural habits from long ago (The horse and buggy days). These habits and customs do not change fast, especially when strict doctrines are passed on from parents to children. Some of that still happens in the USA and with our troublesome political customs. Our Federal Government is essentially trapped and hog-tied at a time when changes are needed as never before. The cultural norms that transformed our infant Nation no longer are appropriate in the 21st Century digital world. Corruption abounds at the highest levels of government. Nothing is working effectively from “The Top Down”. That is why we need a “Grassroots” movement by the people and especially by those who will become our next generation. It is already a certainty that great changes are afoot and our children will belong to an entirely new culture here in America, the nature of which is quite unknown. And this culture will be ever changing for several more decades. It is our opportunity now to do something to shape it constructively.
The key to the future is in our early education systems. It must change from that of the past. Our laws and values are a century out dated. We now act like a backward nation as we lose ground to the smaller countries who more easily change with the times. Being large and wealthy is no longer a great asset in this digital world. We have been corrupted by enormous wealth vying for more power. Greed has trumped good corporate citizenship. It seems that there is no way to salvage the remnants of the middle class and create a more balanced society with a place for all to live in peaceful, productive harmony.
A Grassroots action is the best way forward. It needs to be lead by parents, teachers, Grandparents, and enlightened educators. The latter may be the slowest to arrive at the task, but the grassroots can proceed without leadership. It is imperative that the parents and teachers lead the way.
Objectives for the envisioned 21st Century culture include the following:
1. .. Guns must be tightly controlled. The wild West as depicted in our movie industry since the 1930s no longer exists, but contributes today to a culture of guns and violence that seriously saps our resources and destroys families and neighborhoods.
2. .. Gun manufacturers and the NRA must be controlled. They have been too greedy for profits. They can be considered to be unpatriotic.
3. .. Citizens must vote at each election (No excuses allowed). Australia requires all citizens to vote, which we may consider here. We must reach an 80% turnout.
4. .. Gerrymandered voting districts must be prohibited. That has put our electorate into positions of polar opposites where Congress cannot find a compromise on too many vital issues. All obstacles to voting must be eliminated.
5. .. Defense budget needs cutting back. Our lower 48 states control the most naturally secure real estate on the planet. Why do we need such a huge military? Our gigantic military intimidates smaller countries and allows us to meddle in their affairs. Is it any wonder why they don’t like to cooperate with us! We can best use our weapons money at home on education! … The truth may hurt, … but, … It is the truth! … Our American Culture has been very aggressive over the past two Centuries. … Arguably even more so than most other countries. This ingrained military culture is not easy to alter swiftly.
We have bombs, rockets, and drones, but they have the suicide bomber. We have no defense for their suicide tactics. They will soon have robotic drones. We cannot easily stop them with our big weapons. We must change our ways. … A better education system is our bast hope. … Effective reforms will take time.
6. .. Preschool is free to all children in America. (Costs of items 6, 7, and 8 come from reductions in defense spending).
7. .. Teachers are paid a competitive wage for competence and skills. Good teachers are needed to create a better society. They need much support.
8. .. Qualified students get free college for 4 years.
9. .. A small tax is applied to all national and international exchanges of money and stocks. These activities serve little useful function and produce no goods or services. This will minimize the excessive profits from speculators and day traders which cause dangerous volatility in the markets. Our budget can be balanced with the proceeds.
10. Controls are placed upon all bankers and corporations to reduce their abilities to make enormous profits by their skillful maneuvers around the intended laws. They are cheating the rest of us and creating serious unbalance in our society. Too much money in the hands of the top 1% is bad for the rest of us. It is bad for America.
11. Income tax laws need a complete modernization. It is an embarrassment.
12. Immigration laws need revisions.They are very outmoded. The illegals would not be here if we did not benefit by their cheap labor. Powerful industries do not want change. American culture has always been based upon cheap labor or even slaves.—I say that we save these dirty and hard jobs for our own youngsters. High school and college students will flock to tough jobs and internships to earn money and experience. They need them. They will love them. Their good educations will soon allow them to advance to specific careers. It is essential that all manual labor jobs are deemed “Respectable and are paid a living wage”.
13. Prison and punishment policies are not serving u very well. We must fix them. The mental cases need special treatment, not imprisonment. Juvenile offenders need special education, not prison.
14. Modify the new Affordable Health Care Act to a complete Universal Health Care for all and eliminate the insurance companies. It is what most advanced countries have already. We can settle for gradual changes of improvements.
15. Warfare: Change our past practice of building the world’s largest and most powerful military establishment. We worship our war heroes and even want our Presidents to have military experience. Okay, that worked in the past two centuries, but now in the 21st century those ways no longer serves us. The entire world of over 190 countries has changed. Our insistence upon being 100% safe and secure means that all the other countries must accept being less safe! How does that make them feel? We must change by diverting funds from military to education. Our real power has always been the principles stated in our US Constitution; our high moral values. Let us strive harder to live up to the ideals of our founding fathers and build better quality in our individual citizens. They are our true strength.
16. Disparities between the rich and the poor are much too great. This is bound to continue and get worse without major changes. We need meaningful jobs for every one, yet Robots continue to erode the need for human labor. Many of those with jobs are overworked and often stressed out, while the jobless are reduced to hopeless situations that are degrading the entire society. Unchecked, this can lead America into a land of Gated Communities, separating the rich from the poor.
We can fix this by a combination of education and work reforms. We can create more jobs by going to a 3 to 4 day work week. The jobs created can be filled with the better educated populace. That is another reason for funding of more and better teachers to meet these needs. We can maintain a highly productive society of Robots and high tech systems when we have better education for all citizens. Let us strive towards a better work-life balance.
17. Build for durability rather than built-in-obsolescence as has been our practice. This has been a wasteful way to create jobs and profits. This waste is very harmful to the Earth and is not sustainable.
18. Create jobs for all and also more leisure time for workers and families. … A 3 to 4 day work week will be part of the solution. Hiring more teachers will be the other part. It is essential that everyone is actively employed according to their abilities. Norway today is doing just that! Everyone has a job even if their hours may be reduced. America must strive to do the same.
19. LABELS: Stop putting racial labels on our citizens. If one must label people, then describe their culture not their race. Labels are for cans.
20. Work towards an 80% Voting Turnout in the near future. Otherwise, a mandatory voting law will be needed. Nothing can be more important!
Our modernized culture will determine our future.
Do not depend upon our top leaders to make needed changes. It is too easy for politicians to divide and confuse the voters of such a large country.
Changes will come faster from our Grassroots Action.
Children (Well Guided) will usher in the new 21st Century Culture.
We are already witnessing significant cultural changes. The Gay Marriage changes came at an unprecedented speed. It is encouraging to see a rapid change in women’s acceptance to professional fields previously denied them.
We still lag with universal maternity leaves and preschool education. Other modern nations are leading the way where we used to be the leaders. Clearly, a large Nation such as the USA does not have the flexibility of smaller nations, especially in the digital age. … Thus, it falls upon the grassroots movements to move us into the 21st Century. … Please, just do what you are able, … and … Add meaning to your life, … and,
VOTE AT EACH ELECTION!
CLIMATE CHANGE Pledge: …
https://nextgenclimate.org/sign-the-pledge/
*** PREDICTIONS ***
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