I don't want to hear any more about making America GREAT! again.
Tony the Tiger can keep his "great" line and the Trump campaign be hanged.
I want to hear about making this country good.
Not again. Not for the 2nd time or 4rd time. Not like it used to be
Not "good" like less than "great" but better than so-so."
"Good" like "goodness" and "kindness" and filled with beautiful souls.
I'm talking about taking this country into a place no country has been before.
We don't have to change much as far as the rhetoric:
People all being equal, fairly treated, equal opportunity, equal justice under the law, power divided evenly--one person--one vote, no limitations except for our own ability to dream, explore, and create.
The patriotic ideals that we all heard and loved were not the problem. Those were all great---they just didn't exist for many of the people in this country. They definitely never existed for all the people all the time.
Ideals can not just be words.
Words represent ideals, but the ideal must be more than scribbles on a piece of paper or sounds coming out of someone's mouth.
They are things--like people are things and rocks are things and all the words in the world can not fully describe a person or even a single rock.
Like goals are things and dreams are things but the words we use to delineate them can lack their emotional tone and shades of wonder and strange and oddly shaded nuances.
While these ideals for our new and good country do not have to already exist in complete form, they must be based on something or someone and the traits and characteristics must be seen as attainable and sustainable and---good by everyone that cares about goodness.
But what is seen as good by everyone?
Is it like Porn--I'll know it when I see it?
Is it like chocolate--almost universally loved and enjoyed?
Or is it more like those universal truths that each religion, philosophy and moral code teaches its own children in an attempt to make both better people and a better world.
Can we make the world better by legislation?, by laws, programs and focused projects?
Can we make the world better by punishing everyone that is not "good".
Can we make the world "good" by removing everyone and everything that is "not only or always good"?
Does "good" have to be actively "good"? or can it be passive goodness--hurt no one and nothing and be good by virtue of inaction?
Is good the opposite of bad or merely the absence of good.
Are people "good".
Are things "good".
Are goals "good," are plans "good," are programs "good"?
Is good the same for everyone?
Does a good 40 year old man need to act the same as a good 12 year old girl?
Can a rich person and a poor person both be the same kind of good?
Can we measure goodness?
Maybe, good is too lofty an ideal.
But what better goal than one that is lofty.
To make a "good" country, we need a place in which everyone has the opportunity to be their best self.
How do we make a more level playing field.
The child born with access to money, love, education, nutritious food, a feeling of safety most of the time (scary movies--can't control those scary movies) and opportunities to explore the environment, be exposed to varied information and play both alone and with other children has a great chance at being a "good" person, of doing "good" things, and of helping the next generation have the same.
A child without access to any one or all of those, risks want--lack--and the very real possibility of seeing the world as a dangerous, competitive place where everything must be fought for and where their own position in the world is always in danger of being made even worse.
In an unsafe, ungood world, other people hurt you, they take your opportunities, they decrease your food supply, they make it where you feel you can't trust other people because they want what you want and their isn't enough for both of you.
To increase their own chance of-- not goodness--but success, they guide competitors away from those things they themselves see as their opportunity for their future. They tell lies, give bad advice and otherwise push their own "friends" away from success..
Perhaps the first step in making a "good" country, is getting rid of some of that sense of fear, want and competition.
Good education for all in whatever the individual shows an interest in.
Good healthcare for all so that no one is pushed out of the goodness by illness or injury of mind, body, or spirit.
Good water for all.
Good nutritious food for all.
Good, safe places to live for all.
Good paying jobs for all that want to work.
Good access to transportation.
Good parks, wildlife preserves and libraries, museums, recreational areas, and art exploration facilities that all can access, enter, and enjoy at their leisure.
Good music access for all types of musicians playing all kinds of music.
and good people, caring people, people that just want to live and let live, learn a little, see a little, share a little and leave something for their own descendants to also enjoy when their time arrives.
Is that too much?
Or is that "good".
About making the promises real for all.
About the importance of transparency.
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