Values, Statesmanship, Competency, Infrastructure - A Shared Vision for a New America

These four principals highlighted tonight's Grass Roots Democratic Platform forum in Great Falls. Eight people, assisted by an able moderator, Chuck Tyler wove together an effective tapestry of issues in their discussion of primary concerns they would like to see addressed by the Democratic Party and its Presidential Nominee during the next four years. Though the overall discussion centered on domestic policy, the group was unanimous that foreign policy was of equal importance, one of its members pointing out that a balanced concern between domestic and foreign policy was indicative of a truly successful and responsible nation.

Topics ranging from disability rights through health care and on through concerns for foreclosures and clean energy proved interrelated, with strands connecting them together into an amazing tapestry that no member of the group could have imagined possible. The group was unanimous in expression of the need for effective change in our government from local to national level and in conviction that positive change could happen only with the shared conviction and combined energy and commitment of all.

Everyone there was excited to have an opportunity to voice their concerns as part of Democratic National Platform development and to be included in this process even though from such a thinly populated state as Montana with only three electoral votes at stake. Though the group was small, it was large in conviction and imaginative approaches to problems that presently face our nation. All members were together in appreciation of America's new opportunity to regain a positive role in the world community and take once again a position of real leadership in the areas of economic development, climate change and global cooperation.

Values emerged as the fundamental principal behind all initiatives, whether foreign or domestic. The essential question: "What values does this initiative show or represent?" was regarded as the essential first step in determining the worthiness of any undertaking. The group agreed there was a great yearning in America and in the world for a return to core values found in Barack Obama's Berlin speech as in other speeches during the campaign process.

The group further agreed that Obama's Berlin speech represented a true statesmanship not seen in a presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy. The group also agreed that a return to real statesmanship was the necessary ingredient for a successful American foreign policy, in contrast to the belligerent approach of the Bush administration. A foreign policy relying on statesmanship and diplomacy rather than intimidation, emphasizing America's role as a global partner rather than the sole surviving superpower was seen as essential for a positive American contribution to the world community.

Competency was seen as the essential requirement for administration members from the Presidential level on down whether in foreign or domestic policy. The group quickly agreed that competency and experience were not always synonymous. Though both incompetence and inexperience contributed to President Bush's leadership failures, incompetency alone plagued other administration figures despite their considerable experience.

The group agreed that a wise and competent President must surround him or herself with advisors and administrators that are fully knowledgeable and able to speak the truth as they see it. Evidence that incompetency has been the hallmark of the Bush administration concerning domestic management is shown by persistent economic mismanagement, natural disaster mismanagement, economic mismanagement and educational decline caused by insufficient support for educational institutions and initiatives. Potentially helpful initiatives like "No Child Left Behind" and, most notably, "Homeland Security" have languished for inadequate funding.

Bush administration foreign policy has centered largely on pursuing an unnecessary war that served to divert public attention from its inability to address complex global concerns in terms of specific issues. Instead, the Bush administration has persisted in a single-minded obsession with protracting the Iraq conflict while attempting to spread its particular brand of democracy. An agreement with North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons and the recent renewal of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are positive signs of an improved attitude during this administration's closing days.

Infrastructure was seen as the watch-word for future domestic policy. The group interpreted infrastructure in the broadest possible sense, extending from bricks and mortar to personnel. Whether we talk of crumbling bridges, declining educational or scientific institutions, declining health care and medical facilities, or shrinking expertise in all fields extending from scientific to philosophical and moral development, the group saw repairing and enhancing our infrastructure in all areas as essential to a healthy society.

Noting that all civilizations have prospered so long as their institutions remain healthy, innovative and productive, the group saw a healthy infrastructure as the primary indicator of a vital nation. Sadly, our infrastructure in all areas is presently in grave need of renovation. Crumbling highway bridges are significant not only for their sign of physical infrastructure decay but also as symbolic of intellectual, institutional and moral decline. The very fact that Obama's Berlin speech could sound as refreshing as it did speaks for an abiding hunger for a reemergence of these great ideals.

As well as supporting initiatives liable to be included in contributions to the '08 Democratic Platform based on their importance during the recent campaign, this group of eight people raised the following issues that may be unique either in their inclusion or in the particular way the group addressed them. Overall, the group saw resolution of issues of domestic and global concern as interrelated and equally beneficial to all.

Group members raised concern for disability issues as essential for this new platform as the Americans with Disability Act is presently under congressional review. Typically, people with disabilities are marginalized in American communities, while the Democratic Party stands for equal opportunity for all. Charity, together with minimal social assistance, often difficult to obtain and complicated to maintain are insufficient responses to the aspirations of those with disabilities wishing for a meaningful life of contribution and economic security. A nation-wide system of public transportation extending from viable local public transportation options to statewide and nationwide transportation networks is essential to meet not only the growing needs of those with disabilities but also to serve the growing needs of the American population as a whole. Expanding local and statewide bus service and expanding Amtrak to be the national passenger rail system it was intended to be may provide specific starting points for this local, state and national undertaking. This effort will require federal leadership to make it possible and to unite the pieces of the puzzle together into a whole.

The maturing baby boomer generation provides a growing population of elderly people who will need public transportation as their increasing numbers exponentially grow, reflecting those unable or unwilling to drive because of age related conditions that often include individuals within the ranks of those with disabilities. Improved and enhanced public transportation will be of immeasurable benefit to improved energy efficiency, reducing our overall energy burden and lessening our impact on the national environment and global climate. Finally, people with disabilities deserve recognition as a group making significant contributions to our society.

The group also saw improved public transportation as the most effective and immediate way to address rising energy costs and effects of global warming. Funding cuts during the Bush administration have crippled local public transportation initiatives while further crippling the already underfunded Amtrak system. Viable public transportation on local, state and national levels can insure effective communication for everyone in the future, equalizing opportunity regardless of circumstance and enhancing possibilities for shared prosperity for the greater benefit of all, not to mention the improved health of every community.

Rising energy costs mandate that we look to improved public transportation as an essential alternative to private automobile transportation, whether or not energy efficiency improves to the point that automobile emissions no longer threaten our climate. The possible dissolution of the airline industry because of higher fuel costs increases the imperative of improved ground level public transportation networks nationwide.

Meeting the global climate challenge posed by such innovators as Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens was seen as the overriding priority of the group's discussion. The Bush administration has delayed progress in meeting this challenge because of its addiction to oil and associated profit. We now have only a few remaining years of viable opportunity for meaningful reduction in fossil fuel emissions before uncontrollable climate change may be irreversible. We therefore need to take immediate action to begin worthwhile national initiatives and then supply leadership and resources for world involvement.

We as a group call for the Democratic Party to harness American energy and ingenuity behind initiatives to meet the global climate challenge that will galvanize the American people in the way other great American initiatives have done in the past. This is not a time for half measures; we must fully accept this global climate challenge for the sake of all humanity.

Other issues that received priority attention were improved support for educational opportunity and increased funding for educational institutions from kindergarten through university levels. Equal opportunity for health care was considered vital for a healthy and productive society, with no possibility for denial of health needs and a consensus view of proactive health care approach as essential in a caring society. The group further supports an end to the present federal moratorium on stem cell research. Presently, individuals suffer who might have found cure because of government policy borne of ignorance alone. The present moratorium on stem cell research has also led to a national brain drain to other nations where productive research is encouraged.

The group was also united in support of a foreclosure moratorium for those unwittingly caught in the housing and mortgage crisis and in support of institutions that acted in good faith to support a sound market. Declining stock values combined with a declining dollar are not only damaging to our national economy but to world prosperity as well. These trends should not be allowed to continue without appropriate oversight and regulation, especially when a few stand to profit while many suffer from unforeseen consequences.

It was a wonderful experience to be with this group as part of the open platform developed by the Democratic Party this year. There are also several other groups meeting in Montana and numerous groups convening throughout the United States to pool their insight into making a truly national contribution to this exciting new movement. The level of insight shown by this small group of people in a rather small Montana city gives testimony to the great wisdom present within the American population as a whole.