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NOVEMBER 5, 2003 – Listen. You will hear it. The
same frustrating banter of left vs. right banter that never actually
deals with the right issues or deals with the issues right.
Here, from The Moderate Independent, is how things could be if there
were such thing as a Moderate Independent candidate running.
As you will see, the views are neither left nor right, they are just
right.
GAY
MARRIAGE
Let’s
get this cleared up upfront: the issue is not gay marriage.
That’s
right. The issue is not gay marriage. The issue is whether or not
unmarried domestic partners can go on another’s health plan and be
entitled to other certain legal rights currently only spouses are
entitled to. I don’t’ just say this to shift focus, I say this
because to say this only applies to gay is to leave out all sorts of
people.
I mean,
what about people who just never find love. There are lots of
people who are divorced, say, or widowed/widowered and live together
for economic/personal reasons. Why should an old widow and widower
have to get a piece of paper called a marriage license to be able to
have legal rights like a married couple. Why should two single,
heterosexual women who live together have to be punished for not
finding decent men or not believing in marriage, or not being ready
for marriage yet – or why should they have to claim to be gay and in
love and get a civil union to get rights.
Or what
about heterosexual, young couples who just don’t want to rush into
marriage. Some people come from families that were divorced and so
take things slowly. Why shouldn’t they have rights.
To be
honest, we at The Moderate Independent believe “don’t ask, don’t
tell,” shouldn’t just apply to the military, it should apply to
everyone everywhere. I don’t care if you are just roommates or
lovers – I don’t want to hear about it. And frankly, I don’t want
to hear about it even if you are heterosexual. I don’t care.
The
issue that has arisen is the fact that many people exist in
non-traditional living situations now (i.e. live together without
being married,) and so it is time to allow people who share the same
residence to have the same rights as married couples. Basically, we
are talking about a common law style granting of rights; once two
people have lived together in the same residence for a period of two
years or longer, they can have the same rights that married couples
do, go on one another’s health plans, have estate rights, etc. if
they so choose to file for them. We don’t care – or want to know –
if you are sleeping together or just friends or celibate or
whatever. Two nuns who share an apartment can have the same legal
rights as a married couple, two friends can. The rights will simply
be classified “Long-Term Domestic Partner.”
That
solves the problem and takes the ridiculous, problem-causing stigma
off of the situation. It never was about gay or not gay. To say so
was bigoted and overly limited.
OUR
SCHOOLS
It’s
not about more money or less money. It’s about the fact that our
high schools are big, pointless babysitting institutions, not
institutes of meaningful learning.
I don’t
care how much money you put in – you can line the damn classroom
floors with gold for all I care – nothing will improve in the
schools unless you deal with the actual problem, which is a
pointless upper-class curriculum.
After
10th grade, you have learned all the essentials, and so
11th and 12th grade are just a waste of time.
The only point is if you are planning on going to college, and then
only to get adequate grades and even some credits ahead of time.
Clearly, if we are so devoid of meaningful things to teach that we
are letting students in effect take college classes during these
last two years, why not just let them go off to college?
And in
the meantime, a high school diploma is worthless in and off itself.
This is because it doesn’t mean anything substantial, just that you
now a couple basic things.
But
don’t worry, The Moderate Independent candidate would know exactly
how to fix this as well, and it is not a matter of money.
Here’s
what would change: during junior and senior year, all students
would be taught the following: how to start and run a business;
what the stock market, mutual funds, and other investment vehicles
are and how to use them; what career ladders exist and how to pursue
them; and how to prepare a professional quality resume.
This
would change everything. Instead of just more history, english, and
mathematics that can’t be used without a college degree in the
subject, students will be obtaining the most important, practical
knowledge which they can use no matter what career they choose in
life, and whether they go to college or not.
No, the
business training will not be the equivalent of a college program,
so students will still go on for BA’s or MBA’s in business if they
want to be CEO’s some day. But from high school alone they will
learn about the forms, procedures, and other matters involved in
going into business for themselves, whether they start their own
plumbing business, auto shop, high tech business down the road,
restaurant. Suddenly, instead of being sent out in the world
without any real skills or opportunity, the world is the oyster of
their choosing.
The
career ladder course will solve one of the biggest problems our
students – especially those in poorer, urban schools – face. Kids
often see life as a futile choice between McJobs or hateful
corporate hell. And kids in urban centers tend to see things
limited to the possibilities of success in sports, success as a
rapper/movie star, or nothing – that is, other than gang member.
It has
been shown that if you explain that yes, you may not be Michael
Jordan, but you can be the trainer for the Bulls; or yes, you may
become the biggest rapper, but you can have a good career in event
management, suddenly, the students begin to see a road ahead that is
not so bleak, and this turns futures around.
The
investment classes are truly just basic survival skills everyone
should be given in this world, but only a select few are. Many
don’t even know really about choosing the right checking account,
never mind money-market accounts. This leads to the reality that
those who make the least often pay the most in banking costs, such
as fees to cash their checks.
In
addition, no matter what career you go into, you need to know – and
start planning from early on – have to save and invest your money so
that you can have someday start that business you want or buy that
home and so you can plan for retirement properly. Each year a new
record number of Americans go into bankruptcy. Training in how to
finance properly, rather than just throwing things on credit cards,
can change this dramatically.
And
finally, the art of creating a resume is not even taught at many
universities. Such a simple, basic skill truly defines the path
one’s life will take, as it directly determines which jobs one will
get or not. The training in this class will include interview
techniques and training in how to look for employment as well.
As you
can see, it is not about more or less money. In fact, it is not
about money at all.
As with
so many of the issues, the two above illustrate why the two-party
system and media’s love of playing left vs. right leaves us in an
endless circle of useless, expensive banter. The real solutions
don’t require more or less money, they require a different type of
thinking, one that actually deals with what the true problem is and
presents a solution.
We have
presented other pieces of the M/I platform previously. (see
www.moderateinependent.com/v1i3issues.htm ) And we will present
more of our platform in the future.
For
now, we leave you with one last thought:
DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL
As I
said, we don’t believe this should just apply to the military.
Think about the people you work with. Do you really want your nasty
ol’ boss spilling the details about his or her sexual habits? How
about the other managers at the place?
Frankly, it all makes me want to puke. I don’t want to hear about
it, not heterosexual, homo, bi-, tri-, none of it. The only people
who should talk about their sex stuff with me are my friends or
family. That’s it!
So
please, I won’t ask, and you don’t tell. And the same should work
fine in the military. Everyone should only talk to their personal
friends, and then there are no problems – and no piles of puke on
the office or barracks floor.
Because
as we all learned during the Clinton years and the Schwarzenegger
campaign, even the lives of heterosexual people we may like can be
entirely sickening when the details are shared.
Editor’s note:
This last policy should never apply with regard to Britney Spears. |
