The "American Ideals" that I am referring to come from many sources, including:
(1) The ideals that our founding fathers laid down in their writings (e.g., Jefferson, Franklin, Washington)
(2) The ideals that have been immortalized in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
(3) The second Bill of Rights that FDR had crafted so many years ago.
I have used the word "ideals" purposely because we are all too aware that our founding were less than consistent in what the preached and what they practiced. One of the best examples is Thomas Jefferson who wrote against slavery but owned many slaves. The value of any idea is the way that it harmonizes with our collective belief system. Just because these people were imperfect does not detract from the intrinsic humanistic value of the ideas they had expressed.
I'm sure anyone could come up with a quick list of these ideals that I am speaking about:
(1) Separation of Church and State
(2) Freedom of Speech and Assembly
(3) The right to bare arms
(4) Protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
There were a list of terms that I used to display on the masthead of every page of New Age Patriot (1989 - 1997) which included:
Autonomy, Compassion, Freedom, Independence, Industriousness, Justice, Liberty, Self Reliance, Sovereignty, Tolerance
These were words that were both used by and which accurately described Jefferson, Franklin, Washington. These men were the architects of our Constitution and our nation. Unfortunately the life they breathed into these ideas are definitely not being observed by either the Bush administration or the two major parties -- who are nothing more than minions for their Multi-National Corporate (MNC) owners.
To give you a good idea as to how far we have diverged from these "ideals" I will just present the positions of Bush, Jefferson and the American People on a few different policies: (Marijuana, Immigration).
Has done everything in his power to interfere with States whose people had voted, by large majorities, for Medical Marijuana Initiatives, giving access to those with medical need (e.g., Cancer, MS, Glaucoma, AIDs, etc.). Clinton was no better.
Saw Hemp as an extremely useful commodity and strongly supported it's production by the American people. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin held similar views.
There already exists a large majority of Americans, of voting age, who believe that Marijuana should be available to those with medical need. Zogby polls suggest that a majority of voting age Americans will be in support of making Marijuana legal for all adult Americans as early as 2008.
Sides with Jefferson and the American People in the belief that Marijuana should be accessible to both adults and those with medical need. Supports Re-Legalization of Marijuana for both of these groups through a framework known as the Marijuana Re-Legalization Policy (MRP, prounounced "Merp") Project.
Supports the Insourcing of legal foreign workers, through various Visa programs (e.g., H1B, J1 etc.). Supports the Insourcing of illegal foreign workers by refusing to enforce laws against illegal immigrants and attempting to grant amnesty to millions of illegal workers who continue to ignore our laws.
We are grateful for his efforts to put a halt to illegal immigration through his CNN nightly show. We are disappointed that he doesn't believe in the need to halt legal immigration as well.
The issue of immigration was much different in Jefferson's time as many arrived on our shores as either indentured servants or slaves. Also different was the fact that a wide frontier was open to homesteaders, whereas today every inch of land is owned and the environment is unable to sustain even our current population.
Zogby and Harris polls show that a majority of the American people are in favor of increasing limits to both legal and illegal immigration. Even immigrants, who have recently gained citizenship through legal channels, see illegal immigration as a threat to their economic security.
Supports a moratorium on legal immigration and aggressive enforcement of our current laws against illegal immigration. NAC believes that denying foreign workers to become US citizens serves the needs of both the United States as well as the countries from which these foreign students originate. The foreign countries benefit from the fact that we will no longer be draining away their most intellectually gifted people. The people of the United States will benefit because there will be more opportunities for our people and because US Multi-National Corporations will have a greater incentive to insure that American students receive the best education possible anywhere.