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A Can-Do Nation
Thursday, Mar. 29, 2007 By BILL BRADLEY
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Why are we still addicted to oil? Why do 47 million Americans lack health insurance? Why haven't we made Social Security solvent for the long term? Why are too many of our public schools mediocre? Why have we lost respect around the world?
The answers to these questions lie in the story we're being told about America. It's a "can't do" story--as in "We can't save Social Security" or "We can't cure our oil addiction." It embodies a belief in unlimited individual possibilities but severely limited collective possibilities. It is a story of fear, lack of compassion and America-only policies abroad. And it is fundamentally an untrue story about who we are as a people, but it has been repeated so often on TV and in the press that many in the U.S. have come to accept it.
Americans historically have not been narrow, selfish or preoccupied with the present at the expense of the future. We have been open, generous, expansive, forward looking, creative, egalitarian and optimistic. And that's who we still are today. All we need is a new story about what is possible--and the political courage to honor our best selves.
The New American Story puts country ahead of party. It says we can realize our dreams and we can envision how each of us can have a better tomorrow. Above all, it tells the people the truth. No lying. No fudging the numbers. Just the truth about our current moment--which means facing up to the consequences of our paltry national savings, our growing income inequality, our dangerously unilateral foreign policy, our denial of looming environmental disaster and our failures in health care and education.
Once we face the truth, the good news is that there are answers to all our current problems. An Administration bold enough to tell the truth will find an audience ready for bold solutions. The answers to the problems of our democracy lie in more democracy, not less. If we had public financing of federal political campaigns and if congressional district lines were drawn by citizens' commissions instead of partisan state legislatures, we would have less polarized politics. And if we moved Election Day from Tuesday (I'll bet you can't tell me why it's on Tuesday!) to the two-day weekend, our voter turnout would exceed its current ranking of 139th in the world. Certainly, we can regain the world's respect. Certainly, we can achieve balanced economic growth and assure all our citizens health care for their families, a good education for their children and security in their old age. The only thing we have to do is recognize that we're all connected and then act on that awareness. {continues}
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