The other day I asked him to help me understand the whole concept of "change" in a political context.
Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination by being the candidate of change.¬[sgl dagger]Now John McCain says that he's the candidate of change, and we bite our lips and try not to laugh out loud. But since the promise of change crosses the whole political spectrum, we'd better start thinking-- what will change... and how?
What will change are our priorities.¬[sgl dagger]Specifically, we will concentrate on meeting human needs, our needs.¬[sgl dagger]Health is a human need.¬[sgl dagger]Education is a human need.¬[sgl dagger]Public safety is a human need.¬[sgl dagger]Affordable transportation is a human need.
Here are some things that are not human needs:¬[sgl dagger]Making sure that you can own a gun.¬[sgl dagger]Preventing two people of the same gender from uniting.¬[sgl dagger]Insisting that other people speak English. Instigating unnecessary wars.¬[sgl dagger]When our priorities change, these issues take a back seat.
I, for one, would like to live in a place where the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered, the children are educated, and the sick are healed.¬[sgl dagger]That's what we've been told, for around 3000 years, that a just society tries to accomplish.¬[sgl dagger] Only recently has anyone suggested that a just society is one where everyone is packing heat.
And when that change occurs, the economy will improve dramatically.¬[sgl dagger]Why?¬[sgl dagger]Because meeting human needs keeps money in the country.¬[sgl dagger]If the bridge that fell down in Minneapolis-- which is still down-- were rebuilt, then the construction worker who rebuilds that bridge will make money.¬[sgl dagger]He will use that money to pay his rent, and his landlord will make money.¬[sgl dagger]The landlord will go to dinner in a restaurant in Minneapolis, and the waiter will make money.¬[sgl dagger]The waiter will get his hair cut, and the barber will make money. Meeting human needs means putting more money in the hands of Americans.¬[sgl dagger]And spending it on the war in Iraq means it's gone, forever.
The U.S. trade deficit is $2 million a minute. Under the Bush Administration, money has gushed out of this country.¬[sgl dagger]No wonder gas is $4 a gallon, the cost of living is rising, unemployment is up, and the housing market is down. It's the worst case of economic mismanagement in American history.
And that will change.¬[sgl dagger]Because people with a conscience are coming together, and saying "we need to take care of each other."¬[sgl dagger]People with a conscience are taking power in America.¬[sgl dagger]And people are letting their conscience guide them.
We're changing.¬[sgl dagger]And that's real change.
