The rage in the streets could better be stemmed through the establishment of
great neighborhood festivals going on for 7-10 days, one for each season, if
possible, than by the further establishment of bunkers and greater police
presence in afflicted areas. With co-operation the keyword rather than
materialistic competition, these would be times of Community Building, and
Re-Building, as great tracts of glass-sharded inner-city wasteland become
temporary home to a 24-hour, 7-day long festival of Music and Celebration and
Waste Removal. The catch is that Shared Responsibility for the very success of
the festival is distributed through the whole community.
Think of All those good, honest, real people, that give help in a disaster, the
ones that not only saved lives in the streets of LA, but commit small random
acts of kindness every day. If they were encouraged to come out into the
streets of their communities, to find enjoyment and friendship in their
neighbors, to appreciate, and be appreciated as they and guests invited from
every part of the society help to sweep, hose, haul trash and re-plant public
walkways and parks. Evenings would be pungent with outdoor kitchens on every
corner, with food for all regardless of ability to pay. In the evenings, Music
from small informal stages would drift through the streets. A few Kitchens stay
open all night, for Video or presentations, or perhaps health, job or personal
counseling. Clinics and Information Booths would be staffed 24 hours.
Unfortunately, Our "Government", under the guise of the "war on drugs" has
already turned many of these areas into armed-camps, effectively "protecting
the people from themselves". When the keepers of the Peace have become an
occupying force, it is apparent that civic and societal structures have been
compromised. Community activities should be funded in perpetuity by We the
People of the United States, through our agents, the US government. Otherwise
the Repression that leads to rage in the streets will inevitably wear away the
last tatters of Our Constitution, and the very Freedom that should encourage
every one of us to help those in need.
In fact, if one were to ask what price our Freedom really has, it would be
that. That if we so abuse Freedom, that there are those amongst us that cry
out, and are not heard, that stumble and are not helped, then our Freedom will
retreat into a storybook time, where the old will remember a country which,
though imperfect, still strove for an ideal never before reached on this wide
blue worldQthat all humans are created equal, endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable Rights, among them Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness.
Note the fact that this last phrase contains three objects, not just life, nor
even merely Liberty, but also the Pursuit of Happiness. One could very well
argue that this foundation Document, the Declaration of Independence, has a
status overarching the Constitution, since clearly, it is the statement of We
the People, who then through Our Constitution designed and empowered the
"Government" to manage Our lands, and Our Interests. In this statement, We
affirm Our right (not a priviledge, but a Right!) to discard any form of
"goverment" which disturbs or threatens Our inalienable Rights, and replace it
with a form more suited for the times, or circumstances of Our pleasure.
These Three Inalienable Rights are more fundamental than Constitutional Rights.
The Supreme Court even at its most sour may not legally compromise, or even
dare to interpret these Rights. However, there is no easy, well defined path to
ascertain and protect Our Rights from the assault of Forces injurious to them.
We the People must learn to assert Our Rights against this government which
steals, and wastes, and lays siege to Our Freedom and our Priviledge.
While the current Constitution still retains the form of the government, We
must make Our pleasure known to our agents in the Congress, and We periodically
must select a president who shall bear personal responsibility for the
successful management of Our Realms. If either Our agents or Our president fail
in their responsibility, or if any person who accepts the lawful payment of We
the People, for any service, shall so fail, We must require their resignation.