On June 21st, the Summer Solstice, I will announce my candidacy for the United States House of Representatives for the First District in the state of Ohio. The seat is currently held by Steve Chabot, a typical Republican who takes an obstructionist stance toward creating policies that support the common good.
We do not need to dwell on the glaring dysfunctionality in Washington these days as it is clear to anyone paying attention. A better focus is why I am running, and the platform I'm running on.
My "credentials" as an Occupier come from joining with sisters and brothers in Cincinnati as we held ground at Piatt Park, located downtown. I stayed engaged with the local movement even after we were removed from the park, and throughout the winter of 2011-12. Our fragmented efforts became ever less effective as our numbers dwindled and the press learned to ignore us. Soon after I wrote a blog about "The Trouble with Occupy" -- pointing to its negative focus [we stood against Wall Street and the 1 percent] and its leaderless nature.
So how would that experience lead me to run for Congress? It didn't. It only confirmed that we need a serious movement to effect real change in our dysfunctional political system. And that this movement must be based on principles like integrity and the recognition that we're all in this together. These are Occupy ideals, but they're grounded in World 5.0.
World 5.0 is the idea of a new cultural operating system, grounded in life and based on principles like peace, love, integrity, justice and balance. It sees that Life exists only Now, and that Here and Now is our shared and only reality. World 5.0 understands that without integrity there can be no trust, and without trust we cannot find happiness together. And so I run for congress with the primary goal of bringing integrity to our political system.
THE WORLD 5.0 PLATFORM
1] We require a just government, and we demand it at every level. The issue is not big versus small government. At issue is integrity and the Return on our Tax Investment. Term limits are key.
2] We abhor war and violence, and stand for peace and love in our being and in all we do. A core function of government is to secure peace.
3] We work for peace and love by engaging with our neighbors and communities. This focus enables safety, abundance and trust.
4] To increase our security and sustainability, we support the local production of food, energy, products and services.
5] In centering our lives around local food, we share, learn and grow together while taking control of our food back from global corporations.
6] We must save our Earth from the ravages of globalism and corporatism. Corporations are not people, but an instrument of commerce. We must end "too big to fail."
7] All things have natural capital, and hold value for the Earth. Corporations must not be allowed to extract and pollute and "socialize the costs, while privatizing the profits."
8] We require that labor and investment be taxed equally. Worker-owned businesses, unions and cottage industries are heartily encouraged.
9] We support hemp and marijuana. The benefits of each are clear, and they can create a host of local jobs. We recall that the plants were made illegal by greedy industrialists.
10] Education is key to a successful life and a healthy culture. The focus of learning is to understand, not to be a cog in the corporate system.We advocate for public schools.
Life is Now and our only reality. We all stand Here together. In our designs and actions, we intend laws and policies which reflect the principles of World 5.0.
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So, that's it. Ten common sense ideas that can transform our lives and our culture. While I lead this effort, I do not act alone. There are family, friends, citizens, activists and Occupiers who support this work tangibly, and millions who have never heard of World 5.0 and yet live lives of integrity, compassion, peace and love.
The choice is stark. We either continue to watch our quality of life deteriorate as corporations control culture by buying our government, or we take a stand together to create something new and life-supporting. Something wonderful. Something where the principles of peace, love, integrity, justice and balance guide our days, and something that brings health to a broken system. This something is World 5.0, an idea that recognizes our inherent kinship as children of Life.
Please join us in this urgent and noble effort. Let's fix a broken system. Support an Occupier for Congress. And welcome to World 5.0.