Right now, American democracy resembles Humpty Dumpty, cracked in so many places it can’t be put back together again. For those who do not share far rightwing values, the parade of atrocious policies and behaviors of the Trump regime seems boundless. When it feels like so much is broken, it can be hard to find bandwidth to focus beyond the problems. However, vision is essential to creating anything, including a healthier, stronger society. So, even as we engage in protests and express opposition to the lawlessness and cruelty, it’s vital that we focus some energy envisioning what a resuscitated and renewed America might look like on the other side of this tumultuous time.
Before I lay out my own vision of America reimagined, I want to note that one of the things that gives me hope right now is the recognition that the underlying problems facing us existed long before the 2024 election. Racism, sexism, religious intolerance, and economic classism have been with us since before the official inception of this nation and were, in fact, baked into our founding ideals and documents. In more recent decades, as unchecked Capitalism gained steam, national values have shifted, so that in a functional sense America is more an experiment in corporatocracy than democracy. Both major political parties play the game of wooing and rewarding corporate interests at the expense of the health of our people and environment. Marianne Williamson expressed this brilliantly in a recent Substack post,
“Donald Trump did not come out of nowhere. He’s a predictable consequence of a philosophical plague that has led us over the last few decades to put financial greed and corporate profits before the health and well-being of people and planet. We’ve allowed financial principles to replace democratic and humanitarian values as the governing principle of our society. Political and media systems marginalized any voices that warned of the price we would pay for this.”
The blatancy and hypocrisy of the current regime is shocking, but with honest self-reflection perhaps it shouldn’t be. As a society we’ve needed to address flaws in our values and political system for a long time but have most often only been able to sweep the unpleasant, disturbing pieces under the rug. That ability to hide and ignore the American shadow is now gone and that presents opportunity. The enormous question before us is will this be a point of devolution or evolution?
Below is a starting point outline of what I’d like to see in this nation ten years from now. I would love to have my readers offer your feedback and ideas.
Vision for America 2035
Core functions of democracy held against the attempted authoritarian take-over launched in 2025. The nearness of failure to stop the take-over prompted serious efforts to reform and redesign electoral and governance systems and institutions, and to address deep-seated societal frustration. In 2029, a majority of U.S. states came together to order Congress to hold a Constitutional Convention for the first time since the original Convention in 1787. Significant constitutional revisions and amendments were made including:
· Term limits are put in place for Supreme Court justices.
· The Electoral College is abolished in favor of direct election of the president by popular national vote.
· Citizens United is overturned and campaign spending limits are established.
· Personhood status for corporations is abolished.
Also in 2029, U.S. leadership declares National Climate and National Biodiversity Loss Emergencies and aggressive policy reforms to address the crises are implemented.
Beyond Constitutional revisions, by 2035 Americans are succeeding in redesigning crucial programs and institutions:
· Key social programs, the tax code, minimum wage requirements, and caps on CEO wages in comparison to their employee’s wages, have been adjusted/created so that regular working families can meet basic needs such as housing, food, education and childcare.
· A universal health care system has been established that makes timely access to quality, affordable medical care available to all Americans. This new system emphasizes prevention and health, rather than testing and procedures. Medicare now covers basic needs of an aging population including affordable long-term care, dental care, hearing aids and glasses.
· For the first time since the Industrial Revolution the damage being done to the natural world and to human health -- as a result of extraction, consumption and waste associated with corporate growth -- is being addressed in serious and aggressive ways. Congress has adopted the Precautionary Principle as our guideline when considering new economic or infrastructure projects. This means a project or activity cannot go forward unless it can be proven in advance to be safe. Tax subsidies and financial incentives are being redesigned to favor projects that advance a restoration economy model.
· The efforts to white-wash American history by removing from government websites, libraries and schools, mention of people of color and the indigenous population, as well as specific facts and disturbing historical events has been undone. Factual information has been restored.
· The FCC Fairness Doctrine has been restored, requiring news broadcasting companies to devote some time to covering opposing opinions on controversial or political y-loaded issues, a key step in breaking down highly skewed media siloes.
· Laws have been passed, and regulatory oversight established, forcing social media companies to disclose algorithmic data to researchers and to the public so that we can see how we are being manipulated, allowing us to make informed choices.
· The use of AI in political ads has been banned.
· Anger at the ineffectiveness and dishonesty of both major political parties -- and the resulting extremism and polarization -- has been channeled into development of a multi-party electoral system, where all parties, including that of the incumbent, are required to hold presidential primary debates.
Importantly, in addition to changing institutions, laws and systems, a cultural shift has occurred. In fact, such a shift was causal to the policy reforms noted above. The turmoil of the 2020s brought about a maturation for much of the populace. Americans realized democracy wasn’t guaranteed. More people educated themselves about civics. We became more honest and humble about our checkered national history.
By 2035 there is a growing cultural identity of America as something more than just a super-consumer society. We share a common goal of genuinely demonstrating that we value and invest in opportunity for all, rather than being just a playground for billionaires and consumption-addicts. We’ve been strengthened by facing an existential threat and holding together. As the living embodiment of a system of democratic self-governance we have acknowledged and learned from the fact that we had made errors and nearly fractured, but instead took necessary and often difficult steps to rebuild and evolve. By doing so this nation has become a beacon of hope and liberty for people across the globe.
Note: I realize the vision components I’ve listed is an incomplete list. I don’t have the depth of knowledge of the Constitution or the deeper aspects of our structure of government to make further recommendations. I just provide this as a jumping off point. I also understand that making these things a reality is the real work but hey, we need a vision before we can create a how-to manual. And by the way, I think that’s exactly what those of us who want a radical shift from our current trajectory need to be doing right now – more on Project 2029 in a future post.
Please share this post with anyone you feel might be interested. Spread the vision. I have made this post available to all free subscribers as well.
No Kings Day National Protest – The Next Big Day of Protest June 14th.
They’ve defied out courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings. No more.
As millions are being spent on a military parade for his birthday, we the people will be taking a stand.
This link provides a map of protests and activities taking place all across the country.
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