Jobs, Justice, and Education for All?

I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but the Left suffering from Beck Envy—not certain who coined that term first—organized a march in DC this past weekend.  Over 300 organizations collaborated on “One Nation Working Together”.  If you visit their website and go to the “Our Mission” page, you’ll encounter a video of Howard Dean saying, “Working together we can ensure that everyone has the opportunity to achieve the American dream—a secure job, a safe home and a quality education.”  Huh?  I wasn’t aware that that was the American dream, were you?  I thought the American dream was one where “…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Maybe Howard just has his Constitutions confused.  You see the 1977 Constitution of the now defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) states:

[Secure Job] Article 40.  Citizens of the USSR have the right to work (that is, to guaranteed employment and pay in accordance with the quantity and quality of their work, and not below the state-established minimum), including the right to choose their trade or profession, type of job and work in accordance with their inclinations, abilities, training and education, with due account of the needs of society.

This right is ensured by the socialist economic system, steady growth of the productive forces, free vocational and professional training, improvement of skills, training in new trades or professions, and development of the systems of vocational guidance and job placement.

[Safe Home] Article 44.  Citizens of the USSR have the rights to housing.

This right is ensured by the development and upkeep of state and socially-owned housing; by assistance for co-operative and individual house building; by fair distribution, under public control, of the housing that becomes available through fulfilment of the programme of building well-appointed dwellings, and by low rents and low charges for utility services.  Citizens of the USSR shall take good care of the housing allocated to them.

 [Quality Education] Article 45.  Citizens of the USSR have the right to education.

This right is ensured by free provision of all forms of education, by the institution of universal, compulsory secondary education, and broad development of vocational, specialised secondary, and higher education, in which instruction is oriented toward practical activity and production; by the development of extramural, correspondence and evening courses, by the provision of state scholarships and grants and privileges for students; by the free issue of school textbooks; by the opportunity to attend a school where teaching is in the native language; and by the provision of facilities for self-education.

 And as an added bonus for Howard, Obamacare:

 [Healthcare] Article 42.  Citizens of the USSR have the right to health protection. This right is ensured by free, qualified medical care provided by state health institutions; by extension of the network of therapeutic and health-building institutions; by the development and improvement of safety and hygiene in industry; by carrying out broad prophylactic measures; by measures to improve the environment; by special care for the health of the rising generation, including prohibition of child labour, excluding the work done by children as part of the school curriculum; and by developing research to prevent and reduce the incidence of disease and ensure citizens a long and active life.

 No wonder the “endorsing organizations” of the event reads like a Who’s Who of Socialism and Marxism—yes, Virginia, there really are such things—including…wait for it…the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).  Yes, we have one of those.  You just have to visit their website and enjoy all the undermining of our youth they are active in.  Where’s Joe McCarthy when you need him.

To critique One Nation’s Mission and Core Policy Principles would take a book—anyone care to advance me on that?—but here are some salient tidbits with my comments appended:

One Nation Working Together

For Jobs, Justice and Education for All

 WHO WE ARE

We are One Nation, born from many, determined to build a more united America – with jobs, justice and education for all. [What happened to truth, justice, and the American Way?]

We are young people, frustrated that society seems willing to spend more locking up our bodies than educating our minds, yet still we find ways to succeed and shine. [I wasn’t aware we were locking up the bodies of young people, although I’m certain there are some parents out there who wish they could to spare them the awful consequences of our morally degrading society.]

 We are students and newly-returned veterans – persevering in the face of mounting debt – determined not to be the first generation to end up worse off than our parents. [And just how do you think we’re going to pay for all the entitlements and unfunded mandates we have and are yet to come if we continue on this course?]

 We are baby boomers and seniors – who saw hope killed in 1968 and will not let the dream of a united America be taken from us again. [While I have great respect for the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, I don’t believe hope died with them in 1968.  And just who exactly is going to take the dream of a united America from us? Certainly not the Alinskyite forces who work to divide us into enclaves in order to garner power?]

 We are the new immigrants, raising our children in the torchlight of the Statue of Liberty, while confronting the shadows that are bigotry and mass deportations. [Wow, I must have missed the last round of mass deportations—doggoned media failing to report the big stories again.]

 We are the native born.  We inherited the divided legacies of settlers and American Indians, black slaves and white and Asian indentured servants. And yet, in this moment of shared suffering, we rejoice in newfound friendships and new alliances. [I’m not sure I get that one at all.]

 We are people who got thrown out – thrown out of our jobs, schools, houses, farms and small businesses – while Wall Street’s wrongdoers got bailed out. We are families who pray every day – for peace and prosperity; for deliverance from foreclosures; for good jobs to come back to urban and rural America. [Who started the bailouts—George W. Bush; and who quadrupled down on them—Barack Obama. Read the Pledge to America if you’re looking for the people that at least have said they will stop this insanity.]

 And yet, we are the majority – fueled by hope, not hate. We have the pride, power and determination to keep ourselves – and our country – moving up and out of the valley greed created. [Not certain what majority they’re talking about since 60.4% of Americans believe we are headed in the wrong direction.  Also, their “valley of greed” has merely morphed into a “trough of largess” which really doesn’t help us out much.]

 And most importantly – from ensuring women are treated fairly at work, to expanding health care coverage for millions– we have been victorious whenever we worked together. We have proven the only thing we need to succeed is each other. [So what they’re really saying is we have to work together to continue to metastasize government if we’re going to succeed—how’s that working for you America?]

 Getting tired?  Yes, I am too, but if we don’t take the time to understand the forces that are arrayed against the vast majority of this center-right Nation, we may find ourselves locked in the jaws of their utopian dream masters tumbling into a maw that has devoured many an empire.  Really, let’s not do as the Romans did.

A few more tidbits of the One Nation Working Together mission statement:

 WHY WE MARCH

 We march for a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. We march for jobs, justice, and education. We march for an economy that works for all.  We march for a nation in which each person who wants to work can find a job that pays enough to support a family. [I think there was an economy that was working for all, it was called capitalism and the free market.  An economy that created more wealth for more people than any Government program ever has or could.  One based on merit, not cronyism.  Perfect, no, but there exists no such system.  It wasn’t until the Government started tinkering with Fannie and Freddie, enabling Wall Street with those mortgage-backed securities to create a large part of this mess.  Read Thomas Sowell’s “The Housing Boom and Bust” if you are courageous enough to face reality.]

 We march to create a million new jobs right away, because the national values that got us out of the Great Depression will get us out of the Great Recession. [Wow, a million new jobs created immediately by who?  Oh yes, more Government, since they are a great job creator.  By the way, those vaunted programs of the Great Depression, many were found to be unconstitutional and the rest didn’t work.  If you dare to dig deeper—Amity Shlaes’ “The Forgotten Man” and Burt Folsom’s “New Deal, Raw Deal”]

 We march to build a world-class public education system, from pre-school to community college and beyond – because our nation must start unleashing the greatness of every child today. [Oh yes, with a system that, in many cases, doesn’t graduate 50% of its entering freshmen.  Can you say Detroit?  Sure you can.  If you want to unleash children, then let’s start by unchaining them from a Public School system that has failed.  Vouchers anyone?]

 We march to end racial profiling and re-segregation – from Arizona to Atlanta. We march to defend the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment.  We march to advance human rights, civil rights, equal protection, and dignity for all. [There you go again; accusing Arizona of something even the Obama Justice Department has not.  Now who’s practicing deception?]

 And on and on it goes.

Near Dean’s closing in the video he states, “We will reorder our nations priorities to invest in our most valuable resource—our people.”  I really wish someone would tell Howard that the American people would much rather reorder our nation along Constitutional lines and leave the prioritizing of our lives to us.  Where we keep our own hard earned money and invest it in whatever we choose to.  You know that liberty thing, where We the People pursue happiness—just a thought.

Update 10/4/2010:  As Publius states at BigGovernment.com, “Sometimes a picture is worth more than 1,000 words. [Photos from] Milton Wolf.com:”

1 Television/Radio Host (Glenn Beck) asks Americans to meet him in DC to Restore Honor on August 28, 2010

300 Leftist Organizations, in some cases requiring members to attend, at the One Nation Rally

Our numbers are greater, our passion more fervent, our hope is invigorated and our faith undeterred, because Now is our time!  Now is our moment!  Let us stand together and band together to renew America. For victory can be ours, will be ours.  Oh, yes we can!

Copyright 2010 Julie Schmidt.