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    United States Cultural Piece
    United States Cultural Piece
    United States Cultural Piece
    Ebook79 pages1 hour

    United States Cultural Piece

    By Richard A. Baraka

    ()

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    The concentration of wealth and power, held in the hands of a few, has influenced the political landscape of America since its inception. Today, the campaign financing of the political elites consistently ensures the agenda of the ruling class takes precedent over the will of the masses. United States Cultural Piece explores how this impacts America not only politically, but economically and morally—while explaining how the spirit of the everyday American has historically led to grassroots movements to infuse humanity into our laws and practices, with the goal of putting people and the environment over profits and corporate power. Only when we legislate with the intent to protect our people, rather than to increase the profits of a few, do Freedom, equality and justice for all become a reality for all Americans.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateDec 1, 2017
    ISBN9781543918755
    United States Cultural Piece

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      United States Cultural Piece - Richard A. Baraka

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      I have been taught to be a proud American since I was a child. My parents, grandparents, and extended family always expressed a great love for country even when they were critiquing systemic injustice and expressing solutions in a passionate way. America has given me opportunities to have a career I love as well as parlay that career into a successful business. The freedoms we have in this country come with responsibility; if taken for granted, we will lose them. The high concentration of money and power held in the hands of a few Americans threaten the very freedom of the masses. The United States Cultural Piece was written out of a need to understand the framework upon which America operates. My educational background was solid, but history classes and even social studies never could adequately explain the dynamics of the present. The inequities between the rich, middle class, and poor were obvious to see but inexplicable. The missing ingredient was the Cultural Piece. I began to notice how my educational experience omitted this important dynamic that explained how the ideals of the American Way and the conflicting practices of legislative decisions in the past resulted in our current experience in America. Researching the United States Cultural Piece helped me to understand how the framework for America connects the dots with history, economics, social studies, and our present state of affairs. Americans will be able to read this book and understand our country in a way that makes our current issues—the good and not so good—make sense. As a result, Americans will be more cognizant about how the Cultural Piece impacts their thought process and be able to make informed decisions that support the ideals of the American Way. The goal of understanding the United States Cultural Piece is to transform the ideals of the founding fathers into practices and legislation to promote a stronger America for future generations. The decisions that were made in the past brought us to our present, and the decisions we make now will inevitably impact future generations.

      I want to take a moment to dedicate this book to my family. I owe the foundation of my spiritual beliefs to my grandparents who were farmers and taught me the value of a strong work ethic and to see the good in everyone. My beautiful wife and son inspire me every day and remind me how blessed I am to have them in my life. My mom, who is the closest thing to God that I know, and to my Dad, a true renaissance man, WWII veteran, and Tuskegee Airman whose values of God, family, and love of country remind me to never take my freedoms for granted. To my sister, who has always set high standards of excellence for herself and somehow manages to consistently exceed them, she is my hero. I also want to dedicate this book to the American family and say I am humbled and proud to call you my countrymen. E PLURIBUS UNUM!

      "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States . . . "

      Our federal government was built on an established foundation of law. The humanity, freedom, and protections for Americans are all infused in the United States Constitution. However, the addition of numerous departments and agencies over time has expanded the government into a massive bureaucracy that far exceeds its constitutional limits. Furthermore, elected officials routinely overstep constitutional powers and pass legislation that violates civil liberties. Unethical capitalism, allowing the purchasing of elections, compromises democracy and ensures the agenda of the few takes precedence over the best interest of the people. Politicians routinely put partisan politics over the will of the people. Transgressions of the Constitution have undermined the integrity of our government. As a result, the sophisticated genius of the ideals of the Constitution is being compromised and, as a result, so is the freedom of the American people.

      The Ideals of the American Way Uphold the Constitution: Without strict adherence to the spirit and letter of the supreme law of the land, our government is prone to corruption. No person—regardless of position or power—should ever be above the law, nor should any person promote legislation that violates the Constitution, putting civil liberties and environmental justice at risk. Electing law-abiding representatives with integrity is paramount to an enduring democracy.

      A Strong Democracy Strengthens Constitutional Government: The Articles of the Constitution specify responsibilities and enumerate powers of the three branches of federal government. Since the founding of our nation, power has incrementally become more centralized in the federal government. Federal government and the political elites have been lobbied to only serve the will of the oligarchs, ignoring the will and interests of the American people. Our current government exceeds its constitutional limits of authority and scope of jurisdiction. The Tenth Amendment stipulates that all powers not constitutionally delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states and people. Transferring power back to the people and empowering local governance will sustain democracy and ensure liberty, justice, and equality for all.

      The Primary Principle of the American Way Is to Protect Civil Liberties of All Americans: The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that 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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." It is not the prerogative of government to grant or revoke human rights—they are innate and inalienable—but rather

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