GORE: Should We Teach Schoolchildren That "WE USED TO BE A DEMOCRACY-BUT NOW ONLY PRETEND TO BE"?

[kpete]

GORE: Should We Amend Textbooks To Read "THAT WE USED TO BE A DEMOCRACY-BUT NOW ONLY PRETEND TO BE"?

The question before us could be of no greater moment. Will we continue to live as a people under the rule of law as embodied in our Constitution? Or will we fail future future generations by leaving them a Constitution far diminished from the charter of liberty we have inherited from our forebears? Our choice is clear.

.......................

Should we amend all of the textbooks in America to explain to schoolchildren that what has been taught for more than two centuries about checks and balances is no longer valid? Should we teach them instead that the United States Congress and the courts are merely advisory groups that make suggestions to the president on what the law should be, but that the president is all-powerful and now has the final say on everything? Should we teach them that we are a government of men, not of laws? Should we teach them that we used to be a democracy but now we only pretend to be?

The words above are from a chapter entitled "Democracy in the Balance." They appear on p. 226 of Al Gore's new book The Assault on Reason

From pp. 112-113 a passage that cuts to the heart of the matter:

Is it possible that Bush and Cheney truly believed the false assertions they foisted on the American people and our allies? Leonardo da Vinci once wrote, "The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." And investigative journalist I. F. Stone wrote in A Time of Torment: "All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out." If Bush and Cheney actually believe in the linkage that they assert in spite of all the evidence to the contrary presented to them contemporaneously - that would would by itself make them genuinely unfit to lead our nation. On the other hand, if they knew the truth and lied, massively and repeatedly, isn't that worse? Are they too gullible or too dishonest?

pages 221-22 from the chapter "Democracy in the Balance":

President Bush has repeatedly violated the law for six years. In spite of the fact that the only judicial decision to have reached the question of legality has ruled comprehensively against the president's massive and warrantless surveillance program, both the Justice Department and the Congress have failed to take any action to enforce the law. There has been no request for a special prosecutor, and there has been no investigation by the FBI. There has been deafening silence. But the consequences to our democracy of silently ignoring serious and repeated violations of the law by the president of the United States are extremely serious.



much more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/27/601/45594

[Solly Mack]

1. They're criminal

"Are they too gullible or too dishonest? "

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. They are dishonestly pretending to be gullible.

"Wilful failure to know."

[Solly Mack]

4. Yes...to deflect from the fact that they are criminal

[klyon]

32. How could they have possible known someone would fly planes

into buildings? How could they know Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction? How could we have known depleted uranium would pollute? George is only god's representative on earth.

[indepat]

9. They're a vast RW criminal conspiracy whose criminality is wrapped in almost every action or policy

[Grandrose]

2. A change MUST come!!

:kick: and recommend.

[Toots]

5. Hasn't he heard 9-11 changed everything

America used to be "Home of the Brave" but 9-11 changed that. America used to be a country of "Law and Order" but 9-11 changed that.

[L. Coyote]

7. The Kennedy-King assassinations changed everything. Democracy died too.

When assassins control who still stands in a democracy, democracy dies with the fallen.

[IndyOp]

6. On going DU discussion on "The Assault on Reason" over here...

THE ASSAULT ON REASON discussion thread... Join In!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=260x1003

:kick:

[kiteinthewind]

8. Thank you, kpete! This is so to the point and truthful! I can't wait to get the book!

:patriot:

[blm]

10. This is exactly why we cannot have more of the same of the last 30 years -

we need an INFORMED citizenry, not a SNOOKERED citizenry.

Open the books on BushInc at long last - ALL of it. No more coverup administrations from GOPs OR Democrats.

I so appreciate Gore's efforts to tell the public they haven't been getting any of the information they have needed.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/051006.html

[lovuian]

11. Yes its stupid to teach this in schools if its not true

propoganda for the masses

[LWolf]

12. Wow.

That makes me actually want to read his book.

Don't mistake me; I like and respect Gore, and appreciate his work since the 2000 selection.

It's just that I don't enjoy reading political books. When I read, I want to be informed, uplifted, entertained. I want to be immersed in good, in beauty, in the best and highest people aspire to. I don't find that in politics.

That quote alone makes me wonder: how much do I really know about Al Gore? How much has he grown and changed since the Clinton administration?

It also confirms for me that he will not run in '08. That's too much clarity, too much unadulterated truth, un-white-washed reality, for a "mainstream" candidate. Too much like what those who aren't pandering for campaign dollars and endorsements by tptb are able to say, nothing like what we hear from the so-called "electable" top tier.

That small segment also strikes a professional chord. The Democratic Party has been complicit, and even co-authors of, the professional nightmare I call NCLB. The legislation that, behind the noble goal of "closing the achievement gap," forces curriculum and instructional methodologies down our professional throats that will turn out obedient, non-thinking, rote workers from public school.

From a professional perspective, I see that statement about what we are teaching children to be too close to reality.

[Raksha]

33. He's the un-candidate. It's NOT politics as usual with Al Gore.

And that's why many of us so desperately want him to run. HOPE has become a very scarce commodity in this country, and I don't we can survive another professional politician. The country is just too seriously wounded for that.

It also confirms for me that he will not run in '08. That's too much clarity, too much unadulterated truth, un-white-washed reality, for a "mainstream" candidate. Too much like what those who aren't pandering for campaign dollars and endorsements by tptb are able to say, nothing like what we hear from the so-called "electable" top tier.

Al Gore is the only possible candidate who actually gives me hope. I don't get that from the "electable" top tier you mentioned. I'm about halfway through The Assault on Reason and it's amazing. There is that amazing clarity and consistent moral vision on every page, quite a contrast with the so-called "leadership" we have now.

[Hubert Flottz]

13. This is why we need Al in front of every camera he can get in front of

Campaigning.

[wryter2000]

15. Amen

And we need him to run for President.

[midnight]

23. So, are you saying that Al Gore is campainging?

It sure would be nice to re-elect him.

[blondeatlast]

14. My 10 year old is quite politically aware. I tread carefully as I discuss

the issue.

I want him to believe in his nation and its promise, but I also want hiom to understand that things are not the same as they were when I was growing up. Sometimes, my heart just really breaks when we discuss issues (that HE has brought up).

I think that those of us who are politically aware need to teach them that the Constitution is a truly great thing, that the foundations of this nation make it truly a model for the world, but that right now, the power of the government must be controlled and has gotten out of hand.

[G_Leo_Criley]

17. the truth

What you are telling your child is profound and respectful while still making him aware of the present realities. You are teaching him the truth.

glc

[ozymandius]

22. One more lesson:

This nation's history is marked by a pendulum that swings from times when our basic Constitutional values are imperiled and those when a Great Correction takes place. We may thank the Bush administration for one thing: providing the catalyst that begot the net roots. Information travels more fluidly than it did in the past. And as such - retribution against those who threaten the integrity of our democratic fabric is swift.

Radioactivity of a certain evil individual is no longer limited by a news cycle. The memory of the net is long. Probably permanent.

Such is the case of our informational connectivity: our representatives can easily feel the burden of their constituency's online voice. That's where your 10 year-old comes in. There's still something of a Wild West aspect to the internet. As sophisticated as it is, there's still something as basic about it that arms even a 10 year-old with a megaphone.

[G_Leo_Criley]

16. I believe that Al should run

Don't know whether he will run but... having seen him on Letterman and on Book TV last night... This is the man who can begin the process of healing this country. This is the one who can begin the honest dialogue about what has happened to this country, because he too was also swept along in it by having the Presidency stolen from him.

There are two ways to come back from that: One is to be really righteously pissed off and doesn't lead to the best outcome. The other is to be very much an instrument of peace and healing that is so desperately needed in this country. We need to have a conversation about what has been done to this country and its basic values and how to find our way back to our moral center.

We can't recover from the * years without honesty about what has really happened, and Al Gore is being honest for sure. The questions he asks go right to the heart of what has happened in this country that has been led so far astray.

Thoughtful, creative, real: Al Gore

glc

ps -- Gore is on with Harry Shearer right now again, on CSPAN 2, (Book TV)

[RestoreGore]

18. So then, like An Inconvenient Truth, what actions will be taken after reading this book?

Is it just a vehicle for discussion now to push Mr. Gore to run in this system that will deny him access and to get on recommended lists on blogs, or are people actually intending to stand up to the process that has poisoned this country for decades and finally REALLY change it from the bottom up? Of course, I suppose the question before that should be, can it be changed at this point? To me it seems that people like to do an awful lot of talking, but when you start to discuss action people shut down.

Bush and his henchmen have committed crimes against this Constitution and this country and according to the remedy our founders wrote into that Constitution so many like to quote, must be impeached. However, I believe they will escape accountability as they have for the last seven years, that I am sure of based on the past seven years. So what will really come from all of this? Is this book to be forgotten in a few months time once the discussion of it has faded? It is actually downright depressing to read the reality of what we have done to this country. It is not only a striking indictment of the Bush regime but it is a striking indictment of all of us who have sat silent these past years expecting it to either go away or expecting that someone else would save us, and an indictment of the very processes that guide how we live.

Now, in order to truly bring about what our founders believed in we will have to literally pull the walls of this entire status quo system down and show the corroded side of it to the light of day ... in other words, start all over again no holds barred, and I don't think that is going to happen now. I'm sorry, but I don't have faith that people on the whole in this country nor our socalled representatives who have sold us out on both sides time and time again are going to be doing that anytime soon. So while I believe dialogue on this must take place, as with the climate crisis, the democracy crisis won't be solved until people move from the talking phase to the action phase, and honestly, I'm getting tired of just talk. Should Bush and his henchmen continue their ideological assault on this country and now attack Iran or go elsewhere with the power we ceded to them or do anything beyond what they have already done because they do not fear accountabilty because they never had to deal with it because we are too afraid to deal it to them, what will come of that? More talk? More cessation of our rights? More funds to fight a war in Iran? Where does it end?

[cassiepriam]

19. That is what I tell my child. It is the truth.

[otohara]

20. Hard to be PATRIOTIC Knowing Our Govt. Could Care Less What WE WANT

Everything I was taught or thought about what it means to be a citizen in these United States no longer exists. Freedom, liberty, created equal, democracy, one vote, admired around the world. Nada, we got nothing thanks to George W. Bush, the worst president ever and 6 years of rubber-stamping bad policy after bad policy. Last but not least, we have the most fucked up media and instead of getting better, it's actually getting worse by the day.

We noticed today, there are no flags flying around the city to mark the holiday - are people becoming less patriotic because they suspect the same thing?

[ozymandius]

21. IF Gore runs...

There's no question that he would be elected President.

He has levied the bar very high for the legal ramifications that would ensue with the previous administration. How hard I wonder would a President Gore work to reign in the executive overreach exemplified by Bush/Cheney?

[northofdenali]

24. Bought book yesterday. Watched videos today,.

He was my President in 2000. He's my President today.

Whoever gets the nomination will have my support. But President Gore? 5000%. I'll drive, fly, swim, beg, borrow, steal - whatever it takes.

This man is the HERO we need.

[Hulk]

25. We might as well do a LOT of amending of history books...

..if we really want the young to know our history. We've done a sweet job of making it all "Sesame Street BS" for the most part. Then again, not sure you want to get into the corruption and meddling that we are responsible for around the world with a elementary school child. I'm not sure when they will be ready to hear the truth. After all, there are LOTS of adults who aren't ready to hear the truth.

[Hulk]

26. Corporation greed has infected this country beyond repair...

Statement speaks for itself. It's ALWAYS been about profits and mineral rights...now it's oil. Same thing. Started as gold and silver, then went to minerals necessary for components to factory goods, and most recently it's all be about oil rights (and revenues). We all smile when we see our 401K or IRA growth each quarter, and the oil companies are paying the HIGH dividends these days.

[uberllama42]

38. By the time you hit high school

people need to stop protecting you from the truth. If they keep feeding you pious and comforting lies, you'll never grow up. That's how a lot of people in this country are today.

[MN ChimpH8R]

27. I'm aboout 80-90 pages in to "The Assault on Reason"

and I am already convinced that this is one of the most important books of the last twenty-five years. Gore brilliantly addresses the fundamental problem of this country - that the masses simply no longer use reason. Magical thinking by the masses is the result of the last two-plus decades of Repig rule in whole or in part. The question Lenin asked screams out of our current societal context: "What is to be done?" Gore has profound ideas that answer this question.

On my knees, I beg you, Mr. Gore, please run for the presidency.

[Phredicles]

28. No. We have never been a democracy,

and we never will be until we dump the electoral college and eradicate the role of big money in elections.

[greyghost]

30. Time to cut to the chase...

and do EXACTLY that.

The Electoral College was outdated as soon as radio was invented. However, both parties have used it to steal close elections.

The Corporate States of America will continue as long as we don't DEMAND reform.

[uberllama42]

37. The EC was a stop-gap compromise, like a fair number of other Constitutional measures

It was thought that only one or two of the first 20 presidential elections would be decided without the intervention of the House. Very few people actually expected the Electoral College to actually determine elections even with the efficacy it has. They expected that the system would be abandoned relatively soon after the ratification of the Constitution.

I agree that modern communication has rendered even the concerns which originally justified the EC obsolete.

[wageslave71]

34. Agreed

We don't have a democracy when the popular vote is trumped by the electoral vote. I may have missed something, but I am not aware of any political figure proposing to remedy this shortcoming. I find it odd that it hasn't been made a priority.

[Senator]

29. Yes, Teach The Truth. And Teach That The Pretense Began With Al Gore's Failure To Lead

That he capitulated to the edict of BushvGore instead of following the REASONed instruction in Justice Breyer's dissent on how to defend the Constitution, even in that dire situation.

And sadly, we must also teach that he continues to fail us.

Is it possible that Gore truly believes the assertions that bushcheney are "genuinely unfit to lead our nation ... {or} worse," that they "violated the law for six years," and that the "consequences to our democracy ... are extremely serious" --- and yet HE STILL CANNOT SAY THE WORD IMPEACHMENT ??!!??

Could someone please send me some of the hashish he's been smoking?

---

[Hekate]

31. Preach it, Big Al! Hugs to you and Tipper!

:loveya:

Hekate

[Kolesar]

35. Our democracy was not complete until the Freedom of Information Act & Privacy Act of 1974

(Wikipedia tells me the FOIA was 1966.) And certainly, we did not have a democracy until after the Civil Rights movement removed discrimination and restored voting rights to all Americans.

As for the date when our democracy ended? 9/11/2001 when Bin Laden knew that we would destroy our society with a militarist, statist regime. Our rights fell with the "Patriot Act" and the capitulation of the free press to the message of their corporate masters.

[uberllama42]

36. We were a democracy?

When was this? The public has never had a direct say in the way policy is written in the U.S. The Constitution was written by wealthy businessmen for wealthy businessmen. Only men with a significant amount of real estate in their names had the right to vote. Alexander Hamilton, as the first Secretary of the Treasury, pushed laws through Congress creating a protective relationship between the government and Big Business. He knew where the real power was, and wanted it to be allied with the fledgling government.

The government in the United States has almost without exception favored the interests of Big Business at the expense of the people. The system rightfully mourned by Gore was never the entire apparatus of control in this country. While the efforts of the Bush Administration to warp and corrupt our system are condemnable, Gore's objections assume that before this sad saga began with the theft of his presidency that the public had real political efficacy. In most cases, this was not true.

Gore has certainly highlighted a serious problem and expounded eloquently about it, but there is a lot more work for us to do in reforming our system than restoring the rule of law and reimposing checks and balances. We need to break the hold that corporate interests have on public policy and policymakers.