It seems incredible that it's only been a week since last Tuesday! Somehow, in just that short period, COVID-19 has grown from a concerning contagion, to a full blown pandemic. Businesses, and schools are shutting down, supplies are flying off the shelves, and those fortunate enough to have the resources to do so, are hunkering down, hoping to slow the rapid spread of the virus. During times of crisis like this, we are often scared, and feel impetus to look out for ourselves first, and let others worry about their own well being, but it is important to remember that no matter how alone we feel, we are in this together as a community. In fact, that sense of community and collective care is more important than ever to hold onto during these dark times. Many of us are participating in a self imposed quarantine in an attempt to "flatten the curve," but just because we are trapped inside, doesn't mean the fight for a representative democracy goes on hold! It is unclear at this point, if the primaries will continue as planned this spring, but even if we can't go out and vote their is still plenty of work to do! As we've discussed many times before, voting is not the end of our responsibility as citizens in a democracy, but the beginning! Talk to your friends, post online, and try to spend some of your time phonebanking!. If you're already involved, fantastic, and if you haven't gotten in off the sidelines yet, now's the moment to give it a shot! Trust us, getting involved feels great and empowering, and could just save your sanity! No matter how the response to this pandemic evolves over the next few weeks/months, it will be as vitally important as ever to keep building our power and bending the resources of government towards support of the people. The system of money and special interests corrupting our politics, rendering even the rare good-hearted politician ineffectual is exposed most clearly during moments of panic. To take on that powerful system, and make sure that our government mobilizes to work for the people, it will take a diverse, pro-democracy movement of commensurate size and economic power to counteract the forces of oligarchy with Trump at their head, both during the election, and the day after! Together, we can make sure history records this decade as the age when everyday people took back political power! Below, we will continue to highlight unrepresentative decisions taken by our supposedly representative democracy. Unrepresentative Policy of the Week: COVID-19 and Government Priorities
During times of crisis, one gets a true sense of the priorities of those we entrust with power an authority. The response of our government over the past week has been illuminating, and revealed once again the complete disconnect between those on top and the rest of us. As COVID-19 has spread inexorably across the United States, we have been subjected not just to lack of proper testing and preparedness, but a terrifying and demoralizing campaign of misinformation by the federal government, meant to obscure the true extent of the crisis, and allay the fears of stock brokers and business people. Clearly, with the stock market in free fall multiple days in a row, and growing panic among all classes of society, this effort has failed. What came next, however, was the most stark example of callous, oligarchy yet displayed by our institutions. The challenges America faces in fighting disease outbreaks are unique in the developed world, because we are the only country not to have a universal healthcare system in place. The Trump administration could have used this moment of failure to improve our system, and protect the citizenry, by reassessing our broken healthcare administration and directing resources en-masse towards healthcare, or at least by listening to health professionals. Instead, the government has once again reached for fiscal policy and corporate bails of the financial system to the tune of $1.5 Trillion! Actions like this are absurd from a medical perspective, and they are also wildly out of step with what the American people think the government should be striving for. By overwhelming numbers, the American people want the government to look out for the average citizen, not just the wealthy and privileged. This sentiment is trebled during times of crisis. The failure of our government to act in even such dire circumstances, other than giving money to those with more than they know what to do with, demonstrates with startling clarity just how widespread the subversion of democracy has grown. What's more, the speed with which such funds were mobilized for the least needy among us, puts a lie to the claim that the popular programs advocated for by DSOT and the American people are too expensive, or can't be done! Rather, there is no interest from the political elite to pursue such policy when they, themselves aren't feeling the squeeze. We must call out this despicable cruelty and apathy for what it is, and bring democratic representation back to America! To do that we will need to put pressure on all our representatives through a broad and enduring movement of people, demanding change. Don’t miss this chance to change our country for the better. Join us every Tuesday, in growing solidarity and power until we take back our democracy from amoral special interests, and greedy politicians: Don't Shop on Tuesdays! ________________________________________________ Let friends and families, let them know about this growing movement, and how they can help us take back our democracy if they Don't Shop on Tuesdays! Send their email address to boycottforourdemocracy@gmail.com
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