Namaste, Trump
Dear Mr. President,
The Phoenix Congress has an offer for you. We’re unionizing the electorate — the marginalized millions — and are willing to negotiate a four-year extension of your presidency. We’re writing a legislative package, the Blueprint for a Better America, which will end poverty, end mass incarceration, and end the endless wars. Will you accept our terms and build our blueprint?
Covid-19 was the match that set our social contract ablaze and disrupted the life of every single American. Tens of millions have been thrown out of work, but like a phoenix, America society will be reborn anew, just as it was after the Declaration of Independence, the abolition of slavery, and the New Deal.
The Blueprint for a Better America is based on addressing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s three evils of poverty, racism, and militarism:
With most Americans feeling economic insecurity, it is time for universal basic income, styled as a jobs program. Everyone gets an American Union Job, paying $300 per week for adults, and $100 per week for children. This income is unconditional — no one can be fired from an American Union Job any more than they can be fired as an American — and will serve a regular reminder of our duties, as Americans, to each other. Each American Union Job includes a public option for health insurance. Covid-19 has demonstrated the absurdity of linking employment and healthcare; we can do better in the 21st century.
The Blueprint for a Better America will also end mass incarceration. Our first duty in the Constitution is to establish justice, and we are failing when we have the highest per capita incarceration rates in the world. Thank you for signing the First Step Act into law, but there are many more steps to take as long as millions of Americans remain behind bars, or discriminated against by what has been described as The New Jim Crow. “America is a nation that believes in redemption,” you’ve said, and we can show that in 2020.
Mr. President, many peace advocates were afraid that your election would lead to new and escalating wars. Your first term in office has exceeded expectations in this regard; thank you for your willingness to engage in diplomatic talks with North Korea, and for your promises to end the endless wars. With a mandate from the American Union, you can further reduce our role on the global stage, as many believe you want to do. It’s time to bring the troops home; celebrations for our soldiers’ return could certainly include a grand parade.
These are the main planks of our legislative package, which we will negotiate on behalf of members of the American Union. Our swing votes will elect and reelect Republican and Democrats, based solely on prompt enactment of this legislation. Members of the American Union take three vows as a sign of sincerity, solidarity, and commitment to this moral crusade addressing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s triple evils. We vow to abstain from alcohol for 30 days, to participate in a monthly fast, and to walk 50 miles in our communities before election day. These shared self-sacrifices bind us together; we work to make America better, starting with ourselves.
When Mohandas Gandhi was your age, Mr. President, he embarked on a three-week fast, after the British had imprisoned him without charges for six months. Few expected him to survive for 21 days without food, but he did. We invite you to join us in our monthly fast for peace, any 24-hour period without food, only water, that is mostly on the 15th the month. Our shared self-sacrifice authenticates our commitment to the five duties of Americans: establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, for ourselves and our posterity.
On August 1, the Phoenix Congress will publish the details of our legislative package as an opening offer. After listening to concerns, the Phoenix Congress will release the final version of our legislation three weeks before the October 15th fast for peace, allowing suitable time for all to examine the specifics of ending poverty, ending mass incarceration, and ending the endless wars.
All Americans — especially the candidates for office — who will pledge their votes to enactment can join the fast for peace, after which, the slate of American Union endorsements will be released. As the incumbent, Mr. President, you have the right of first refusal on what will be a take-it-or-leave-it offer.
After organizing a similar fast, Gandhi said, “No country has ever risen, no nation has ever been made without sacrifice, and we are trying an experiment of building up ourselves by self-sacrifice without resorting to violence in any shape or form.” If you join the fast for peace on Thursday, October 15, and accept our final offer, Mr. President, we will expect you to sign the Blueprint for a Better America into law by October 30th.
In exchange, we will reelect you, so that Donald Trump will go down in history as the President who:
- Brought our troops home, and ended the endless wars,
- Removed the moral stain of mass incarceration from our nation, and
- Created 300 million American Union Jobs, with benefits.
This is the Blueprint for a Better America. On October 15, 2020, everyone will be watching you. Will you fast for peace?
Namaste,
The Phoenix Congress
Learn more about the Phoenix Congress and the Blueprint for a Better America on our website, https://phoenixcongress2020.com/
Apply to join the American Union here. American citizens only.
