William John Cox a Political Philosophy
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A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Sam: Not since Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged has a political philosophy been so strongly presented by fictional characters. Sam—a far more optimistic view of the human condition—illuminates an enlightened path A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY to the stars and beyond. Sam, a homeless veteran, bites off and swallows a finger every day to dramatically demonstrate his abhorrence of war and the idiots who glorify it. His ordeal goes viral as it is covered by a political columnist, who reports the mutilations and what Sam has to say each day about war, government, and corrupt officials. Sam Aided by Aileana, a retired Navy nurse who cares for Sam, they write a social and political philosophy covering a wide range of issues, about which Sam offers a depth of wisdom from “outside the box.” The writing collaboration becomes a love story, as Sam and Aileana marry and strive together to make the world a better place for their daughter and all those who share it. WILLIAM JOHN COX WILLIAM JOHN COX Sam Sam A Political Philosophy W ILLIAM J OHN C OX ALSO BY WILLIAM JOHN COX Hello: We Speak the Truth Copyright © 2015 William John Cox You’re Not Stupid! Get the Truth: A Brief on the Bush Presidency All Rights Reserved. Mitt Romney and the Mormon Church: Questions No part of this publication can be reproduced or Target Iran: Drawing Red Lines in the Sand transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, The Holocaust Case: Defeat of Denial without permission in writing from William John Cox, The Book of Mindkind: A Philosophy for the New Millennium who asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work. Transforming America: A Voters’ Bill of Rights An Essential History of China: Why it Matters to Americans Mindkind Publications Millennial Math & Physics www.mindkind.info Portions previously published as articles and electronically as The Man Who Ate His Fingers: War & Justice. ISBN 978-0-9857850-6-2 Copyright © 2012 William John Cox Chapters on Money Matters and Free Enterprise drawn from same source documents by author as similar chapters in Transforming America. Cover painting by Helen Werner Cox www.helenwernercox.com Author photograph by Catherine Diane Frost ISBN: 0985785071 ISBN 9780985785079 Contents Names · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · xv Sam’s Ordeal ··········································1 The First Day ·······································7 The Second Day ·····································8 The Third Day ······································9 The Fourth Day ····································11 The Fifth Day ·····································13 The Weekend ······································14 The Sixth Day ·····································15 The Seventh Day ···································16 The Eighth Day ····································18 The Ninth Day ····································19 The Tenth Day ·····································22 Recovery · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 25 Sam’s Mental Health ································26 A New Home ······································28 Sam’s Philosophy ······································31 A Nurturing Society ····································37 What Happened to the American Dream? ················38 The Way of Women ····································58 Outlaw War ··········································77 The Stupidity of War ································78 The War in Iraq ····································82 Preemptive War ····································88 Political Censorship ································207 Nuclear Weapons ···································91 Advertising Inherently Harmful Products and Services ·····209 Military Industrial Complex ··························98 Internet Neutrality ································· 211 Military Mercenaries ·······························103 Hope for Change ·····································213 Outlaw War ······································105 Money Matters ·······································218 A Safe, Just, and Civil Society ··························· 117 What is Money? ···································221 A Government of Laws and Not of Men ················126 A Brief History of American Finance ···················222 The Disease of Crime ·······························132 The Great Depression· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 226 Militarization of the Police ···························135 Banking Reform and Regulation ······················227 Gun Control ·····································137 Deregulation ·····································231 Peers For Peace ····································142 Aftermath of Deregulation· · · · · · · · · · · · · · 233 The Exclusionary Rule ······························143 The Economic Casino ······························235 Voluntary Confessions and Eyewitness Identifications ······144 The First Failures ··································238 The Death Penalty ·································147 Black September 2008 ······························240 The War on Drugs ·································150 Recovery · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 244 Criminalization in a Punitive Society ··················· 155 State Banks ······································248 Prison Reform ····································157 A National Bank ··································249 Juvenile Justice ····································164 Student Loans ····································252 Life or Death ·····································165 Reasonable Regulation and Transparency· · · · · · · · ·253 Rehabilitating Corrections ···························166 Free Enterprise ·······································254 Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders ···················170 Capitalism · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 258 Private Prisons ····································173 Corporate Power ··································259 Martial Law and Concentration Camps ·················176 Industrialization and Labor ··························262 Big Brother is Watching· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 181 The Dangers of Globalization ························267 What Can Be Done? ·······························186 A Smart and Simple Tax ································271 The Most Valuable Rights ······························189 Historical Background ······························271 Freedom of Speech ·································192 Replacing the Income Tax ···························274 Freedom of Religion ································194 Should Taxation Be Used to Redistribute Income?· · · · · 279 Freedom of the Press ·······························202 Tax Fraud and Cheating ·····························281 The Illiberal Media ································203 Paying Our Dues ··································283 Freedom of Information ·····························205 A Political Evolution ···································285 State Secrets Privilege ·······························207 A National Policy Referendum ························288 Electing the President by Write-In Ballot ················291 Voterism · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 298 A Peaceful Political Evolution ·························299 Managing the Presidency ·······························302 Publication and Transition ······························ 311 Health Care ·········································316 Energy and Transportation ······························323 Transportation ····································324 Energy · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 327 Education · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 330 Social Security and Retirement ···························336 Social Security ····································337 A National Retirement System ························340 The Election of 2012 ··································345 The Power of Voting ··································352 Sam The Passage ·········································359 is an entirely fact-based political philosophy Epilogue · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 367 narrated by fictional and real-life characters. Author’s Note ········································369 The United States Voters’ Rights Amendment (USVRA) ·······375 Dedication For Joe and David, who shared the dream, but lived not to see the dawn. Names My father was Samuel Hubert Cox, Who taught me to read; His grandfather was Samuel Hampton Cox, Who rode with Terry’s Texas Rangers in the Civil War; His grandfather was Samuel Cox III, Whose father was Samuel Cox II, Who, though of the Quaker faith, fought in the Revolutionary War; and Whose father, Samuel Cox I, disowned him for doing so. The prophet Samuel, whose Hebrew name means “Name of God,” Was dedicated by his mother at birth as a Nazirite, and Whose deeds, as the last of the Old Testament judges, are also recorded in the Noble Qur’an. SAM’S ORDEAL can’t recall the first time I met Sam. I’d seen him around the Times I building for the past ten years or so, and from time to time when he would see me on the street, he’d tell me one of my columns “was a good one.” Sam