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Broken Strings, Missing Notes

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Broken Strings, Missing Notes Broken Strings, Missing Notes ...strengthening democracy and seeking justice in a nation out of tune by Larry J. Eriksson Revised PDF file edition: July, 2017 (with corrections) Originally published: 2005 Quarter Section Press Madison, Wisconsin, USA 2 The statements in this book are the opinions of the author based on his personal research and experiences. Any quotation of up to 500 words may be used without permission, provided that it properly cites this book, author, and publisher. The total number of words quoted may not exceed 2,000. PDF file edition: Copyright © 2017 by Larry J. Eriksson Original published edition: Copyright © 2005 by Larry J. Eriksson All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Printed on acid free paper. The text is set in 11-point Times New Roman font. ISBN 0-9721875-1-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2005905345 Quarter Section Press a unit of Eriksson Research, LLC 6105 Fairfax Lane Madison, WI 53718-8262 U.S.A. [email protected] www.quartersectionpress.com 3 About the author Larry J. Eriksson is a consultant and writer residing with his wife, Karen, in Madison, Wisconsin. He has served as an engineer, manager, officer, and director at various corporations and is the author of Business Decisions: the impact of corporate mergers and global capitalism on our lives. He received a B.S.E.E. from Northwestern University, an M.S.E.E. from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Dr. Eriksson is a member of Madison Area Business Consultants, Advent Lutheran Church, and the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. In addition to practicing his violin, he enjoys swimming, biking, and golfing. About the publisher Quarter Section Press, a unit of Eriksson Research, LLC, publishes books with a special emphasis on themes related to building a more sustainable, just, and humane world. Its name recalls the 160 acres or quarter section that comprised the typical small, family farm in the years following the Homestead Act of 1862. 4 an overview of... Broken Strings, Missing Notes We live in a nation that is out of tune. The gap between the rich and poor grows ever larger, our critical energy and environmental problems receive little attention, and our country no longer plays a leadership role in seeking global peace and justice. An oligarchy of ideological extremists and religious legalists, operating behind closed doors, threatens our fundamental democratic rights and individual liberties. Exploiting fear and religious differences, it embraces militarism and global capitalism in its pursuit of power and money. Its agenda is inconsistent with the views of not only most Democrats, but also many Republicans. Broken Strings, Missing Notes challenges this oligarchy and its underlying premises of privatization, deregulation, and legalistic moralism. This book presents a vision for the renewal of our nation based on the continued strength and broad acceptance of its guiding principles. It speaks to those seeking to build a more just, humane, and sustainable society, to religious communities concerned about distortions of their traditions, to conservatives concerned about fiscal irresponsibility and our costly mistakes in Iraq, and to liberals searching for new ways to express their ideals. It emphasizes cooperation rather than legalism, pluralism rather than exclusivity, and consensus decision-making rather than tyranny by the majority. As suggested by its title, Broken Strings, Missing Notes uses the violin as a metaphorical model for our democracy and its goal of ensuring that there are no longer any “broken strings” or “missing notes” in our society. 5 Contents Quick Look Glossary 10 Prelude 11 Part I: Loss of harmony ...of, by, and for the people Chapter 1: The role of guiding fictions 21 ...these truths to be self-evident Argentina, guiding fictions, the United States, new guiding fictions, a land of opportunity Chapter 2: The 2000 presidential election 36 ...the consent of the governed Vietnam, 2000 presidential election, tax cuts, debts and deregulation, treaties, the wrong path Chapter 3: The power of corporations 55 ...regulate commerce corporations, global capitalism, economic diversity, flawed data, government Chapter 4: The decline of the middle class 71 ...promote the general welfare the local economy, a bimodal society, without a net, decline and decay, The Third World Interlude One: Missing notes The importance of memories 88 ...our forefathers brought forth memories and identity, national amnesia, preserving the past 6 Part II: America after September 11 ...certain unalienable rights Chapter 5: A time of division and discord 99 ...domestic tranquility after September 11, preemptive war, freedom, lies and deceptions Chapter 6: Scandals, fraud, and deceptions 113 ...a fair deal stock market scandals, collapse of Enron, public sector scandals, exploiting guiding fictions Chapter 7: A state of endless war 123 ...the common defense the axis of evil, war in Iraq, WMDs, consequences Chapter 8: Our immune system under attack 137 ...checks and balances immune system, media, speaking out, opposition, judiciary, dark age Chapter 9: From democracy to oligarchy 159 ...all are created equal fair and open elections, protests, California recall, oligarchies Interlude Two: Broken strings The growth of malignancies 172 ...weeds in the garden bad news, malignancies and society, empires 7 Part III: Seeking new alternatives ...a new birth of freedom Chapter 10: Renewing the economy 187 ...American ingenuity acting, alternatives, technology, renewing economy role for government, better decisions Chapter 11: Reforming the government 205 ...a more perfect union the opposition awakens, charges and counter-charges, to the wire Chapter 12: The 2004 presidential election 223 ...persevering under adversity the 2004 election, aftermath, the minority, reflections Interlude Three: Transformations Change and personal identity 241 ...on letting go the need for control, letting go, violins and golf Part IV: Religion, democracy, and the future ...liberty and justice for all Chapter 13: From exclusivism to pluralism 248 ...the blessings of liberty religion, legalists and progressives, sexuality, submission, listening Chapter 14: From conflict to consensus 269 ...the new democracy split decisions, sources of authority, building consensus, small and local 8 Chapter 15: The role of the left 284 ...recovering the past, building the future the evil empire, U.S., U.S.S.R., Churchill, marginalizing, reclaiming, investing, renewing Coda: The violin in your closet ...finding your path to the future 306 lessons from this story, finding your path Poem: String Theory 313 Appendix I: On strings, violins, and music 314 Appendix II: Numbers and the 2004 presidential election 323 References by chapter (with List of Acronyms) 327 Index 360 9 To Karen * * * Quick look glossary absentee managers: nonresident corporate decision makers bimodal society: more rich and poor than in a normal distribution checks and balances: dividing authority, power, oversight communism: organizing society without private property comparative advantage: where you are most competitive relative to others corporate governance: processes to monitor corporate behavior democracy: government of, by, and for the people deregulation: eliminating governmental regulations economic diversity: measure of variety in an economy or business fascism: extreme nationalism and regimented industry under repressive dictatorship fiduciary responsibility: obligation to protect the owner’s interests fiscal austerity: paying off debts, borrowing less free trade: trade without barriers such as tariffs globalization: the transformation to a global economy hedonics: adjusting product prices to account for features legalism: obsessive focus on rules and laws market liberalization: dropping trade barriers nationalism: emphasis on nation over other values oligarchy: government by the elite few outsourcing: moving jobs to alternate suppliers plutocracy: government by the wealthy privatization: moving functions from public to private sector productivity: measure of economic output for a given input separation of powers: dividing power between branches of government socialism: extensive public involvement in the economy totalitarianism: government by repressive regime or dictator 10 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... The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776 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 of America. The Preamble to the Constitution, 1787 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth...a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal...we here highly resolve...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Abraham Lincoln Address at Gettysburg, 1863 11 Prelude Playing the violin is an intimate musical experience. You embrace a violin with your cheek. You coax the music out of the instrument with your bow.
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