Mission 535+2 By Michael D. Flint Smashwords Edition Copyright 2012 Michael D. Flint All Rights Reserved ***** For Eamon, Declan & Redding ***** With special thanks to Andrew, Rachel, Laurie, Lesley & Robert for their wisdom, love and good old common sense ***** Table of Contents The Mission Introduction Who’s Playing the Game? The Current State of the Game It’s Time to Change this Game The Real Problem The Awesome Power of Young People The Strategy The Media It’s Beneficial for ALL Feedback NOTE: For the sake of simplicity, “Mission 535” is substituted for “Mission 535 SM” and “Mission 535+2 SM.” ***** The Mission To persuade our elected representatives to work together to further the best economic interests of our nation with transparency and accountability ***** Introduction My Mindset Just in case you wonder, here’s a sense of how my political heart and mind converge: - I have become disgusted with the self-serving behavior of our elected representatives. - I’m sick of political ideology, talking points, intransigence, and the “blame game”. - I couldn’t care less who is a Republican or a Democrat, a liberal or a conservative. - The things that truly matter to me are … - Are our politicians working together in our best interests instead of theirs? - Are the nation’s economic indicators improving predictably? - Are people’s lives – their financial health and welfare – improving? - Are our politicians delivering on the promises they made? - Are they serving us -- “We the People” (WTP) -- with honesty and respect? - Are they conducting the nation’s business with transparency and accountability? - I believe our children should inherit a better place than we did. - Fiscally, I will tend towards a more “conservative” approach. - On social issues, I can be all over the place, depending on the issue. If you are looking for discussion and debate on issues and policies, this is definitely the wrong place. Others are much more qualified to pontificate on such matters. Hopefully, you will read these pages and find no political or issue-related agendas. None are intended. If you do, then I apologize and suggest you re-read what I said. I believe the time has come … for us all to stop sucking our collective thumb and get emotionally vocal and organized as we demand that … It’s time to cut the Bull! As Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch, yelled out in the 1976 film, Network, … "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" To continue this little trip down celluloid lane, do you remember the scene from the 1971 film “Dirty Harry” where San Francisco cop, Harry Callahan, sees a bank robbery in progress from a local diner and, of course, gets involved? He kills two of the robbers and then challenges the third guy who is wounded and lying on the ground near a loaded shotgun asking … “I know what you’re thinking: ‘Did he fire six shots, or only five?’ Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well do ya, punk?” The now-not-so-brave “perp” backs off and Harry dry-fires his gun. There were, of course, no bullets left in his gun. That is exactly what happens every day in this country. Our elected representatives usually have no ammunition and when they aim their blah-blah talking points at us, we back down and let them get away with it … EVERY TIME! Well, guess what, I can’t take it any more. It’s time for us as a society to “man up” … (sorry, ladies) “person up”… and change this political shootout back in favor of WTP. I’m tired of listening to intelligent people yell at and talk over each and then agree that nothing will change no matter who’s running the show in Washington, D.C. That is downright absurd!!! Remember the old saying … There are three kinds of people. Those that make things happen; those that watch things happen; and those that wonder what just happened. It’s time for all of us to move up into the first group. It’s time for us all to “get in the game.” It’s time for “We the People” to take control of the game. It’s time to demand that our politicians work together. It’s time to insist on a strategic, pragmatic, problem-solving approach to this nation’s future. It’s time to demand transparency and accountability. It’s time to get emotional and organized. It’s time for us all to win this game. So, if you are happy to whine away, do nothing, and blame everybody else for the current state of affairs, then please give this book to someone who might just think differently and want to “get in the game.” However, if you are dissatisfied and think you might like to join this mission to persuade our elected representatives to work in our best interests instead of theirs, then please read on. ***** Who’s Playing The Game? The Players For purposes of this discussion, I focus on Washington, D.C., and the political establishment at the Federal level. The basic principles described here will apply to State and local politics and should translate fairly easily with only minor adjustments. Members of the U.S. Congress There are 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, there are 5 non-voting delegates (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands, Washington DC) and 1 Resident Commissioner (Puerto Rico). The U.S. Senate has 100 members. This totals 535 voting members of Congress. (That’s the “535” in the book title). The President & Vice President The President has the power to veto any legislation that comes before him. The only way a Presidential veto can be nullified, basically, is if two thirds of the House (290) and two thirds of the Senate (67 members) vote to override the veto. Under certain circumstances, a President may issue executive orders that by-pass the legislative process in Congress. This offers the opportunity to circumvent the normal democratic process which, when exercised, will inevitably generate much contentious debate. I include the vice president because he or she may cast any tie-breaking vote in the Senate and is next in line should anything constitutionally prevent the President from performing the duties of that office. These two powerful individuals make up the “+2” in the book title. The above individuals control all legislation that determines the economic, financial and personal welfare of every resident in the United States of America. Lobbyists & Special Interests In 2011, the number of unique, registered lobbyists in Washington, DC who actively lobbied was 12,659. They spent $3,300,000,000 (that’s billion) in their lobbying efforts. Simple arithmetic will tell you that there were over 23 lobbyists for every member of Congress! I wonder how many were representing the best interests of WTP. The cynical response: “Not many, if any!” And then we wonder [a] why things are the way they are and [b] why nothing ever really changes. Duh! Source: These figures are calculations by the Center for Responsive Politics based on data from the Senate Office of Public Records. http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/index.php (as of 9/16/11). We the People By the time you read this, the US population will have cruised past 315,000,000 people. It looks like there were about 207,000,000 eligible voters in 2008. (The exact number doesn’t really matter when used in an arithmetical discussion.) I submit to you the obvious … that the number of eligible voters (207,000,000) – a.k.a. WTP -- vastly outnumbers the other side (535 + 2 + 12,659). In fact, it works out to a 15,679 to 1 advantage!! When looked at in this light, you would think that WTP would be able to exert the collective power necessary to influence the legislative agenda and its outcomes, wouldn’t you? Sadly, we never manage to do so, do we? We reelect most of the politicians who disappoint us and we continue to feel misled, powerless, and frustrated. The “Missing Stakeholders” There is a large group of people – our children – who are never invited to the political negotiating table and consequently have absolutely no input regarding the future condition of the nation they are destined to inherit. They are the “missing stakeholders” and we need to change this situation. More on this follows later. The Re-election Conundrum Even though most polls conducted in the past few decades have given Congress significantly unfavorable ratings, we have continued to reelect the very same people we complain about. - In every election since 1964, we have re-elected at least 85% of incumbent Congressman. - In every election since 1988, we have re-elected at least 79% of incumbent Senators. http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/reelect.php (The charts) Now that’s what I call job security!! Here are some questions for you: - Do you like this game as it is currently being played? - Would you like to see some new rules that favor WTP? - Are you willing to participate – i.e. encourage; support; persuade; spread the word? - Will you do so with sincere passion and emotion? I hope so! ***** The Current State of the Game As the game is currently played, the Washington establishment wins almost every time because they control the game and we don’t! One of the ways they do this is … They Divide & Rule “In politics and sociology, divide and rule (derived from Latin: divide et impera) (also known as divide and conquer) is a combination of political, military and economic strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. The concept refers to a strategy that breaks up existing power structures and prevents smaller power groups from linking up.” Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divide_and_rule Look at how our political representatives – the people we have trusted to look after our best interests – have employed this strategy so well in keeping us effectively powerless. Divide & Rule – DURING the Election Season Over a very long period of time, in order to get our votes, they have distracted us by identifying us by groups and labeling us in terms of political parties (Democrats vs. Republicans), ideologies (conservatives vs. liberals), class (rich vs. poor), special interests (union workers vs. business owners), you get the idea. By doing so, when it comes to election time, they have effectively divided us up so [a] they can identify and solidify the core base that likes them and [b] they can label, name-call, and trash their opposition, [d] change their campaign tactics and messaging depending on who they want to influence. Divide & Rule – AFTER the Election Once they’re all back in Washington, what happens? It’s business as usual, of course! All those passionate and eloquent campaign promises to change Washington conveniently and magically seem to evaporate. Very little gets accomplished and all we hear is the blame game and the usual political blah-blah-blah. Nothing changes. It’s pathetic! None of the players ever accept responsibility for Congressional inaction. We hear the Republicans blaming the Democrats. The Democrats blame the Republicans. The conservatives blame the liberals and the liberals point fingers at the conservatives. The President blames Congress and Congress blames the President. If we continue to allow them to divide us up and conduct the day-to-day affairs of this country in terms of partisanship and ideologies, then they will continue to control the game and WTP will continue to lose. Until they face us as a team and not as individuals, nothing will change. However, it’s not just the fault of the politicians. The Media Shares the Blame The current standard of show-biz mediocrity in political reporting coupled with the agendas of political radio and TV shows simply aid and abet the Washington establishment and pander to their intended audiences. When was the last time you heard an interviewer say: “Excuse me, Mr/Ms Politician … you didn’t answer the question”? What a concept! We ask a question and don’t demand a related answer! No wonder the politicians win every time! For example: A politician gets through about half a sentence and then says the magic words… the giveaway … “But look …” after which follows whatever blah-blah talking point he or she stuffed in their mouth prior to the interview. It happens every time and our interviewers just accept this nonsense. Another thing the media does is they invite both sides of a political argument – let’s assume a Republican representative and a Democrat representative – to the interview all because some media geniuses decided that this presents a balanced approach to the discussion. Are you kidding? When was the last time you learned anything from those discussions. Those interviews deteriorate almost immediately into the usual mind-numbing battles of dueling talking points. I would rather listen to a cab driver and a hairdresser discuss the nation’s woes. After all, they are very definitely in close touch with the public every day. They hear it all, don’t they? We (WTP) are at fault Sadly, too many people these days are only interested in listening to the political flavor they like. In that way they feel comfortable with themselves and tend to believe that they are informed people since they are soaking up the viewpoint of individual(s) with whom they identify and trust. However, when I hear intelligent, educated people say things like: “Why would anybody watch CNN?” or “Why would anybody watch FOX?” I just want to hug a certain porcelain fixture. “Critical thinking?” What’s that? We are so incredibly polarized and we have our politicians and the media to thank for that. We shout at each other. We talk over each other. It’s time we honestly listened to what others have to say instead of tolerating the sound of their voices while lining up our ideological response. ***** It’s Time to Change this Game! Attention: Job Applicants. Please look at how the “new game” works and adjust your behavior accordingly. 1. Running for Office … especially Re-election Contrary to what your ego tells you and your campaign staff tells you, we don’t really want to hear what you have to say because, at a gut level, we don’t believe you. That may seem grossly unfair to you, especially since your mother told all who would listen what a wonderful child you are. However, history teaches us that the promises you make on the campaign trail will not remotely coincide with how you behave in Washington. You and your colleagues have demonstrated, with never-ending disdain, that all you really care about is winning the election … i.e. getting the job. In your quest for votes, we observe you pandering to anyone with a wallet, promising almost anything to any warm body, and stooping to the lowest levels of deceit and negative hypocrisy in campaign advertising. Congress (you) has legislated that, in day-to-day life, everybody must be truthful about the products and services they sell to the general public. If that’s true then why should you be allowed to get away with campaign messages that flaunt the basic rules of truth-in-advertising? Sadly, although you understand that we, the voting public, do NOT like any of this, you continue with these campaign practices because your campaign managers and advisors remind you that they work and, after all, it’s all about you, isn’t it? Wrong! We can’t do much about the 2012 election but, from now on, we expect you to be honest and communicate with us in a transparent and accountable process regarding the day-to-day job performance of you and your colleagues in Washington D.C. 2. Please don’t tell us how YOU are going to Fix Things I hate to burst your ego-bubble but, unless you have incredible name-recognition, charisma, and the power to move people and Mother Nature to your will, you yourself will be unable to fix anything. The embedded power structure of the political establishment is unlikely to welcome you with open arms. Why would they give up their power and influence just because you think you’re a great problem-solver? Believe me, you’ll be starting off in the darkness of the cheap seats hoping someone will recognize your magnificence and gradually move you toward the light. 3. Spare us the “I’m going to stand up to the special interests” lie It may sound intoxicatingly delicious to your family and friends but …! 4. The job for which you are applying has a fixed contract period. We’re not looking for “career politicians.” We are looking for individuals who are willing to put the best interests of our nation ahead of theirs. You may feel you are destined to be a great political leader for many decades to come. Even though you will undoubtedly accomplish great things in your lifetime, please note that we are looking for people who practice long-term thinking on a short-term, renewable contract. 5. If elected, you will be just One Member of Our Team The election process is your job interview. Understand that, once the euphoria has died down and all your adoring followers have gone home, all that really happened is that WTP chose you instead of the other candidates who applied for the job. While you are obviously a highly talented individual, as far as we are concerned you are no different from any other poor sap in this country who has to put in an honest day’s work to earn a living! Once the election is over, WE DON’T CARE whether you are … - liberal or conservative - Republican or Democrat - young or old - black, white, Hispanic, whatever - gay or straight - charismatic or boring - a supermodel or Quasimodo. We will look at you as just one member of our team of 535 Members of Congress plus the President and the Vice President who have committed to work together to further the best interests of WTP. We expect you to do your very best. Please make us proud of you! 6. Your Job Description - You work for WTP and nobody else. - Your loyalty is to WTP and NOT to your political party. - Your job is to advocate for and improve the economic and financial health of WTP. - You were NOT given this job to represent YOUR best interests. - We expect you to work closely with the other team members, even if they have different viewpoints and ideologies, - We expect you to help forge consensus and implement coherent, pragmatic solutions to the problems that face this country. If you have difficulty working as a team member, then we will conclude that you are not a team player. This will be considered an UNSATISFACTORY job performance. 7. Your Compensation (no change) Here’s the current Washington annual pay scale: President -- $400,000 Vice President -- $230,700 Speaker of the House -- $223,500 Majority & Minority Leaders -- $193,400 Senators -- $174,000 Representatives -- $174,000 When you add in all the other “perks,” it’s not a bad gig if you can get it. 8. What Promises have you made? Are there any potential conflicts of interest, disclaimers, promises, and/or reasons for you not to represent the best interests of WTP? Is there anything else that we need to know? If there is any doubt in your mind … WE NEED TO KNOW WE WANT TO KNOW WE DEMAND TO KNOW. We expect you to be transparent. This will help protect all of us from distasteful and unattractive drama at a later date. Please don’t embarrass yourself. 9. Team Leadership On any successful team, you will always find that an individual or a group of people are demonstrating real leadership by directing and encouraging all the team members to work together towards achieving certain stated goals while being accountable for the process. Our leadership team consists of the following five individuals who call all the shots in Washington, D.C.: - The President of the United States - The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives - The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives - The Majority Leader of the Senate - The Minority Leader of the Senate Notice that we don’t have to change the structure of our government to improve the situation. All we have to do is [a] clearly communicate our expectations and [b] establish a regular reporting structure that insists on the transparency and accountability of our leadership team. 10. Expectations of … Our Political Leadership Team On a quarterly basis, we expect you, our Political Leadership Team, to report to us in a meaningful and understandable way exactly how you have all been working together and what you have accomplished in furthering the best interests of WTP. No later than the 15th of the month following each quarter, we expect you to publish a quarterly “Report to the American People.” Here’s the format and content of this report: Title Page -- “Report to the American People for Q1, 2013” (example). Page 1 -- The “Top 10 Economic Indicators”* chart of Economic Health, displaying monthly figures for the previous eight quarters (all published government sources), downloaded from the Mission 535 website. Page 2 -- Monthly Projections for the next 4 quarters. Pages 3-12 -- A one-page explanation for each indicator (no smaller than 14-pt type) of … [a] what happened in the previous quarter for each indicator, and … [b] the basis for the projections. Page 13 (optional): A one-page commentary regarding all the above. * = Indicators’ importance determined by Mission 535 Research. In other words …. short … sweet, hopefully, and …understandable. We don’t want the usual blah-blah-blah. We want something we can take to the coffee shop, bar, office water cooler, and classroom to use as the source for comment and discussion regarding how the 535+2 are all doing looking after our nation’s best interests. Scheduled during the seven (7) days following the publication of “Report to the American People” there will be a 3-hour videoconference presentation and discussion -- “The National Forum” -- of this report by ALL five members of the Political Leadership Team TOGETHER to be moderated by Mission 535 student representatives (read on for details). 11. No More “Blame Game” We don’t ever want to hear Republicans blaming Democrats or Democrats blaming Republicans. We have no desire to hear people blaming each other for what they haven’t accomplished. If problems are not being fixed and our lives are not improving then, as far as we are concerned, YOU ARE ALL AT FAULT. Our reaction to the blame game will be simple: YOU COMMITTED TO WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM. If this isn’t happening then ALL OF YOU ARE AT FAULT. We expect you to do get along, work together, and further the best interests of WTP with transparency and accountability. 12. A Standard Format for Discussions with Politicians In order for communications to be productive, we must establish a simple format for discussions that pre-empt political talking points. Teams will ask these questions: a. What did we ask you to accomplish? b. What else did you promise you would accomplish? c. Who are you working with, from all political persuasions, to make these things happen? d. What have you all been doing to make this happen? e. How is it going? What have you achieved so far? f. Give us milestones and timelines that are acceptable to us. g. What is “Plan B” (if necessary)? In other words … how are you all working together and what have you accomplished? 13. Expectations of … You as our Political Representative This will be an educational process for the Teams and the community and it will be necessary for you to cooperate with these students on an on-going, as-needed basis. Every month, the Mission 535 Teams will invite you to the “Community Forum” in your constituency. They will expect you to … a. Present a written summary report, prior to the meeting, covering what you have been doing and what you have accomplished during the past month – all as it relates to our expectations and the promises you have made. b. Discuss this report at the meeting. c. Discuss the “Top 10 Economic Indicators” chart of Economic Health published on the Mission 535 website. d. Lay out what you promise to achieve before the next Community Forum. e. Discuss anything else your community needs to know. We really want you to work closely with ALL your Congressional colleagues and, assuming you are successful, we’ll probably be delighted to keep you. 14. Your Ethical Behavior In the good old days, a long time ago, a politician who was accused of a breach of ethics, or worse, was expected to do the gentlemanly thing and resign so that the day-to-day business of the nation would not be contaminated by the distasteful distraction and drama of the situation. While that might have been unfair in some cases, we insist that you and your colleagues act with honesty, honor, and respect while conducting the nation’s business. If caught, please do not insult us with public remorse and wallowing sincerity as you utter the words: “I accept full responsibility.” Nobody believes you. Statements like that are meaningless. Please behave accordingly. We expect you to “do the right thing.” It’s a wonderful tradition that we expect you to honor. 15. Your Ideology Ideology is fine and dandy at political rallies and cocktail parties. It is also acceptable in the early stages of the debating process. However, if, as the political process evolves, your ideological presentation isn’t selling well, then please don’t embarrass yourself by continuing. Partisan gridlock means you have ALL FAILED to find a pragmatic solution. We don’t like it when problems are not being solved and progress is being undermined intentionally. In addition, your ideological martyrdom is rather unattractive. Remember, all we care about is our political team’s accomplishments in improving the nation’s economic and financial health and welfare and furthering the best interests of WTP. 16. No Political Pledges … please! The recent example of politicians, especially Republicans, being pressured into signing the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" (a.k.a. “No New Taxes”) by Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform demonstrates, in a seemingly well-intentioned way, an ideological intransigence that has impeded forward progress and pragmatic problem-solving regarding the future economic and financial well-being of this country. To be fair to Mr. Norquist, he is, like any other person, entitled to apply as much ideological pressure as he wishes on anybody who will listen to him. And it may be attractive for a politician to sign such a pledge in the context of his or her political career. However, it is important to remember that such a pledge serves only to emphasize and acidify the ideological and war-like differences between our two main political parties. It may satisfy the emotional addiction of the faithful, but such intransigence undermines and distracts completely from the critical need to work together to solve problems, build consensus, and implement pragmatic solutions. Feel free to argue, discuss, debate, remonstrate, rant, kvetch, and be as passionately ideological as you wish … but do it with a cocktail in your hand! Remember … regarding the future of this great nation, your pledge is basically to “We the People.” 17. The Mission 535+2 Pledge We would like you (politician) to demonstrate your good faith to your constituency and the nation by signing this pledge: “I agree to work together with all my Congressional colleagues to further the best economic interests of our nation, ahead of my own, and to do so with transparency and accountability at all times.” 18. The Hierarchy In any effective enterprise there is an organizational hierarchy. Here’s what it looks like in our democratic society: Registered Voters || Elected Politicians || Government Bureaucracy || Non-registered Eligible Voters The “Missing Stakeholders” || Ineligible Voters Notice who is at the top! It’s time for us -- We the People -- to exercise this hierarchical reality effectively … not just at election time but ALL the time. ***** The Real Problem Will Anything Change? As the years roll by, we consistently demonstrate that we … - love to whine about our political representatives. - will do nothing to combat their “divide and rule” strategies and tactics. - will listen passively to their blah-blah-blah. - will do nothing. - will re-elect most of them in spite of all the above. - will do nothing! This reminds me of Albert Einstein’s wonderful definition of insanity: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. IF WE CONTINUE TO DO NOTHING then, rest assured, NOTHING WILL CHANGE and the Washington establishment will continue to conduct “business as usual.” THAT IS THE REAL PROBLEM! Every election “silly season” generates the same old promises … that things will be different this time around. However, as we have all experienced, it doesn’t seem to work that way. Once the election is over, our elected representatives won’t need us for while, will they? They take off for the good life in Washington, D.C. where they proceed to sell their souls to their respective party bosses in an effort to emerge from the irrelevant darkness of the Capitol’s cheap seats with the most prestigious committee assignments they possibly can. If you have any doubt about how it all works – this ongoing selling of souls – remind yourself of the fact that each political party has its “Whips” whose job it is to herd their political cattle into whatever legislative corral their party leadership is promoting at that time. Whips have many emotionally persuasive tools at their disposal, ones that usually have to do with how an individual politician will look when visits his electorate. Some call it wheeling and dealing. I prefer to call it the “selling of souls.” It’s always about them, not us. When the Congressional gavel drops, both sides of the aisle re-engage in the sport of … - partisan gridlock - ideological intransigence - name- calling and - the “blame game” They will ooze sincerity as they look into a television camera and tell us how they hate the partisan gridlock and the blame game, but … they will do nothing differently. Why? Because there have been NO INCENTIVES for them to change the way they conduct the nation’s business and communicate with us. Well, as they say in the classics, “Enough is enough!” It’s time! LET”S GIVE THEM SOME INCENTIVES!! If we all passionately and enthusiastically lend our voices to, and encourage, a grassroots “voice of the people” – talking about this mission – and demonstrate to our politicians that we are absolutely serious about expecting them to communicate with us with transparency and accountability, then things can and will change. As you will see later, the proposed communications process is simple, straightforward, and effective. Since it appears that most politicians are always concerned about their next election, there are built-in incentives for them to … LOOK GOOD DON’T LOOK STUPID … … ESPECIALLY TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE! Please contact your friends and associates, have them read this book, and ask them to spread the word -- that is time for our elected representatives to communicate with us on our terms and conditions, not there’s. It’s time for everybody to get involved – ALL the stakeholders -- and change the game! ***** The Awesome Power of Persuasion of Young People Kids Make Things Happen! Let me set the stage with a couple of examples of hugely significant lifestyle changes that have occurred in this country. Smoking Anti-smoking campaigns were effectively going nowhere in their fight with the tobacco lobby until kids were energized to speak up. When kids learned more about the serious negative effects that smoking had on people’s health, guess what started to happen? Mom, for example, would light a cigarette and her kids would say, “Mommy, you’re killing yourself!” (Her kids’ concern was understandable because they loved their mother and didn’t want her to die.) At first, Mom ignored the kids but, after a period of time, she got tired of arguing with her kids and stopped smoking in front of them. Later on, she got tired of smoking secretly because her kids could still smell that she had been smoking. There came a point when she couldn’t take her kids giving her a hard time any more, and then she quit. If you are, or have been, a parent, you know only too well that there is only so much whining and grinding a self-respecting parent can endure from their children. At some point, you will throw your hands in the air and surrender! That is how the anti-smoking movement eventually gathered real momentum and took hold. It was the kids who helped make it happen. Kids may not understand the finer points of how a civilized society is supposed to work, but they are experts at grinding parents into submission when they really want something! Recycling Pretty much the same thing happened here. The kids learned at school that it was a good thing for the planet if everybody recycled their trash. So, when they saw their parents throwing newspapers, bottles, cans, etc. in with the regular trash they would say, “Mommy, you’re killing the earth!!” Once again … whine, grind, whine, grind! The result: most families have those specially marked recycling containers and everything has returned to “normal” in the household. When kids are informed and energized, they want to know that their future is secure. Can you imagine what will happen if our young people ever really understand that, as of mid-September 2012, their individual share of the national debt is over $51,000? A Simple Philosophy For a long, long time, I have watched examples of the basic intelligence, raw talent, and boundless energy of young people who are driven to achieve. They don’t get everything right all the time because they don’t have the experience that adults have. However, more often than not, with encouragement, leadership, and mentoring, they are intelligent sponges and demonstrate awesome abilities to see problems clearly and implement appropriate solutions. I have joked for a long time that if we replaced all the Washington politicians with a team of high school juniors and seniors, the country would be in much better shape. After all, how could they possibly make things any worse than they are right now? Kids Recognize Bull When They See It! If you have ever dealt with young people, you will have observed that it doesn’t take them long to recognize bull and lies. They also have a clear understanding of the concept of trust and have a deep-seated need to experience trust in their lives. If we blow their trust, we’re toast. They may tolerate our behavior but they will no longer believe a lot of what we say. A lingering doubt will always be there. We’ll be able to sense it and it will feel quite uncomfortable; so uncomfortable that we won’t want to repeat the experience. This offers an intriguing opportunity for us to change “the game.” Can you imagine the discomfort our politicians might feel if they have to sit down with a group of dedicated young people and discuss what is really going on in Washington, D.C. They will not be comfortable for long if they show up dispensing the usual blah-blah-blah, and they will certainly not like it if local community leaders, parents and media – the re-election constituency – talk afterwards about their lack of transparency and accountability when dealing with their kids. It’s a delicious concept. If they are condescending in the beginning, I think the resulting discomfort will generate a positive change in attitude prior to their next discussion with the kids. If we can organize and energize our young people on our behalf, they will be an amazingly powerful and productive agent for change. We must enlist their persuasive power in our mission. Some Important Philosophical Questions 1. Do you think that young people reaching voting age should know more about the current, day-to-day, economic, financial and political realities in this country? 2. Do you think they should learn what is in store for them regarding the country they are destined to inherit? 3. Do you think they have the right to influence this destiny? 4. Do you think they would benefit from direct communications with their politicians? 5. Do you think politicians would benefit from direct feedback from our young people? 6. Do you see any downside to asking our young people to help persuade our politicians to work together with transparency and accountability? I hope you will agree that it is … [a] our ethical and moral responsibility to [b] do everything we possibly can to make sure [c] we pass along a society to our children that is better than the one we inherited. Let’s ask our young people to join in and help us implement the positive and productive changes that we, as adults, have been unable to accomplish. It’s time we added the “missing stakeholders” to the game. Please add energy to this mission by spreading the word and making this happen. ***** The Strategy It is Pointless to Try to Change the System The problem with trying to change Washington is that we always think we have to accomplish this through legislation. However, it has been demonstrated time and again that this approach hasn’t worked very well. All you have to do is look at the history of campaign finance reform and ask yourself if any related legislation has truly improved the “silly season” of electioneering. Generally speaking, when any new legislation is enacted, a whole bunch of smiling Washington attorneys activate their revenue-generating skills and happily find ways to circumvent the new legislation … in the best interests of their clients, of course! Unfortunately, those clients are never WTP. So … what are we to do and how do we do it? We Need to Try a New Approach Instead of us trying and failing to legislate a solution to the distasteful spectacle of Washington politics, let’s establish a different cultural approach to the way our politicians communicate with us. Currently, they communicate with us through campaign ads, literature, and (often-staged) town hall meetings, as well as political TV talk shows and news interviews. Almost without exception, they will serve up their blah-blah talking points telling us what they want us to hear instead of what we want them to talk about. Let’s change this approach and demand that they communicate with us on a monthly basis, through our young people, reporting on how they are working together with their Congressional colleagues and what their recent accomplishments have been regarding our expectations and promises they have made. An Information-Gathering Process As I state throughout this book, the role of these young people will be to gather information to pass along to their community. Their methodology will be restricted to asking who/what/when/where/why/how questions. Their role will never to discuss or comment on the merits and demerits of issues. Establishing an audit and research-based process is generally considered to be a responsible approach to ensuring the fiscal health of any organizational structure. Having our young people “in the game” and providing us with the results of this process will cost us almost nothing and will yield positive and productive results almost immediately. Nevertheless, once again, it will require the grassroots, emotional participation of ALL stakeholders in “the mission” … to persuade our politicians to conduct the nation’s business in an honest, respectful, transparent, and accountable manner. The Overall Strategy We will ask our young students – those of soon-to-be-voting age – to help implement a cultural and communications strategy that provides incentives for our politicians to work together with transparency and accountability in our best interests instead of theirs. The simple incentives for our politicians: LOOK GOOD DON’T LOOK STUPID … ESPECIALLY TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE WE ARE WATCHING YOU! An integral part of this strategy will be to establish a positive, cheerleading support structure for these young people so that they can proceed with confidence to accomplish their mission effectively. We – parents, community leaders, the media, etc. – must visibly and actively provide this support structure. We will observe how our politicians communicate and deal with our young people. If they are treated with respect, patience, understanding, honesty, transparency, and accountability, then we should be delighted at such progress and view the politicians favorably should they decide to seek re-election. Anything less, of course, will prove to be decidedly unattractive to the young people’s supporters. Interestingly, adults will often rationalize unacceptable behavior between themselves, but when an animal is mistreated or a child is treated badly, we tend to react emotionally and become quite energized in their defense. This is a wonderful aspect of human nature; one we can use effectively, if necessary, as we observe the unfolding relationships between our politicians and our young. The Mission 535 System What follows is a simple, systematic process ensuring on-going communication between our elected representatives and their constituency. 1. A Mission 535 Team of juniors and seniors is established at a school. 2. The Team will encourage their political representative to respond and communicate with its students on an on-going basis between Forums. 3. Each month, the Team will host a “Community Forum” where their political representative will present and discuss his/her written report as to … - what they promised to do - who they are working with to make things happen - what they have all accomplished recently regarding For Congressmen and Congresswomen, this meeting will be in person. High schools may decide to have a joint meeting in a community where that makes sense. For Senators, this meeting may be conducted by videoconference from one of the High schools in their district. 4. Each quarter, various Teams will host “The National Forum” 3-hour videoconference where our “Political Leadership Team will present and discuss its quarterly “Report to the People” 5. The Team will evaluate ALL presentations on the basis of “Did they do what they said they would do regarding our Economic Indicator expectations and their promises made?” 6. The Team will relay their findings and commentary to their local media for publication and discussion in the community. An identical copy will be forwarded to the politician. Rewards & Recognition One of the things we have to recognize is that not all kids are going to jump at this opportunity. They are more interested in their own little worlds than helping us fix this country. Nevertheless, there are always kids who are involved, ambitious, goal-oriented achievers who make things happen. Those are the young people we want on a Mission 535 Team. Since we will be asking them to give up time they could be spending in other normal teenage pursuits, it is important that we have a good answer to the simple question that every normal human being will ask: “What’s in it for me?” Rewards Let’s get to the basics. Young people love free stuff. So it will be much more attractive when we sweeten our proposition with a really good package of “stuff” that young people like and want. For example, if they can get free pizza, free movie tickets, free popcorn, free video games, concert tickets, theme park tickets, special store discounts, restaurant discounts, a discount off the tuxedo and limo rentals for the prom – you get the idea – then they will definitely pay attention and progress to the “What’s involved?” question and then, hopefully, the “Okay, I’ll do it” conclusion. Recognition This is where our community and business leaders and media professionals play a very important role in forming the Team and presenting it to their community. Mission 535 Team members must be seen as important, contributing members of their community. Being a member is a prestigious accomplishment. They must be treated with respect, especially by the key people in town, and be invited to events they would not normally attend. For example, an invitation to the local Rotary Club luncheon will not be his or her ideal way of spending the lunch hour. However, being recognized and honored in front of the community’s movers and shakers will have a decidedly positive effect both then and in the future. I use Rotary as an example because Rotarians tend to be business people who want to see a strong and growing economy and are invested in furthering the educational growth and experience of young people. There is a Rotary Club in just about every town in this country so they should be an immediate source of support for the Team. (Other service clubs include Kiwanis, Lions, Optimist, Quota International, & Soroptimist.) The local newspaper, for example, should allow prominent positioning for the Team’s commentaries. Profiling the Team members in the paper would be a great source of pride for family members far and wide. If the rewards and recognition are good, there should be a waiting list to join the Team. Making It Happen -- A Step-by-Step Process The following is simple and intentionally flexible. Take Action With passion and enthusiasm … 1. Spread the word as virally as possible. Forward a link to this eBook and the website (www.Mission535.com) to everybody in your world and beyond. 2. Please contact your community leaders, business leaders, media professionals, service organizations, and influential individuals in the nonprofit world and persuade them to read this material and then influence others accordingly. 3. Form a group of people – “change agents” – who will commit to making this happen in your community. 4. Contact the decision makers in your local high schools (or equivalent) – school board members, superintendents, principals, PTA presidents, and administrators – and suggest they read this book and encourage the Principal and at least one teacher in each high school to establish a Mission 535 Team. 5. In the beginning this teacher will act as the Team’s a-political mentor, guide, and coach until the Team elects its own. 6. Juniors and seniors from the student body will be invited to join the Team. 7. Using the free materials and resources on the Mission 535 website, the Team will contact local media organizations to ask for … - agreement to publish the team’s monthly and quarterly commentaries - cooperation and assistance in dealing with their local politicians. 8. Using the website’s “How To” resources … the Team will then contact their particular Representatives and Senators and invite their ongoing participation. 9. Using the website’s “How To” resources … the Team will identify and establish a “Support Group” relationship with key individuals in their community. 10. Forum reports and commentaries will be forwarded to their local media for publication as well as to their political representatives. 11. Media organizations will be encouraged to solicit feedback and encouragement – e.g. “Letters to the Editor” -- from their community. Basic Team Rules In all proceedings conducted by the Mission 535 Team … 1. The responsible teacher/coach must NEVER politically influence the evaluation process and discussions of their student team. Maintaining the a-political integrity of a Mission 535 Team is critical. There must NEVER be a reason to criticize a team for leaning in one political direction or another. 2. A Team will comprise an odd number of between 5 and 15 students. 3. All students must have volunteered to be on the Team. They can be invited but they cannot be appointed. 4. Team members must be politically “independent” and of non-voting age. 5. Students with family members who hold elected office or are connected in some way with a politician are ineligible to be on the Team. 6. Advisors, coaches, mentors, and teachers with family members who hold elected office or are connected with a politician are ineligible to be in a Team-support role. 7. Relatives of Team members are ineligible to be Team advisors, mentors and coaches. 8. For the first three months, Team members will meet weekly to familiarize themselves with all aspects of the Mission and learn more about the legislative process. 9. After three months, Team members will meet on a frequency decided by the Team. 10. Other than normal procedural and Team business matters, only the national Economic Indicators designated by Mission 535 and specific promises made by a politician may be discussed. 11. Discussion must be limited to [a] developing a clear understanding of what has transpired in Washington regarding the expectations of WTP and [b] rating the accomplishments made by their political representatives. 12. Discussion of the merits and demerits of political issues is strictly forbidden. 13. Evaluation/commentary procedures must be those provided on www.Mission535.com. 14. At monthly and quarterly Forums … - Meetings should be recorded. - Non-Team students, the media, and the public will be invited to attend. - All Non-Team attendees must remain silent during the Forum. - ONLY Team members will ask questions and interact with the politicians. - It will be agreed that, after the Forum, for 24 hours, all published and broadcast interviews and media reports will be those conducted by students who are NOT members of their Mission 535 Team. After all … it’s all about the kids, remember! - Obviously, Team members may consent to be interviewed, but they must discuss only the team’s process, ratings, commentary, etc. They must never fall into the trap of discussing issues, policy, and/or politics. - It is in the interests of everybody to honor the above because it will be a valuable learning experience for all concerned. In addition, it will provide an opportunity for other young people to become involved as reporters, analysts, pundits, or whatever! After 24 hours the media will be free to “have at it” with their own staff. 15. Teams will decide all proceedings at non-Forum meetings in a democratic manner. If procedural guidelines become necessary, Roberts “Rules of Order” will be used. 16. Should a Team member break any of these rules, he or she must resign immediately. Standards of Excellence - All matters must be conducted with honesty and integrity. - Interaction with politicians must always be courteous but firm. - Students must strive to identify and implement “best practices” at all times. - A Team must use all available resources to relentlessly pursue the facts. - Team members themselves must be transparent and accountable. - The highest research and audit principles must be followed. - Students must remain politically independent while on the Team. - Discussion must never be about the merits or demerits of a particular issue. - If a student is in doubt about their behavior or attitude, they should resign. Flexibility - A Mission 535 Team may include more than one teacher or coach and any number of students. - If it makes sense for some schools to band together in a community, that is fine. - If the schools in a community are unwilling to participate, then community members may form a Mission 535 Team independent of the schools. - The Team will normally be an after-hours project but may be integrated into the curriculum, especially when there’s a Forum. - Team members may decide any special qualifications needed to be on the Team (See “Basic Team Rules” below). Members should be students who are nearing voting age and who wish to become more politically aware. - Members will decide how they wish to interact with and communicate with their politicians, media, and community. (The more communication, the better.) Timeline - Why wait? Please start spreading the word. GO VIRAL … now! - Follow the step-by-step process outlined in “Take Action” above. - On November 7, 2012 you will know who your elected officials are. - Congress reconvenes on January 3, 2013. - Teams should start forming and establish contact with politicians in January 2013. - The first “Community Forums” should take place in the first quarter of 2013. - The first “National Forum” should take place in April 2013. However, July may be more realistic. Dealing with Politicians I’m not naïve. In the beginning, until they “get it,” most politicians will be uncomfortable and initially unwilling to participate. After all, why should they? They haven’t had to do it in the past. They call the shots! They are dignitaries! We (WTP) don’t tell them what to do! They are above this kind of thing. However, there is absolutely no reason for a confrontational atmosphere when politicians communicate with the Teams. After all, Team members are simply gathering information for their community on how their elected representatives are working together in Washington to further the best interests of WTP. The relationship should evolve into one of mutual respect. Team members must, at all times, conduct themselves with courtesy and respect when dealing with politicians. Nevertheless, they must be firm and not accept lies and obfuscation (I love that word). In the beginning, when the Team establishes contact with its community’s elected representatives and invites them to participate, several possible scenarios can unfold. Their politicians will either … - Accept the initial invitation and everything will proceed as desired. (An unlikely event!) - Accept the invitation but weasel out when asked to commit to attending the first Forum. - Decline the team’s invitation to participate. - Fail to respond. - Launch some kind of attack against Mission 535. Whatever their initial response, this following weeks and months will generate an outstanding learning experience for our young Mission 535 Team members as they exercise their democratic rights and awesome powers of persuasion to influence their political representatives to “see the light.” Any of the negative scenarios above will simply identify a perfect candidate for an “attitude adjustment.” The Mission 535 website is loaded with free materials and resources designed to assist our students in every way possible. It is important that they have all the support necessary to feel confident that can achieve what they set out to accomplish on this mission. In this particular example, Teams will find proven, comprehensive strategies and tactics explaining in detail exactly how to gently but firmly persuade any arrogant politician to come into the fold. Some politicians, of course, will attempt to hold out until the bitter end. However, with steady pressure from influential community leaders in conjunction with cooperative media exposure, I doubt seriously if many will be able to hold out for very long – especially if they plan on seeking re-election. ***** The Media I love what, sadly, seems to be the “old school” thinking that we need a free and investigative press mentality to protect WTP from whatever threatens its best interests. One of my disappointments has been with the media – most obviously the television media – where they have allowed themselves to become politicized by the polling game and consumed by the day-to-day financial realities of the TV ratings game. Interviewers allow their political guests to blah-blah-blah with impunity and conveniently ignore the fact that we learn absolutely nothing when “both sides of the argument” are a Republican and a Democratic spewing forth their respective dueling talking points. I will spare you the rest of this rant! It’s time for the media to “up its game” and it will cost them almost nothing to do so. Leadership and Support It is important for local media organizations to proactively take a leadership position in their community. In the Mission 535 context, they will have a wonderful opportunity to provide moral support for our young people while utilizing a fresh, unbiased, almost-no-cost research resource to inform the local community of what their politicians are doing in Washington. In addition, they will be able to provide community feedback to these politicians through the “Letters to the Editor,” local radio shows, community television, etc. Media organizations are ideally situated to communicate the importance of what Teams are doing and to establish a high level of community prestige for those participating students. Donation Support Advertisers and sponsors provide the financial backbone for most media organizations. This means that the local newspaper, for example, is dealing with the businesses in town – restaurants, movie theatres, car dealers, etc. -- that want to advertise to their local community. The publisher and staff know all the key people who sponsor the kids’ sports teams, the performing arts, and so on. It should only take a few phone calls to line up enough free pizza, movie tickets, etc. to keep the Mission 535 students amply rewarded for their efforts. Other Win-Win Benefits Staying with the local newspaper example, my guess is that sales and subscriptions should go up because the newspaper will be seen in a favorable light for their support of the Team and because it will be regularly offering Mission 535 commentary and reporting which should generate a high level of interest and readership. In addition, my guess is that some students will surface as potential interns and possible future employees of the media organization. Some Team members will shine as unbiased researchers and Forum interviewers. Other non-Team members may want to become reporters and photographers and provide material for the paper. ***** It’s Beneficial to ALL I am reminded of the Rotary Club’s Four-Way Test … of the things we think, say or do. 1. Is it the TRUTH? 2. Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? What a wonderful way to run our country! Everybody benefits from Mission 535. We the People With our politicians working together with transparency and accountability, we will know what is going on in Washington, D.C. We may disagree with some legislative decisions but at least we will be able to participate in the process instead of being ignored. A strategic focus on healthy economic and fiscal policies will mean that everybody’s situation will improve. We will be encouraged to pay attention and participate in future of this country. Our Mission 535 Students They will gain a deeper understanding of the nation they are inheriting and the political processes involved. They will be more informed when they enter the voting booth. They will have formed relationships with mentors and community leaders which will prove very beneficial as they move forward in life. They will have learned how to interact in an environment where standards of excellence must be met. The “Missing Stakeholders” Our young people should inherit a nation that is being run with their best interests in mind. The Politicians While you may find this hard to digest, I believe that individual politicians would prefer to conduct the nation’s business with honesty, transparency and accountability rather than in the partisan political culture they currently endure. They are beholden to the party machine and special interests. They know when they are being dishonest and they don’t like it. I believe they will be happier when we view them as working for us and not them. The Media Similar to the politicians, I believe media people would love to present commentary on Washington D.C. that is an unbiased, well-researched, audit-based product. I believe they will be happier when we view them in a more favorable light. To use a sports analogy … this Mission needs YOU – “We the People” -- to show up at the game, either on the field or in the stands cheering the young people and their coaches. If you don’t have the time or energy to be actively involved, you can still spread the word in social media and wherever you go. Viral is good! Let’s pass on to our children a nation that is in better shape than the one we inherited. Ladies and gentlemen … IT’S TIME! ***** Feedback Please go to the website. www.Mission535.com. Click on “Tell Us What You Think.” Thank you!