JOHN AMARILIOS
SPEECH AT SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY, APRIL 1, 2004
I thank you for asking me to come here and have this opportunity to reveal to you the true essence and meaning of the Green Party. I must preface this presentation by stating that the Green Party is not only an environmental party, but a political movement whose ethical and moral imperative spans all facets of human activity. Yes, environmentalism is a cornerstone in the philosophical foundation of the party, however it is one of many issues and concerns that the party has chosen to take on and to promulgate. The party is made up of individuals who are thinkers, people who share a concern and love for humanity, as well as the political units that its members are a part of.
The Greens are a worldwide party. Not only are there Greens in Connecticut, New York and in California, but in Europe and in other parts of the world. The Green agenda is not one that is limited to the interior interests of a particular political or geographic unit. The Green Party is truly a humanistic and poly-national philosophical movement. Greens are not Americans, French, Spaniards, Germans or Canadians, or New Yorkers or Iowans, but citizens of the planet.
This is a major and critical distinction and a major philosophical tenet that distinguishes the Green Party from Democrats or Republicans. Its is a profound difference which entails that a person differentiate oneself by widening what one considers to be one's political or perhaps more accurately human constituency. Some people limit their scope of responsibility to themselves. Others include their families. Others widen it even further to include their town or neighborhood. We progress then to an allegiance to the state or province, to the Nation-State, and eventually to a concept of international community, and perhaps a few would even consider themselves to be constituents of humankind itself.
Unlike the other parties, the scope of the Green Party is not limited to the political subdivision that you might be physically located in. Of course local grassroots politics are the day to day preoccupation of local races and politicians, but the overriding philosophical emphasis is the community of Humankind.
I will grant you that this is a perspective which will seem pointless and frustrating to those of you who seek immediate gratification, or seek a Return on investment as soon as possible. To those of you who measure success by the numbers on a balance sheet, or who subscribe to mantras such as “ Bigger is Better" or “ he who dies with the most toys wins”. Those of you who slumber, immersed in the figurative bed-sheets of materialism will have no time, and no understanding of what this process is about. I am sure likewise, those of you who would prefer to swirl like dervishes attaining materialistic success rather than relish and savor a tome such as Thoreau's Walden Pond have not yet attained the patience, or perhaps the maturity of understanding or the internal peace that green philosophy entails.
To those of you who are not ready, to those of you who have not stilled your souls so as to really listen to the world and to attain a profound peace which will enable you to gain the requisite understanding, we extend a patient hand and an open heart, and ask that you really work from within. Other political parties will beat drums, light rockets, start wars, offer the prospect of government largesse or privilege, pander to greed thru tax cuts or pander to envy thru impositions of tax. Other parties prostitute themselves for money and power, bend the truth and then bend what they stand for in order to retain power. Other parties begin wars under false pretenses in order to attain economic and power objectives for their supporters, be it corporate or individuals. Other parties seek to distribute wealth so as to attain support from other perceived disenfranchised votaries.
The cycle of power and money grab is endless, and has plagued humanity since its inception. The Green Party cannot be bought, is not concerned with such pursuits, but seeks to advance and improve humanity in a methodical and systematic manner, much akin to the repetitive motion of the sun and moon. Reliability, soundness and a Faithfulness of purpose is what the Green Party offers and extends to any who wish to stop listen and learn.
In a more pragmatic sense, the Green Party has adopted 10 principles or values, and I will now review these with you:
1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
4. NON-VIOLENCE
5. DECENTRALIZATION
6. COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
I will allow you to peruse our website at www.gp.org to gain a fuller understanding as to what is meant by these ten values, however allow me to illustrate specific examples of Green Party concerns:
EDUCATION
We advocate: Creative and noncompetitive education at every age level. Inclusion of cultural diversity in all curricula. Hands-on approaches that encourage a multitude of individual learning styles. After-school programs for "latchkey" children. State funding for day care that includes school children under the age of ten when after-school programs are not available. Teaching of non-violent conflict resolution. Tuition-free post secondary (collegiate and vocational) public education. Educational funding formulas that avoid gross inequalities between districts and schools. We are deeply concerned about the intervention in our schools of corporations.
The Green Party supports eliminating all laws which seek to restrict or censor artistic expression and incorporating arts education studies and activities into every school curriculum.
Learning is a lifelong and life-affirming process. In learning, and openness to learning, we find the foundation of our Platform.
HEALTH CARE
Health care is a human right. Successful reform must start with wellness education.
We support universal health care and a single-payer insurance program, that is publicly financed at the national level, administered locally, and privately delivered with freedom of choice of provider. It would cover all standard medical procedures, as well as drug treatment, dental care, medication for chronic and terminal illness, equal coverage of mental illness, and abortion. All Americans must be covered regardless of employment, income, housing, age, or prior medical condition. We support a wide range of health care services, including complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, and acupuncture.
We oppose harassment or prosecution of anyone involved in any aspect of medicinal marijuana. An all out campaign must be waged against AIDS and HIV.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE/SOCIAL SAFETY NET
We take an uncompromising position that the care and nurture of children, elders and the disabled are essential to a healthy, peaceful and sustainable society. The work of their caregivers is of value, and we should reward it accordingly. Our foundation is healthy, educated children who are raised with love and security. All people have a right to food, housing, medical care, a living wage job, education, and support in times of hardship.
We call for restoration of a federally funded entitlement program to support children, families, the unemployed, elderly and disabled, with no time limit on benefits. We call for a graduated supplemental income (negative income tax) that would maintain all adult incomes above the poverty level.
We support: Public funding for living wage jobs. Tax incentives for businesses that apply fair employee wage standards, and income tax policies that restrict the accumulation of excessive wealth.
TAX JUSTICE / FAIRNESS
The high price of corporate welfare corrupts the political process. Corporate tax breaks are ultimately paid for by higher taxes on the middle class. Tax policy should encourage small and socially responsible business. Where corporations act responsibly and include the interests of their community and employees, we support appropriate tax incentives.
We call for environmental taxes, e.g., taxing industrial pollution, as a partial substitute for income taxes. We would raise corporate taxes. The corporate share of taxes has fallen from 33% in the 1940s to 15% today. We support progressivity in taxation. A central goal of tax policy should be "transparency," that is, a simple and understandable system which is resistant to the machinations of special interests. We oppose the "privatization" of Social Security.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Any attempt to combat crime must begin with restoration of community and positive approaches that build hope, responsibility and a sense of belonging, as well as addressing the economic and social root causes of crime. These should get priority over proposals to put more firepower on the streets; threatening criminals with harsher sentences; and building more prisons. Yet, we support law enforcement approaches that are firm and directly address violent crime, street crime, and trafficking in hard drugs.
We support independent civilian review of police misconduct and carefully considered gun control. We oppose the death penalty; the privatizing of prisons; and mandatory drug testing.
We call for: Judicial reform that opens up the court system, making it affordable and convenient to ordinary citizens. Decriminalization of "victimless" crimes, for example, the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Legalization of industrial hemp. An end to the "war on drugs." Expanding drug counseling and treatment. Innovative sentencing and punishment options, including community service for non-violent crimes.
CIVIL AND EQUAL RIGHTS
We condemn discrimination and violence against anyone but also recognize that people of color have borne the brunt of racial violence and discrimination throughout the history of the United States. We support affirmative action and reparations for people of color in the form of monetary compensation. We support: Effective enforcement of the "Voting Rights Act," including language access to voting. Vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws. Aggressive prosecution of hate crimes. Strengthening of legal services for the poor. Recently bills that encroach on civil liberties are of special concern.
We affirm the right to openly embrace sexual orientation. We support the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in housing, jobs, civil marriage and benefits, and child custody. Women's rights must be protected and expanded to guarantee each woman's right to be a full participant in society, free from sexual harassment and with choice about whether to have a child. We support the Equal Rights Amendment.
We support the creation of consumer advocacy agencies; reforms to better inform consumers about the products they are buying; and "whistleblower rights" laws.
FREE SPEECH
The scope of the First Amendment is extensive and prohibits any law which would abridge the freedom of speech or press, most clearly in reference to political matters. Our legal right to criticize government is essential to the effective working of democracy.
The privatization of the broadcast airwaves - one of our most important taxpayer assets - has caused serious deformations of our politics and culture. Private broadcasters control what the public owns. The concentration of power that has characterized the telecommunications industry must be limited.
IMMIGRATION / EMIGRATION
We must respect the contributions and the rights of our immigrants. We oppose those who seek to divide us for political gain by raising ethnic and racial hatreds.
ENERGY POLICY
Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy is key to sustainability. Energy management must be governed by the principle of Conservation, Efficiency, and Clean Renewables. We call for state energy policies that include taxes and fines on energy waste; the funding of energy research; and credits for alternative energy use such as solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass. We urge that new construction be required to achieve substantial portions of its heating energy from the sun.
We support efforts to develop inexpensive solar cells. Photovoltaic cells cost one-tenth what they did 20 years ago and wind power one-fifth what it did 10 years ago. Total renewable contribution to our nation's energy use could be 10% by 2010 and 20% by 2020. Incentives should be put in place to move utilities toward establishing solar power stations to supplant fossil-fuel generated electricity.
NUCLEAR ISSUES
There is no such thing as nuclear waste "disposal." All 6 of the "low-level" nuclear waste dumps in the United States have leaked. Generation of additional nuclear wastes must be stopped. We call for the early retirement of nuclear power reactors as soon as possible (in no more than 5 years); for a phase-out of other technologies that use or produce nuclear waste; and for an intensive campaign to educate the public about nuclear problems, including disposal, clean-up and long-term dangers.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Those responsible for toxic waste contamination on or off their sites should be responsible for costs of complete cleanup. We support recycling at every level of the economy, source reduction and municipal programs that focus on household recycling. We oppose incineration of solid waste, sewage, non- biological medical waste, and toxic waste and support rapid shutdown of existing such incinerators.
FOSSIL FUELS
We call for transition energy strategies, including the use of relatively clean-burning natural gas, as a way to reorder our priorities and for a phase-out of other fossil fuels. We oppose oil drilling or exploration in our nation's outer continental shelf. We support public ownership of utilities; strong regulation of private utilities; and tax-exempt bonds to finance public ownership, conservation, and renewable energy.
RENEWABLE GOODS
It is essential that alternative systems be put in place that produce goods that are durable, repairable, reusable, recyclable, and energy-efficient, using non-toxic materials and nonpolluting production methods.
AGRICULTURE
Family farms are essential to rural development and a healthy, diverse economy. The Green Party strongly opposes the rampant and damaging policies of corporate industrial farming and calls for a national shift away from these practices.
Genetically engineered and irradiated food should be clearly labeled. It is unacceptable that consumers do not know whether they are eating or drinking genetically modified organisms. We stand in opposition to a gen-food future as delivered by unaccountable mega-transnational corporations.
We call for the establishment of an ecologically based, sustainable agricultural system that moves as rapidly as possible towards bioregional self-reliance. World hunger can be best addressed by food supply independence. Man-made pesticides and artificial fertilizers should be phased out and research funded to find acceptable alternatives. We oppose the patenting of life forms.
We support the strongest organic standards and an end to government price supports which aid in non-organic food production.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Ecological systems are diverse and interlocking. Nature's survival strategy can best be found in the adaptability that comes as a result of biological diversity.
The Green Party supports a strong, enforceable Endangered Species Act and the Convention on Biological Diversity. We oppose international trade agreements which have provisions protecting transnational, corporate control of the "intellectual property" of genetic material, hybrid seeds and proprietary products.
Greens envision a healthy and sustainable food system, based on crop diversity, community empowerment, self-sufficiency, cooperative marketing, recycling, seed saving, local (and fresh) production, and organic methods.
Cloning is a challenge to basic Green philosophy. To classify a human as a commodity is to turn human beings into property. We call for an intelligent, compassionate approach to the treatment of animals.
ECONOMICS
Community-based economics constitutes an alternative to both corporate capitalism and state socialism. We can learn from indigenous people. The earth and its natural systems are to be respected and cared for. Concepts of ownership should be employed in the context of stewardship and social and ecological responsibility. To create an enduring society, we must devise a system of production and commerce where every act is sustainable and restorative.
Greens call for an economic system that is based on a combination of private businesses, decentralized democratic cooperatives, publicly owned enterprises, and alternative economic structures, all of which put human and ecological needs alongside profits to measure success, and are accountable to the communities in which they function. Recognition of limits is central. The drive to accumulate power and wealth is pathological. We advocate economic relations that are more direct, more cooperative, and more egalitarian.
Greens support a major redesign of commerce. Everything recycles, there is no waste. Consumables need to be designed to be thrown into a compost heap or eaten. Durable goods would be designed in closed-loop systems, ultimately to be disassembled and reassembled. Toxics would be safeguarded and have markers identifying them as belonging, in perpetuity, to their makers.
CITIZEN CONTROL OVER CORPORATIONS
Corporations possess more rights and freedoms than natural human persons. Through a series of judicial rulings and their ability to control governments and economies, corporations have rewritten our Constitution and have emerged as unaccountable governments. Investment and production decisions that can shape our communities and lives should not be made from afar in boardrooms, closed-door regulatory agencies, and prohibitively expensive courtrooms. Officers of corporations should be directly liable for harm they cause.
We challenge the propriety and equity of corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks, subsidies, grants, bailouts, giveaways, unenforced laws and regulations; and continuing access to our public resources, including land, forests, minerals, intellectual property rights, and government-created research.
It is time to support government attempts to define corporations and to prevent these entities from exercising democratic rights which are uniquely possessed by the citizens of the United States. It is unacceptable to have the level of influence now being exerted by corporate interests over the public interest.
LIVABLE INCOME
We affirm the importance of access to a livable income. People who are unable to find decent work in the private sector should have options through publicly funded opportunities. A "living wage" standard will go a long way toward achieving this goal.
SMALL BUSINESS AND JOB CREATION
We support initiatives for forming small enterprises that together can become an engine and a model of job creation, prosperity and progress. Over the past decade and a half, all new net job growth has come from the small business sector. We oppose arbitrary or discriminatory practices which act to deny small business access to credit. The tax system needs a major overhaul, since current tax policies often act to unfairly penalize small business. Government should reduce wherever possible unnecessary restrictions, fees, and red tape.
We support the full deductibility of health insurance premiums paid by the self-employed. Insurance costs need to be brought down. Home-based businesses and neighborhood-based businesses need to be assisted, not hurt by out-of-date zoning ordinances. "Telecommuting" and "home offices" should be aided by government.
TRADE
We reject trade agreements negotiated in secret and unduly influenced by corporate representatives. We oppose the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and its progeny, the World Trade Organization (WTO). We demand that these agreements be updated to include more specific environmental, worker, health and safety standards in the text itself, not as "side agreements." We reject any agreement which threatens the authority of states and local communities to establish more stringent standards.
The Green Party urges a Tobin tax, a small tax on cross border currency transactions ($1.8 trillion daily). It would cool the dangerous speculative fever and raise up to $250 billion annually, which could be devoted to world poverty, international peacekeeping, and environmental problems
THE NATIONAL DEBT
For many years the federal government borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars. Money that should have been going into a better "safety net" for the poor, homes for the homeless, new business and jobs, research and development, roads and bridges, schools and the technologies of tomorrow, has been lost to servicing the national debt. We must continue to move toward reduction in the national debt and we must make up for the neglect that the deficits caused.
Working people and the small business community are shouldering a disproportionate amount the debt burden. To help make up for our nation's neglect, we support tax increases on mega-corporate and wealthy interests; defense budget reductions (see FOREIGN POLICY); and entitlement reductions to those who can afford reductions most (by "means testing," etc.).
These are but a handful of positions that we espouse for the nation, the state and the local communities in which Americans live in. Again a more thorough treatment can be found on the website.
I leave you with two very important thoughts in these troubled times of religious and political tumult. Make no mistake about it, but it's Germany 1934 here in the United States. An element of the Republican Party known as Neocons, have wrested power and threaten the constitution of this great country. They mesmerized Congress and tricked that body into approving a dangerous and constitutionally malevolent law known as the USA PATRIOT Act. That act seriously abrogates well-established protections that our Constitution had heretofore afforded our people. Freedom is very costly to gain and very easy to throw away. Unless we fight now, our freedoms have been extensively damaged by this law. And yet the Neocons and their fundamentalist allies toil ceaselessly and tirelessly to destroy our important freedoms in their gulag-building efforts using the bogeyman of terrorism to frighten and impress the citizenry. Make no mistake about it, there is a bit of philosophic Taliban in every Fundamentalist.
I’ll entertain any questions now.