Moyers on America: A Journalist and His Times
by Bill Moyers
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bill MoyersEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-06-14
ISBN: 1400095360
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of Moyers on America: A Journalist and His Times
Book Review: Moyers is qualified to be a delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention
Summary: 5 Stars
Respected journalist Bill Moyers has an urgent warning for Americans: don't let democracy die. "You have to stand up and fight as if the cause depends on you. Allow yourself that conceit -- to believe in the flame of democracy will never go out as long as there's one candle in one citizen's hand."
Moyers sees, correctly, that "something is deeply wrong with politics today". The soul of democracy has been dying, he writes, "drowning in a rising tide of big money contributed by a narrow, unrepresentative elite that has betrayed the faith of citizens in self-government". He exposes corruption in government and fears we are "creeping toward an oligarchic society where a relative handful of the rich and priviledged decide, with their money, who will run, who will win, and how they will govern". He criticizes the news media as well, showing how cost-cutting measures have cheapened news.
While Moyers has intelligent criticisms of what's wrong with America, he fails to see the more dangerous, looming problem that confronts all of us. It is this: the political process is broken, in my view. Washington is corrupt. Congress is gridlocked. There's a dangerous concentration of power in the executive branch in one person -- the president -- and the usual system of checks and balances seems to have come undone. The federal system is askew -- ideally state governments should regulate their own economies, but Washington has usurped this power through numerous rulings, often encouraged by the Supreme Court. And this body of unelected justices has, in many respects, assumed a quasi-legislative role, which was never intended by the Constitution's Framers, because it has the power to strike down any law it deems unconstitutional. Washington is like a giant crashed computer, unresponsive to keystrokes, and unable to cope with serious issues such as Social Security underfunding, the specter of terrorism, financial meltdowns, global warming, corruption, lobbying running rampant, and so on.
Americans should heed Moyers' warning but also read "The American Lie" by Benjamin Ginsberg; "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution" by Kevin R. C. Gutzman; "Common Sense II: How to Prevent the Three Types of Terrorism" by myself; "Up To Our Eyeballs" by several authors; "Our Undemocratic Constitution" by Sanford Levinson; "How America Got It Right" by Bevin Alexander (a tough critique of American foreign policy). Generally, these are tough, non-partisan looks at a nation in deep denial.
I think the problems are so dangerous that a Second Constitutional Convention is required to fix them, so I have summoned this body, using my authority as a private citizen, and it will convene in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, beginning July 4th, 2009. Clearly, Moyers' excellent book shows me that he's qualified to be a delegate to this Convention. He is one of the few Americans with the vision, integrity, media skill, government knowledge, and patriotic fervor who can fix the Constitution. A new document should be based on the existing one but which: (1) prevents crime, tyranny, and foreign terrorism (2) restores citizenship as an active relationship between individual and government (3) brings back the federal structure where state governments have the most authority in regulating their respective economies (4) fixes the architecture of government to permit intelligent and long-range foreign policy (5) identifies movement in public (to thwart terrorism) while preserving privacy (6) de-politicizes the Supreme Court (7) limits factionalism.
As of this writing, Bill Moyers has not responded to my invitations (sent by mail and email). Please write below urging Mr. Moyers to attend.
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