There's work to be done

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Eighteen hours ago, I wrote an outline for a post. Because of today's appalling events in DC and in state capitals around the country, it didn't get written. But several people have asked for the outline, so here it is.

Why do I talk about trains in circumstances like these? They are part of rebuilding our society.

There's lots of work to be done. It's taken decades to get where we are now, so we need to get started now.

1. Restore quality schools.
   -Recruit, train and pay teachers as the indispensable professionals they are.
   -Provide curricula that focus on building informed, media-literate citizens.
   -Foster science, to build the next generation of pandemic-fighters and space explorers.
2. Restore accountable media.
   -Traditional and social media must be responsible to the communities they serve, not owners and advertisers.
   -Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine would be a start.
   -End exemptions for the so-called "churches" that are nothing more than fronts for grifts and political hate groups.
3. Reverse inequality.
4. Focus on the future, not the next election.
   -Reverse policies that foster unsustainable climate change.
5. Foster communication, connections and understanding with people who don't look like you.
   -Encourage efficient transportation, transit and passenger trains, using today's infrastructure and technologies, while building for the future.
6. Politicians should be accountable to voters, not big donors.

Passenger rail does 4 and 5, which is why I advocate for it.

How conservative can you get?