Pax-salon Mailing List: Pax-Salon

[Patty Guerrero (pattypax]

HI,   .   In January we will have Open Discussions the first 2 Tuesdays, then 
Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer the 3rd Tues, Jan. 21.  Jack founded ASAP  MN ASAP is a 
non-partisan citizen-based initiative using a simple resolution process to 
build political support to shift federal spending priorities from war to 
meeting essential needs. 
MN ASAP’s goal is to build sufficient political power and influence statewide 
from representatives at all levels of government and from non-governmental 
organizations and civic groups to effectively demand a shift in priorities from 
war spending to meeting essential needs.

                
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The 4th Tuesday is the Little Book of the Odd Month Club and instead of a book 
---How 'bout an old fashioned civics exercise?

The guest for the Salon on Jan 29 will lead us in this discussion.   He wonders 
if our Salon is a good place for this to happen.  "What to happen?" , you may 
ask.

Well, if the polls are right, up to 80% of our nation think our country is 
going in the wrong direction.   "What," our speaker asks , "if we the people 
decided to do more that just wring our hands telling a pollster we feel our 
nation is going in the ditch."  How would we proceed?  What do we fix?
Aren't these  questions similar to the ones our nation's founders asked 2 plus 
centuries ago?  So, maybe we could say we are in the founders shoes.  How do we 
re-found our Republic?   Or, if not we-found , then build it froward on the 
founders' work?  Too tough?  Too Theoretical?  Too broad?  Too non-sensical?  
Because, after all, who are we to tackle something so profound by non-experts?  
But, we see with 200 plus years of boots on the ground retrospect what our 
founders could see only in prospect.  And, did they get everything right?

So, our speaker for the evening, John Demma, wonders about an old fashion 
civics exercise: Reading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  
 Also, a Pod Cast recommended to listen to is:  (see below in how to access it) 
 (or email me ) 
Also, the Bill Moyers essay which i will send.

Ben Franklin reportedly observed the Republic he helped fashion was our to 
keep, "IF, we could manage to do so."   "We The People" have been relegated to 
2nd place in our system of self-governance and we face challenges  remarkable 
similar to those the founders encountered back then.
In staking our freedom and liberty , the founders, all upstanding, 
property-owning, male aristocrats, feared the "rabble" (that's us) and their 
fear wasn't unfounded and the fear of the 1% of the rabble today isn't 
unfounded,  either---think NSA, militarized police to tase and tear gas Occupy, 
drones, 10 ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. (We now have 
one in Dakota County)  

So, Mr. Demma wonders , maybe it's time We-the-People declare again our 
independence in a written document similar to Thomas Jefferson's emblematic 
work.  Renew our ceclaration. Vent our grievances.  What would this say?  Maybe 
the salon could, as a civics exercise, re-write one as a peaceful , just,  step 
toward fixing our broken republic----re-constitiuting as one of, by and for an 
elite few into one for all of us.  What dos the Constitution say to us in our 
current moment.  And, what doesn't it say that's helped us get into our present 
mess?

The above words are what John would like the salon to discuss.  In another 
email i will send what John proposes as "ground rules" for this night of 
Discussion and Civics Exercise.  I am not much for "ground rules" , nor have we 
ever had them, but we can see what happens as John sees the evening going.  

So, for the last Tuesday in January , let's read the Constitution, the 
Declaration of Independence, listen to the pod cast (see and hear it on 
"Constitutionalcenter.org  1. American Epic: Reading the Constitution and 2. 
Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address)  and read Moyers' essay "The Great American 
Class War--Democracy vs. Plutocracy."

Sounds fun and exciting and a place to exercise our rights as "We the People."  

Hope you come. Please do.   BUT,  a little caveat here-----Mr. Demma might have 
a conflict on that night.  But, i am going ahead and planning on this as a 
discussion with him present or not.  We can all begin by reading the 
aforementioned items.   Then, when he can be at the salon we will be ready for 
a discussion.

Peace for the new year

Patty