Democracy is at its best when all eligible people participate in the process. In the past, there have been too many who did not register to vote and stood by and watched others determine America's political and economic future. As a consequence of the last eight years of President George W. Bush and the neocons, millions of American families are now sinking deeper into the quicksands of poverty, inadequate health care, deteriorating public school systems, housing foreclosures and other forms of domestic economic misery.
This year, however, presents an unprecedented opportunity and responsibility for millions of new young voters to make the critical difference in the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. We are working to make sure that on November 4, 2008, there will be the largest youth voter turn out in American history.
In Denver this week at the Democratic National Convention and a week later in St. Paul at the Republican National Convention, the candidates for president and vice president of the United States will be formally nominated by the DNC and RNC.
Now that Senator Barack Obama has made the decision to have Senator Joe Biden join the Democratic ticket as the candidate for vice president and Senator John McCain is on the verge of deciding who his running mate will be, this is the pivotal moment and time for millions of young voters across America to weigh-in on the critical issues that Democrats, Republicans and Independents need to address between now and the November election.
The importance of the issues need to be emphasized here. The quality of life of people, families and communities are all at stake. The established media tends to focus disproportionat
If John McCain can not remember how many houses he owns and he thinks that the American economy is doing fairly well, then he is more than out of touch with the realities that we know exist in our communities.
Homelessness in the United States has grown to a record number during the last eight years. According to the latest statistics from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), on any single night there are nearly 800,000 homeless persons throughout the United States. That's the number that HUD has been able to officially estimate based on 2006-2007 reports. The number today is probably much higher, given the current housing and mortgage crisis. It is probably closer to a million homeless people each day and night that have to roam and beg for food and shelter on the streets of the wealthiest nation in the world.
Nearly half of all homeless persons in the US are women and children. Two-thirds of the homeless are minorities. Homelessness should be one of the key issues of this presidential race, in particular for young voters, that demands a call for change.
The rise in joblessness and unemployment are also factors contributing to the increase in poverty. Thus far in 2008, nearly a half million more workers have joined the ranks of the unemployed. In fact, the US Department of Labor reported that the July 2008 unemployment rate of 5.7% was the highest since 2004. Astonishingly, more than 3.6 million long-tenured workers have been displaced since 2005 from their jobs either because of plant closings, outsourcing and/or changes in the stability of America's industrial and manufacturing base.
For eighteen year-olds and other teenagers who've sought employment this summer, another harsh situation confronted them-the absence of job opportunities. The Labor Department reported over 20% of teenagers are unemployed. Youth employment, job training programs, vocational education, and basic job and career development opportunities are all issues around which young voters are demanding a change.
It appears that one of the reasons why Obama decided to pick Biden as his running mate for vice president is because of Biden's blue collar roots and his longstanding endorsement of organized labor's support for jobs and better wages for American workers. It will be interesting to hear how the Obama-Biden ticket intends to deal with the issues of poverty, homelessness, jobs, education, heath care, environment, the Iraq war and other issues that are important to young voters. Likewise, John McCain's decision on his running mate will also send a signal to young voters of his sensitivity to the issues that young people care about passionately.
In Denver on the first night of the DNC, a special message was sent to the Yoga Festival assembled to put an emphasis on the issues of health care and the global consciousness of youth and people of goodwill all over America and throughout the world for peace, nonviolence, equal justice, and more respect for the environment, humanity, humane treatment of animals, conservation and all justice-making and peace-making work that will make the nation and world a better place for all. Arianna Huffington will give the keynote address to the festival.
Poets, writers and artists that are sincere about using their God-given creativity and genius to promote and encourage progressive change are being more and more outspoken on these issues because they are guided by the inner search of their souls and spirits to find the oneness of God and the oneness of all creation. This is what a yogi refers to as Atman, the God within.
When poets and artists push the societal envelope with courage and clarity, sometimes they are misunderstood. But most creative people will not be like sheep and be misled or intimidated by the desire of those to be politically correct which often means being politically silent in the face of social injustice and mass suffering. Through meditation, art, and poetic expression, artists and poets throughout history have been at the forefront of saying no to abuse, all abuse. They take the lead in saying yes to change. Compassion dissipates fear. This is at the core of why artists shatter the silence. We are witnessing the evolution of the diversity and universality of the consciousness of humanity. The abusive politics of the past must be challenged and transformed.
In this respect, Oprah has also mentioned that there are more than 37 million people, many of whom are young adults, who are yearning for a better way of life and a higher state of consciousness as outlined in Eckhart Tolle's new book that has sold over 10 million copies: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. Earlier this year, we sent out an Open Letter to all the US Presidential Candidates. We also highlighted the point about the growing new "consciousness"
The entire world will be impacted by the outcome of the elections here in the United States. Thus, a reality check is in order during the DNC and the RNC. We join with millions of young people who want to see a Nu America, a Nu Earth and Nu World. That means there has to be a Nu Politics and a Nu Economics guided by a Nu Consciousness based on peace, freedom, justice and equality for all and not based on greed, war, destruction, injustice and oppression.
Our call to action is a call to a new consciousness and a new commitment. Between now and November 4, 2008, let us all use our energy, imagination, creativity, prayer and power to make the determinative difference. God bless. Let's make change happen now.
