We as Americans are fortunate.

We live in a country with more freedoms than many and a vastly higher standard of living than most in the world. We waste more resources than many people have the opportunity to use, we have more cars than drivers, and we turn food crops into fuel while people go hungry. Our priorities are based on convenience and our leaders appear to make decisions based on financial and political gain. We as a disgruntled public stand by and allow it. We need to do something other than watch.

My goal for this pamphlet is to honor the legacy of printers and activists from the past, such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine, who saw issues of the day and did their part to bring them to the attention of others. This information isn't new. It's readily available. These sobering facts and figures are thoroughly researched and cited. Originally, this pamphlet was planned as a satirical statement about the issues of our day, but in the end, the weight of this material was far too great to treat lightly. My hope is that it promotes a discourse with the readers and the desire to learn more and become more involved. Our democracy only works as well as the people involved in it. We as Americans have the responsibility to live up to our claims of being the greatest country on earth. If we don't step up to the plate, then that's not a claim we have the right to make.

AMERICA

#1 COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

BUT ARE WE REALLY?

Our leaders love to pontificate about America being the greatest country on earth, and we the masses love to wear our foam finger proudly and shout “We're Number One!” to the rest of the world. But what are we really?

A

Climate change is good

State Representative Joe Read in Montana believes that climate change is a natural occurrence and not accelerated by pollution. He has proposed an economics bill that includes declaring climate change to be good for the state’s business economy and well-being.

B

Slavery and the Bible

Arkansas State Congressman Loy Mauch has written of his support of slavery and his belief that it is not condemned in the Bible.

C

Buyer’s remorse

Ken Buck, front runner for Colorado’s
US Senate seat and current local District Attorney, refused to see a rape case on grounds that a jury could conclude
that this is a case of buyer’s remorse, stating, “Although, you never said the word yes, the appearance is of consent.”

D

Abortion law combined
with motorcycle law

In an attempt to pass multiple restricting laws all at once, politicians in NC have lumped abortion restrictions inside of
a motorcycle safety bill, hoping to rush it through the house. Regardless of how unrelated abortions and motorcycles are, this actually passed.

E

Felony to propose a law
that restricts gun rights

Missouri State Representative Mike Leara proposed a law that would make proposing laws that infringe on the right to bear arms a felony offense.

F

Climate change is not fact

Both Texas and Louisiana have laws that make it required to teach that climate change is a theory and not a fact, regardless of scientific consensus that climate change is real and man-made.

F

Segregated proms still happen

Regardless of students’ desire to join proms, the leadership in place at some schools in the South, such as Georgia, still insist on holding segregated events.

G

Insurance benefits for no one in the National Guard

Governor Mary Fallin stated that Oklahoma would no longer offer benefits for any National Guard couples to avoid breaking federal same sex laws.

!

Government shutdown

Fueled by Republican disdain for Obamacare, the federal government fought for six weeks over a budget bill, eventually ending in a lengthy government shutdown that cost us 24 billion dollars.

!

Ted Cruz’s filibuster

To show his and his fellow Republicans’ opposition of Obamacare, Ted Cruz spoke for 21 hours straight about his dislike for the program among other miscellaneous unrelated topics.

What can you and I do?

Firstly, we need to base our decisions on sound logic.

Take pollution for instance. Why pollution has become a political issue gets at the bewildering degradation of our environment. Profits now, exhausted earth later. In a recent election, a popular candidate repeatedly spoke of getting rid of the EPA. He came dangerously close to being elected. Do we not recall when America had rivers that caught fire? When the symbol of our country, the American Bald Eagle, was endangered due to the spread of the pesticide DDT traveling up the food chain? How could this candidate be in contention? Environmental regulation helps ensure protection.

Secondly, we need to consider where we get our information.
Many media outlets are extremely biased and have been proven so. For instance, it was shown that people who watched Fox News were more likely to believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, and that the more often they watched, the stronger their beliefs became. Polls by media- monitoring groups studying fairness in reporting show the bias of this network, yet those who watch it believe there is none. Just because an email traverses the internet saying that so-and-so is a socialist does not make it so. We need to stop being so gullible. We choose to believe what we want. We tend to listen to programs that support our own views rather than listen to a variety of viewpoints and then think critically for ourselves. We choose to be passive. We choose to vote based on a single topic of our ideology, abortion for example, instead of a potential leader's entire platform. We blame our problems on others, often of differing race or socioeconomic class, rather than look deeper into the root of the problem.

Thirdly, we need to get involved.
Yes, it’s hard to believe that one small voice can hardly make a difference, but it can. Change starts with individuals believing in a dream and working hard to realize it. Where would we be today without the efforts of individuals like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jane Adams, John Dewey, Upton Sinclair, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Betty Friedan, Harvey Milk and many, many more.

Do what you can with what you have. I have printing presses and I have a voice. My hope is that putting this book out into the world will make a difference.

Thank you,

Todd M. Thyberg

February 2014

You can order a hard copy of this manifesto—use the promo code BoingBoing to get $5 off.

The best country on earth…

…why do so many of our people go hungry? Why do our leaders consistently work for corporate interests rather than individuals’ rights? How can our leaders, the media, and we the public still be ignorant to the factual reality of climate change? Why can someone go to prison
for a minor drug offense while the people who brought our economy to its knees still receive bonuses? Why are we still taking off our shoes to fly? How can 2/3 of America’s population be overweight when people here and around the world are going hungry? How is it acceptable to make fuel from food? Why don’t we Americans question policies?

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

The information in this book is not ground-breaking, but it is time-sensitive. If left unattended, these matters will only increase in scale. It is up to each of us to stay educated and actively do our individual parts to change the direction of this country. These are sources of the data referenced in this pamphlet,but a simple online search will help you to stay informed as the most current information becomes available.

AMERICA IS #1

“Bullying is more common among old children-Girls.” Society at a Glance 2009: OECD Social Indicators, OECD Publishing. 2009. Link

“Democracy Index 2010: Democracy in Retreat.” The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2010.