Maine Secedes from the Union; A Utopian Fantasy

Maine Secedes from the Union: A Utopian Fantasy

Mary-Ellen Pecci

Purdue University Global

Maine Secedes from the Union: A Utopian Fantasy

TO: The Legislature of United States of America.

FROM: The Senate Subcommittee on State Affairs: The Organized Territory of Maine

DATE: April 4, 2018

SUBJECT: Maine Secedes from the Union

Due to U.S. Government cut backs and tax exemptions the State of Maine will secede from the union and form its own socially centered government. The new state is called (OTM), Organized Territory of Maine. As a courtesy to the United States of America, herein are the guidelines voted on by the people and accepted by the newly elected governor. The newly formed governing agencies look forward to restructuring criminal justice/education, trade, immigration, and health and human services, transportation and environmental protection.  Other institutions will also be restructured. Data on these will be available in annual reports. 

The population of the State of Maine holds the oldest demographic, other than Florida, of any state in the Union per capita. The population over 50 years old is 38.7%. It also is one of the ‘whitest’ states, (Policy Academy, 2012).  Cuts in budgets to Medicaid, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services and other detrimental welfare economic institutions, and the loss of immigrant workers to an already socioeconomic stressed state have instigated the move to secede.

Criminal Justice—Department of Corrections: A sub-agency under the Department of Education

The first institution that will experience a new face will the (DOC) Department of Corrections.  It will now fall under the (DOE), Department of Education.  Prisons and jails will be turned into classrooms where students will be connected by computers to their respective classes.  There will be a focus on psychology, sociology, business administration, public administration and technology. Education through undergraduate school will be free to all citizens. The non-profit organization of (RTM), Retired Teachers of Maine, will be organizing the programing and classes for the DOC branch of the DOE.  Fund raising activities for future grants for students who will proceed in a master’s degree and/or doctorate degree program will also be a function of RTM.  We fully expect issues of drug use will slowly fade from the crime scene pallet once education has taken up space in the culture and society of those who are addicted. Support of society and peers will promote reform. Presently, in capitalistic societies there is a propensity for denial amongst theorist as to the influence of social environment as Wikstrom & Treiber (2016)  portray in this circular conclusion:

“Our findings support the assertion that the relationship between social disadvantage and crime involvement may be explained by the fact that more young people who experience childhood disadvantage at home and in their neighborhoods are likely to develop a high crime propensity and be exposed to criminogenic settings, but that these are far from inevitable outcomes of growing up disadvantaged.” 

Grants will be available for higher education. Those students that have been accurately accessed as of true criminal mind will serve their sentences in the capacity of class room instructors, correcting papers, and providing encouragement to students until they are deemed no longer a threat to society. 

Trade—Department of Economic and Business Affairs

The (DEBA) Department of Economic and Business Affairs will regulate trade.  The (OTM) will focus on building an economic base that revolves around solar power, wind power, wave power and other energy efficient businesses. The northern half of the state, old abandoned farms, are ripe for development of manufacturing and assembly of energy efficient goods. This will promote home and small business development in that part of the territory. Wright (2012) explains one way capitalism contradicts the full realization of democracy;  it allows private wealth to affect access to political power which creates workplace dictatorships. Therefore OTM will provide strong tax incentives for companies to form as an ‘employee owned’ company. Foreign trade will be a necessity both import and export. OTM negotiators will be ethical and forward thinking experts in their fields. Our nonprofit chambers of commerce will work with other nonprofits involved in educating business and international trade. One such organization is, (NEXCO.org, (n.d.).

Immigration—Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services

The (DCIS) Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services is another institution which will have a new face. It will oversee entry of those from other countries with an eye toward persons who have experience in the fields of technology of which we need their skills. OTM will continue to use the process of investigation that the U.S. has in place before accepting entry. Once accepted and working or in school for one year-- citizenship will be available with certain formalities but at little cost. The nonprofit group Legal Eagle for Change will help process documents. Children of immigrants that are born in OTM will automatically be citizens.  Children brought in when under the age of 15 will also be granted citizenship on the granting of a parents citizenship. The nonprofit organization, Scouting for Citizens, will be responsible for overseeing settlement to and in communities where specific skills are in need. The present group of DACA immigrants will be first to be accepted into OTM.

Department of Health and Human Services

The (DHHS) Department of Health and Human Services will be largely operated by nonprofits and volunteer services. Each agency under DHHS such as child protective services, elder protective services etc. will have a main office in the capital but each county will have major staffing by nonprofits where outreach will be simplified and close to those in need. The nonprofit groups overseeing clients will be staffed mostly by volunteers comprised of retired social services employees and educators assigned a specific town, city, or township. Weekly check-ins’ on clients and efficient reporting on conditions will be required by volunteer staff to the county nonprofit. The main DHHS office will be the information gatherer, statistics and analysis preparer and budget projector.

Department of Transportation

The (DOT) Department of Transportation will work closely with DCIS and DHHS to provide not only good infrastructure but also to provide “social transportation networks” that will promote emotionally healthy societal interaction as well as needed transportation for medical and life necessities. The elderly specifically are at risk of being cordoned off from society. The nonprofit “Hell on Wheels” will be responsible for grant writing and fund raising as well as trip organization. Funds will be needed for vehicles, repairs, and insurance.   Weekly bus transport to a mall, a state park, a museum are suggested. Drivers and monitors will be volunteers. 

Environmental Protection Agency

The (EPA) Environmental Protection Agency will play a major role in OTM. Gasoline mowers, leaf blowers and other gas operating landscaping equipment will be banned. Emissions control will be a priority. This type of equipment will no longer be sold. Powerful new designs in electric model landscaping equipment are now available. Incentives to purchase electric cars, SUV’s and pickup trucks will be instituted. Solar powered electric plug in stations will be on the budgetary agenda. EPA funding for grants to nonprofits will aide in educating the public and also provide grants toward technical school education. Our nonprofits will continue to work with international nonprofits such as The Ocean Conservancy, Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund.

Discussion

The International Bill of Human Rights will be the focus of government. The Constitution will be based on the United States Constitution but changes will be instituted that equate to the goals of the International Bill of Human Rights. Article I in the IBHR (1948) states all humans will act toward each other in the spirit of brotherhood. Article II forbids any kind of discrimination. Human dignity is the focus throughout. Adjustments in the new Constitution will be forthcoming. One initial change will be to the Second Amendment; only active militia in wartime can have possession of military style arms.

OTM will be a Social Democracy and as such the people will have a greater say then just provided by the voting booth. Wright (2012) offers a point regarding Capitalism; it excludes crucial decisions from public deliberation. Social justice is more than material it is the social condition. It involves equity, trust, respect, and solidarity. In order to achieve this we have to start off with a balanced society. There will be Medicare for all. (UBI) Unconditional Basic Income will be instituted. Citizens will be allotted an amount above the poverty level. There will be no other public programs of income support and no minimum wage as UBI compensates. This opens up the door for many volunteers as well as families to have the opportunity to achieve via further employment.  It removes the competition for unpaid internships and encourages worker cooperatives. Everyone will have “equal access” not just equal opportunity. ‘All access’ at all times is a guarantee where ‘opportunity’ can disappear if one fudges in the early stages. (Wright, 2012).

Conclusion

Organized Territory of Maine will mobilize and create collective social action and provide an equitable and flourishing lifestyle. We hope to beat Norway on the happiness scale. This experiment in new statehood will hopefully set an example for future states.

References

(ACL) Administration for Community Living (2012). Policy Academy Maine State Profile. Retrieved from https://www.acl.gov/sites/default/files/programs/2016-11/Maine%20Epi%20Profile%20Final.pdf

NEXCO.org. Retrieved from http://www.nexco.org/about-us-2/

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Dec. 10, 1948). Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

Wikstrom, O.H. & Treiber, K. (2016). Social Disadvantage and Crime; A Criminological Puzzle. Am Behav Sci. 60(10): 1232–1259. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4962323/

Wright, E.O. (2012). Transforming Capitalism through Real Utopias.

American Sociological Review. XX(X) 1 –25. Retrieved from DOI: 10.1177/0003122412468882

Nourish Your Brain or Consume Junk?

Nourish your brain or consume junk?

What Is the Internet Doing to Our Brains?  Nicholas G. Carr, in his best seller ‘The Shallows,’ tells us. 

“Acquiring knowledge is like having sex; it releases dopamine into the pleasure centers of the brain.”  The possibility of addiction seems eminent.  The compulsion to always be playing with our electronic devices becomes an obsession.   I know by experience that is true, because whenever I say, “I wonder…,” it is off to my desk top computer to check it out.  As of yet I am pretty much clueless to the blackberry, lap top, I-Pod, etc.  After listening to the video and reading the other content on this link I am in no rush to acquire these electronics.  As an aside: My sisters won’t communicate with me because I don’t text.  I absolutely love my land line because it is cheap and I like to hear a human being on the other end without having to worry about my minutes. I do carry a cell phone which is off most of the time.

In our primitive history, Carr comments, we needed knowledge for survival.  We have used that knowledge to build upon and be creative and advance civilization.  Here we are, racing to the finish line. Now it is time to slow down because as Carr points out, our brains cannot process information with the intensity it is flowing because the short term working memory cannot process more than two to four pieces of information at a time. Any more info flowing in causes “cognitive overload.”

As a result, the flow of information into our long term memories where we use it to associate new learning to past experience and knowledge, is stunted.  Do you suppose this is why Carr named the book “The Shallows,” because people become intellectually shallow when they can’t associate?  Carr says the richness and depth which is lost leads to the inability to determine what is useful information and that which is trivia.

It is very reasonable to assume there is a loss of productivity if one is on the job and having to succumb to “switching cost” when at one moment they might be texting and another checking something out online, and then actually performing on the job.  The brain has to readjust for each change in focus.

Carr also comments on the loss of deep creativity most likely as a result of the constant lack of long term focus.

Some of the quotes that Carr used on the link were also revealing.  The New Republic, Aug. 4, 2011, Past Tense Pop, implies our present music culture has been wounded by technology.  Our youth are apolitical and music is mundane as a result.  It has lost its subversive energies that help with change. “None of it matters much.  It just streaks by.”  Maybe the “Occupy” movement will stimulate some excitement in that venue. 

Marshall McLuhan has written on the media effects on the brain.  I would like to read more of his opinions and writings. This is from, The Atlantic, July-August 2008, Is Google Making Us Stupid?  “As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski."  What a great metaphor.  You can feel the depth versus the shallowness.

From The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, January 7, 2008.  Here the plight of the 99% is equated with the loss of jobs due to technology. “The erosion of the middle class may well accelerate, as the divide widens between a relatively small group of extraordinarily wealthy people - the digital elite - and a very large set of people who face eroding fortunes and a persistent struggle to make ends meet. In the YouTube economy, everyone is free to play, but only a few reap the rewards."  The “digital elite” is an apt description.

From The Guardian, November 22, 2007, Genotyping Goes Mainstream, This quote about Google’s “23 and Me,” actually gave me the chills.  Combining genetic profiling of “23 and Me” with tracking, now that is one terrifying thought!  The implications of this could be devastating to our personal liberties.  I was very surprised to hear Google promotes this app or whatever it is called. 

We are missing out on a real community of real caring.  I thought it was because we had become so over populated but now I think it is because we have distanced ourselves by putting technology between us and others as a bed-board. Without touching our fellowman emotionally and intellectually we will or have become Avatar’s; we can make ourselves up as we go along.  Such lack of structure would lead to a weakening of self efficacy resulting from the loss of deep creative thought.  From Harvard Business Review, 5/1999 "Being Virtual: Character and the New Economy,"  “But every time we reinvent ourselves, we erase the meaning that our past experiences granted us. In place of an ethical sense of ourselves as people with clear attachments, we are left with an ironic sense of ourselves as fabrications. We become unreal, virtual."

One can over eat, or indulge in too much fat or sugar and not enough fiber.  The internet can provide us with the tools to educate and communicate needed information as a social reform tool, nourishing our psyches and society.  It is a choice to nourish your brain or consume junk.   It is all in how you use the tool – brain – internet.