SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: ENVIRONMENT

Albert Bierstadt, Yosemite Valley

            Today, in the last of our series on the American Solidarity Party’s platform, we look at its position on the environment, with a commentary by myself at the end.

Environment

We are responsible to care for the earth so that present and future generations can enjoy the benefits of a healthy environment, including clean air and water and the rich biodiversity that is our heritage. The American Solidarity Party rejects the notion that environmental stewardship requires either diminished workers’ rights or population control. Maintaining our environment will require individuals, businesses, and local communities taking responsibility for their contributions; however, due to the national and global nature of the environment, we see an appropriate role for our federal and state governments in adopting and enforcing evidence-based policies regarding pollution, climate change, and alternative forms of energy.

• We are committed to building an economy using models of production and distribution that are local, responsible, and sustainable. We call for the repeal of subsidies that encourage urban sprawl and discourage local farming and production, and we encourage local media outlets and chambers of commerce to promote buying locally.
• We must all take personal and familial responsibility for stewardship of the environment. We must teach habits of conservation to our children both at home and in our schools, and we must put them into practice ourselves.
• Local governments should consider the health of the environment along with human solidarity when considering business development strategies, housing strategies, and other key decisions. As one example, transportation planning should look for opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, while enabling the free movement of those unable to afford private vehicles.
• Even in urban settings, there is much we can do to build a healthier environment. We oppose neighborhood policies that incentivize chemical-saturated lawns, or forbid outdoor clotheslines. We oppose the use of street lights so bright that they disrupt natural circadian rhythms or migration patterns.
• We must make every effort to ensure that no home in America lacks access to clean drinking water in the home and fresh foods in the neighborhood.
• Federal and state government subsidies for reckless oil and mineral extraction (such as “fracking”) must be eliminated and replaced with funding for research into renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind, and nuclear power. At the same time, states need more economic development initiatives, such as job retraining and direct family aid, in those regions adversely affected by the transition to planet-friendly fuels and modes of production.
• Strong regulations are required to conserve our nation’s great natural resources and to protect our land, air, and water from man-made pollution and degradation, including maintaining current laws meant for that purpose. We also insist on the direct accountability of illegal polluters to their victims in the courts.
• The federal government can institute pollution taxes and cap-and-trade systems to incentivize transitioning to renewable and non-polluting production systems. Revenue from pollution taxes should be used to fund carbon sequestration by farms, businesses, and individuals, and returned to the people through a carbon dividend.
• We must do more than protect our current nature preserves; we must also actively rebuild the natural habitats necessary for a healthy environment. Federal government agencies should take all necessary measures to preserve and protect our natural wetlands, which provide an ecologically-healthy form of flood control. More trees should be planted as a natural carbon sink and to combat deforestation and desertification. Natural meadows and wildflowers are also essential for threatened populations of pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
• The federal government should prioritize new distribution technologies for waste, with particular concern for the oceans which are vital to a healthy earth.
• As part of our stewardship of the natural world, we have an obligation to humanely care for animals. We support the strengthening of laws against animal abuse and neglect, including stricter regulation of factory farms and stockyards and the repeal of food disparagement laws and so-called ag-gag laws that prohibit free speech regarding animal agriculture.

Commentary:

            The American Solidarity Party’s platform plank on the environment lays down the broad principle that “We are responsible to care for the earth so that present and future generations can enjoy the benefits of a healthy environment, including clean air and water and the rich biodiversity that is our heritage.”  It is, in essence, a call for social and economic responsibility towards the environment.

            The physical earth is something that was created by God, and, as such, really belongs to Him.

                        “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,

                         The world and those who dwell therein.

                         For He has formed it upon the seas,

                         And established it upon the waters.”

                                                            (Psalm 24:1,2; NKJV)

Moreover Scripture indicates that the Creator, in His wisdom and goodness, intended nature to function a certain way.  Psalm 104, for instance, describes in great detail how that everything in nature is structured in such a way to sustain life.  It is a monumental testimony to Intelligent Design.  It was in this environment, then, that God place us as human beings.  And so God, having created us male and female, commanded our first parents to “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:26-30).

            “Dominion,” however, does not mean the reckless or systematic destruction of the environment.  What is in mind here is the cultivation of the land (Prov. 24:30-34) and the domestication of animals (Prov. 27:23-27).  But all of this must be done in a responsible manner. We are to love our neighbor – to look out for the welfare of others – and love does not harm (Rom. 13:10).  Interestingly, Israel was commanded to give the land a rest every seven years (Lev. 25:1-7).

            A modern industrial economy, of course, imposes its own environmental challenges.  And yet we must still for responsible ways to limit eh damage to the environment.  The platform of the American Solidarity Party offers some helpful suggestions.  It is a start.  Some of the suggestions may be open to debate.  But what is simply not an option is simply to let businesses and individuals destroy the environment at will. 

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: IMMIGRATION

Photo by Daniel Bendig on Pexels.com

            Today we take a look at the American Solidarity Party’s position on immigration, along with a brief commentary at the end by myself.

Immigration

Our obligations as part of the family of nations also encompass migrants and refugees seeking entry to our country. Mindful of the Biblical admonition to welcome the stranger and the importance of immigrants to our national fabric, we must enact policies that reconcile the legitimate interest of Americans in secure borders with a core commitment to human dignity. This effort will require not only addressing the crisis at our borders, but also the root causes of migration, many of which concern our country’s use of its military, political, and economic power abroad.

• The federal government has the responsibility to implement safe, secure, and orderly borders. We need reforms to protect migrants and to respond to unplanned refugee influxes with humane facilities adequate to house people and families in distress. At the same time, we must make our border areas safer for those who patrol them, live near them, or desire to cross them by aggressively targeting the trafficking of humans and narcotics. Among the most significant reforms must be the closing of private for-profit immigration detention centers, the provision of sufficient resources for immigration courts, and the expansion of monitoring programs that minimize the need for detention while asylum or immigration claims are processed.
• We support a path to citizenship for “Dreamers” brought to the United States as children and advocate reasonable accommodations for unauthorized immigrants without a criminal record who seek permanent residency. 
• There must be a variety of bridge-building efforts between communities and newly-arriving immigrants, including offering lessons in civics and English for immigrants.
• We favor a generous policy of asylum for refugees from religious, political, racial, and other forms of persecution. Asylum claims should be evaluated with a view to integrating refugees into American communities.
• The availability of immigrant workers whose legal status renders them vulnerable allows employers to operate businesses with low wages and poor conditions that would likely not otherwise be tolerated. To improve working life and job availability for all, we support the enforcement of fair labor practices and solidarity between workers of all backgrounds. Immigration enforcement efforts within the United States should prioritize the illegal hiring practices of employers rather than the mass deportation of working unauthorized immigrants. Temporary visa programs should also be reformed to prevent companies from exploiting temporary workers and disadvantaging their American counterparts in skilled occupations.
• We will work toward the negotiation of equitable trade agreements that will help to make immigration a choice, rather than a necessity, by addressing economic deprivation in developing countries.

Commentary:

            Scripture tells us that God “loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing,” and therefore we are to “love the stranger” as well (Dt. 10:18,19; NKJV; cf. Lev. 19:33,34; Ps. 146:5-9).  Rulers in particular are called to “Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow . . .” (Jer. 22:3; cf. Zech. 7:9,10).

            The American immigration system is long overdue for comprehensive reform, and the American Solidarity Party’s platform calls for secure borders, the ability to process a larger number of immigrants, and the humane treatment of those seeking asylum.  It is a much needed call for reform.

                                    “Give me your tired, your poor,

                        Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

                        The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

                        Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me:

                        I life my lamp beside the golden door.”

                                                            The New Colossus: Insciption

                                                            for the Statue of Liberty.

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: FOREIGN POLICY & DEFENSE

            Here is the American Solidarity Party’s position on foreign policy and defense, along with a commentary by myself:

Foreign and Defense Policy

The American Solidarity Party is committed to policies which will bring about a more peaceful world through international cooperation and prudent restraint in the use of military force. Peace is not just an absence of war, but the positive presence of justice and charity among people and among nations. The United States should use its diplomatic influence and soft power to promote an international order that respects the dignity of the human person. Administrations of both parties have pursued a policy of reckless overreach, at great cost to both ourselves and other nations. Through its military, political, and economic interventions, the United States has exacerbated social and environmental instability in Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. In the place of this tired elite consensus, we need a foreign policy with both a realistic appreciation of our country’s interests and a steadfast adherence to its values.

• Just war theory is the foundation of a moral foreign policy. It means that war should always serve as a last resort against grave acts of aggression and must be undertaken with clear goals and due regard for unintended consequences. The conduct of war must be governed by norms of proportionality and respect for human life.
• Most of the recent military interventions by the United States have not complied with just war principles. Overreliance on the military to achieve foreign policy goals has ultimately been counterproductive. The United States should end unilateral military intervention in foreign countries except as a response to an actual or imminent attack on the United States or to a catastrophic threat to international security for which there is no multilateral response. Wars of choice must end. 
• A non-interventionist foreign policy must also reject the use of lethal drones against civilian populations or in neutral countries and the fueling of foreign conflicts through American arms sales.
• In order to prevent interventions prompted primarily by presidential power, Congress should reassert its war-making powers granted by the Constitution and the War Powers Act. It should reject overly broad authorizations for the use of military force that have given presidents of both parties legal cover for launching new conflicts without checks and balances.
• Our military involvement throughout the world over the last several decades has left some regions dependent on the relative security the United States provides. While this arrangement is not desirable in the long term, we cannot simply retreat immediately from some regions where a rapid exodus would cause further instability. Instead, a deliberate withdrawal is needed to ensure that American allies or clients are not left isolated and at risk by our departure. A reduction in military bases abroad should occur as part of this policy shift, except for those required to protect diplomatic missions or to meet explicit treaty obligations.
• We recognize the sacrifices of our fallen military personnel and of veterans. At a time when heavy burdens have been laid on an all-volunteer force for nearly a generation, all necessary resources must be devoted to fulfilling our collective obligations to veterans and their families.
• Nuclear weapons signal a failure to create a world that values peace over warfare. Our nation must lead the effort to rid the world of these terrible weapons through the use of arms control initiatives, non-proliferation treaties, and, where doing so does not diminish national security, unilateral steps to reduce our nuclear weapon stockpiles. In particular, the United States should rejoin the Iran nuclear deal and should negotiate an update to the lapsed Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia. Further, as a nation we should reject first use of nuclear weapons and should not seek first-strike capabilities.
• The United States should seek peaceful resolution of global environmental problems through cooperation with foreign nations, including maintaining participation in current treaties. We should rejoin the Paris climate pact and vigorously encourage all nations to meet ambitious climate goals.
• While trade agreements can be mutually beneficial for the United States and its international partners, the United States should avoid or seek to renegotiate trade agreements that privilege corporate interests over labor rights and environmental protections or that encourage the hollowing-out of domestic industries. Favorable trade status should be removed from countries where worker exploitation is unaddressed.
• The United States should seek whenever possible to remedy the human and environmental consequences of American intervention, both past and present. We must avoid actions which sustain corrupt governments or exploitative practices by American corporations. To truly make a positive impact throughout the world, the United States should focus on long-term economic development aid to produce self-sufficient local communities. 
• The United States must end participation in international agreements and regulatory frameworks which favor international corporations over local producers. This effort includes the banning of lending practices that put smaller nations into financial stress, and of the use of international financial pressure to restructure the economies of debtor nations. It further includes the reform of intellectual property laws that allow corporations to control seed life, and thus monopolize a disproportionate amount of food sources, especially in developing countries. International economic institutions such as the WTO, World Bank, and IMF should be reformed or replaced in the interest of transparency, accountability, and fairness to all nations.

Commentary:

            The American Solidarity Party platform’s statement on foreign and defense policy may involve a contradiction, or at least reflect the dilemma with which foreign policy planners are often faced.

            On the one hand, the party holds to the just war theory, which means, in the words of the platform, that “war should always serve as a last resort against grave acts of aggression.”  It goes on to say that “The United States should end unilateral military intervention in foreign countries except as a response to an actual or immanent attack on the United States or to a catastrophic threat to international security for which there is no multilateral response.”  So far, so good.

            But the platform began by saying that “The United States should use its diplomatic influence and soft power to promote an international order that regards the dignity of the human person.”  This is certainly an admirable goal, but given the extent of human rights violations across the globe, especially under brutal dictatorships, it is hard to see how this can be achieved short of projected military power.

            The question is, should the United States assume the role of the world’s policeman?  What should the Obama Administration, for example, have done in the case of Syria?  What should our stance be toward the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea?  The platform states that “the United States should rejoin the Iran nuclear deal.”  But that, it has been argued, was fatally flawed, and would not have achieved its long-term objective, insuring that Iran does not acquire a nuclear arsenal.

            The just war theory, taken by itself, would naturally lead to an isolationist foreign policy.  Practically the only time that military force would be justified would be purely out of self-defense.  But that, in turn, would have us let the rest of th4e world descend into tyranny and never-ending war.  Therein lies the dilemma of foreign policy.

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Civic Engagement and Public Services

Challenging reforms are needed to make sure all Americans are represented in civic life. These changes are all the more urgent in an age of partisan gridlock and polarization fueled by new media. Americans need more democratic election laws, more self-governance for local communities, and more safeguards against corporate dominance of government and common resources.

• The House of Representatives and the lower houses of state legislatures should be elected by a system of proportional representation.
• All elections should be held using either a ranked choice system or approval voting.
• Voter registration should be easy, and laws attempting to restrict voter registration deserve opposition.
• Access to impartial information on candidates and ballot initiatives should be easily available in public print and broadcast media.
• Independent and minor-party candidates for public office shall have fair and equal access to ballots. This right shall not be infringed by burdens such as exorbitant voter signatures and filing fees.
• We believe that local governments are most competent to solve community-based problems. In keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, there should be more autonomy of local governments from state governments wherever possible. There should be legal accountability of higher levels of government to lower levels.
• Federal, state, and local governments should maintain a well-functioning and accessible public transportation system.
• We desire zoning laws which favor small businesses and conservation over large-scale corporate investment and which disfavor vice businesses such as strip clubs and casinos.
• High standards of accountability and frequent audits of local officials are needed to prevent corruption and maintain financial health.
• We call for job programs to prevent “brain drain” from low-income areas.
• We oppose “race to the bottom” tax credits that incentivize large companies to manipulate local economies.
• Privatization of natural monopolies means that people who must use these services are left unrepresented. Public resources must remain public, including transportation services, toll roads and bridges, community policing and parking enforcement, prisons, and energy and water utilities.
• We oppose the enclosure of science and culture through unduly restrictive intellectual property laws. Copyright and patents should be leased at their full market value, in order to lower prices on necessary resources such as medicine and educational materials for those who need them most. We support increased public funding for scientific research.
• As part of an effort to continue public arts, entertainment, and media, there should be more non-commercial ownership of the airwaves.
• We will work to restrict the legal construct of “personhood” for organizations and corporations.
• We call for greater legal responsibility on the part of creditors and vendors for vigilance against fraudulent activity, such as identity theft.
• There should be federal antitrust legislation and enforcement to resist the formation of media conglomerates, and, if necessary, to break up those that already exist. There is special concern about big technology companies and social media providers.
• We regard the Internet as a public utility. The federal government should uphold strict net neutrality, so that users may access legal content without restrictions imposed by their Internet service providers. We will support the creation of local, public ISPs and universal wireless access to the Internet. Internet histories and other user data collected by ISPs should be destroyed, unless retention is specifically required by a court order.
• While the government has a responsibility to curtail media consolidation, it should not use its resources to censor the media or the Internet or to violate digital privacy itself. There should be no indiscriminate and unauthorized collection of data from the telephones and computers of American citizens and foreign nationals. The government should reform laws and trade agreements that allow the monitoring of personal Internet usage for non-criminal offenses, such as copyright infringement.

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM – ECONOMICS

Quentin Metsys, Money Changer and His Wife, 1514

Here is the American Solidarity Party Platform’s statement about economics, along with a commentary by myself:

Economics

The American Solidarity Party believes that political economy (economics) is a branch of political ethics, and therefore rejects models of economic behavior that undermine human dignity with greed and naked self-interest. We advocate for an economic system which focuses on creating a society of wide-spread ownership (sometimes referred to as “distributism”) rather than having the effect of degrading the human person as a cog in the machine.

• Our goal is to create conditions which allow single-income families to support themselves with dignity.
• We support policies that encourage the formation and strengthening of labor unions. Efforts by private entities to use public power to prevent union activities or to retaliate against workers who organize for their rights ought to be resisted at every level.
• We call for the repeal of corporate welfare policies, for shifting the tax system to target unearned income and reckless financiers, and for changing regulations to benefit small and locally-owned businesses rather than multinational corporations. Economic rentiers and speculators who produce nothing but only take from workers through gimmicks allowed by corrupt relationships with public power need to pay their fair share through taxes on land, capital gains, and financial transactions.
• We will work to restore the requirement that corporations must serve a public good in order to be granted the benefit of limited liability. We support the prohibition of corporate bylaws and the repeal of state legislation requiring shareholder profit to trump considerations such as employee wellbeing and environmental protection.
• To deprive workers of their wages is a “sin that cries out to heaven.” The Department of Labor must investigate all cases of wage theft and fraud in a swift manner.
• We support mechanisms that allow workers to share in the ownership and management of their production, such as trade guilds, cooperatives, and employee stock ownership programs. Rather than consigning workers to wage slavery under far-away masters, such ownership models respect their essential dignity.
• Industrial policy and economic incentives need to be re-ordered to place human dignity first and to recognize that the family is the basic unit of economic production. We are committed to policies that emphasize local production, family-owned businesses, and cooperative ownership structures. Measures that prevent large corporations from passing on their transportation costs to local communities will help re-energize local production and local enterprises.
• The bloated, “too big to fail,” multinational economic concerns which dominate the economic landscape need to be brought to heel and concerted antitrust action must be taken to break up the oligarchies that use their private power to corruptly influence public governance.
• The monopolistic power of corporations, especially in the area of patent and copyright law, allows them to price-gouge workers and families. We call for a restructuring of intellectual property laws to encourage innovation rather than rent-seeking.
• We support and encourage measures which allow local communities to limit the power of outside interests in managing their land. Tenant unions, community land trusts, and community-oriented development are to be supported in the effort to ensure the availability of affordable and inclusive housing. Allowing local communities more flexibility will allow for more diverse and innovative solutions to local problems rather than imposing them from a far-off central authority.
• We advocate for social safety nets that adequately provide for the material needs of the most vulnerable in society. These programs need to also help the most vulnerable find a path out of poverty by providing them with the tools they need in order to fully participate in their communities with dignity, and not trap them as subsidized labor for private interests. 
• To restore long-term solvency to the Social Security trust fund, we call for an end to the FICA tax cap.
• Unemployment benefits need to include the option of allowing beneficiaries to take their benefits in the form of start-up capital to start or purchase businesses or create cooperative enterprises that help them to escape poverty on their own terms.
• Natural monopolies and the common inheritance of the natural world need to be closely managed and protected by the public and not surrendered for a pittance to private greed. Our support of private property rights does not mean that we should surrender our common property into the hands of private oligarchs. Policies that deliver citizens their fair share of our common wealth and inheritance of natural resources are to be encouraged in the form of a citizen’s dividend and baby bonds.
• Predatory practices which care more for stockholder value than human life must cease. We call for community-oriented lending practices and mutual aid organizations to replace predatory lending agents that target poor people and working-class communities. We must reject a financial system based on saddling workers with debt and interest payments that merely fuel consumerism and instead embrace one that encourages productive activity.
• We call for student loans to be dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Commentary:

            Adam Smith famously wrote about “the invisible hand” in which he said that each individual “intends only his own gain,” but in so doing he is led “by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention . . . By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it” (The Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chapter II).  But the Bible says “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierce themselves through with many sorrows” (I Tim. 6:10; NKJV).

            Republicans in particular sometimes imagine that the only alternative to free-market capitalism is socialism, with state control of the economy. The American Solidarity Party platform, however, calls for an economic system that essentially relies on private enterprise; but recognizes that the government can, through its policies, encourage one type of economic behavior and discourage another.  According to the platform, what we want to see is an economy of “wide-spread ownership” (distributism).  To that end the party would like to see regulations that favor small and locally owned businesses, trade guilds, cooperatives, employee stock ownership programs and labor unions, as opposed to large multi-national corporations.  It is an economic strategy aimed at the benefit of all of society, as opposed to just the stock holders and CEO’s of large corporations.

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Van Gogh, The Prison Exercise Yard, 1890

            Today we take a look at what the American Solidarity Party platform says about criminal justice, along with a commentary by myself:

Criminal Justice

Maintaining public peace and order is a fundamental responsibility of government. However, in too many cases our justice system is both harsh and ineffective. Despite having the largest incarcerated population in the world, we have failed to make communities safe or adequately address economic and racial disparities in arrests, convictions, and sentencing. We support reforms to simultaneously ensure public safety, secure individual justice, and reduce the excessively penal nature of the system.

• Criminality is complex, the result of a culture that does not respect human life, the breakdown of traditional social institutions, institutionalized racism, and a prison system that promotes social alienation, recidivism, and deprivation. Federal and state governments must seek to address the causes as well as the effects of criminal behavior.
• We believe that preventing and punishing crime is an essential public service. We oppose the privatization of law-enforcement and penal institutions.
• As public servants, law enforcement officers should be supported and held to the highest standards of professionalism.  We support strict accountability for the use of lethal force.
• We are alarmed at the increasing rates of conflict between police and communities, and call for local governments to institute measures that will increase transparency and trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, including the use of body cameras, civilian review boards, and expansion of community policing.
• We believe that our court system systematically disfavors the poor.  We call for an increase in state-level funding for our public defender system, and an end to cash bail, court fees, and programs that allow records to be expunged in exchange for paying higher fees.
• Mandatory sentencing requirements, especially for non-violent criminals, must be overturned.
• We believe that prisons are designed for dangerous criminals. We oppose the imprisonment of those who are simply mentally ill, homeless, or too poor to pay fines.
• We believe that our prison system should be focused on restoring lawbreakers to their community.  We support increased funding of programs meant to prepare prisoners for life outside the prison.
• We call for an end to the use of prisoners as slave labor.  Prisoners must be remunerated at the minimum wage for work performed
• Drug addiction remains a social harm. It is vital to find ways of ending mass incarceration while not removing all laws against drugs and other vices. Drug enforcement should focus on distribution and production. Funds currently expended on the “war on drugs” should be directed toward prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.
• Laws against prostitution should focus on removing those participating from the cycle of exploitation, mandating penalties primarily on those who buy sex or arrange for its purchase. Closely tied to this is the need to aggressively combat human trafficking. 
• It is also vital to recognize the social costs of pornography, which is inseparable from human trafficking, the promotion of pedophilia, and rape. We therefore support laws which criminalize the production and sale of pornography and deny categorically that pornography is protected speech.

Commentary:

            The administration of justice is, obviously, one of the chief functions of government.  The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states that one of its primary purposes is to “establish justice.”  And in the Bible the apostle Paul said that a civil magistrate is “the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Rom. 13:4; ESV).

            The American Solidarity platform calls for a series of reforms to the criminal justice system, noting that the underprivileged classes of society do not always receive equal justice under the law.  Significantly, the platform calls for federal and state governments to address the underlying causes of criminal behavior.  It holds law enforcement officers in the highest respect, but calls for accountability in the use of lethal force.

            Surprisingly, however, the platform calls for an end to mandatory sentencing requirements.  But it is hard to see how that would advance equal justice.  A crime deserves a certain penalty.  Allowing judges to impose penalties at their own discretion opens the door to wide disparities from one jurisdiction to another.

            The platform wants to shift the focus on prostitution away from the prostitute herself to the pimp and the customer.  It also calls for the criminalization of pornography, with the platform denying “categorically that pornography is protected speech.”

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: CIVIL RIGHTS

4.2.7

Today we look at what the American Solidarity Party platform has to say about Civil Rights, along with a commentary by myself:

• All levels of government must defend the rights of public assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, understood through the tradition of ordered liberty.
• We acknowledge the persistence of discrimination based on religion, race, ethnicity, and sex, and support laws favoring equal access to the polls, the courts, housing, and education.
• Throughout our nation’s history, racial discrimination has stripped ethnic minorities of their wealth and limited their eligibility to work, ability to own property, educational access, and voting rights at the individual and community levels. We recognize the particular forms of exclusion suffered by African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. These historic injustices should be addressed through reparative and restorative means, such as economic grants and policies which incentivize investment, job-training, and hiring in minority communities, and by continuing dialogue between communities and local governments regarding minority concerns.
• Disability rights remain a significant concern throughout the United States. Government agencies working with the disabled must ensure that financial benefits are applied fairly and consistently. They must also make more efforts to incorporate the disabled into work or volunteer programs, depending on individual circumstances.
• Unjust employment discrimination and poor working conditions hinder career advancement and financial stability. We insist on legal protection for occupational safety and compensation, good faith in hiring and retention, and paid leave for illness and child-rearing.
• We oppose conscription into the armed services and other forms of compulsory government service, except in cases of clear and present necessity during declared war, as described in our Foreign Policy section. We also oppose the mandatory registration of women in the Selective Service system.
• The government should not use “national security” to justify expanded censorship and secrecy. In addition to concerns about online censorship to be discussed in the Civics section, our commitment to civil liberties includes the repeal of the Patriot Act and the reinstatement of basic civil rights, including the right of citizens to a speedy trial in civilian courts. Secret tribunals (such as the FISA court) must be abolished, and military courts must be returned to their proper role. Foreign non-combatants must not be detained in American facilities or remanded by agents of the federal government to foreign prisons.

Commentary:

            The party platform notes that throughout American history various ethnic and minority groups have faced discrimination, and says that “The historic injustices should be addressed through reparative and restorative measures . . .”  It is a little hard to know how to respond to this, given the fact that the experiences of the various groups mentioned are so different from each other.  The problems experienced by African-Americans are quite different from those experienced by Asian-Americans.  And the problems encountered by Asian-Americans are quite different from those experienced by Native-Americans.  Moreover it is hard to know what “reparative” and “restorative” measures would remedy the various problems experienced by each group.  To lump the groups all together and propose a blanket solution for them is a bit unrealistic.

            The platform does go on, however, to address a variety other injustices pervasive in American society. Including people with disabilities, employment discrimination and poor working conditions.  These are all valid concerns and need to be addressed.

            Racial discrimination is, of course, unconscionable.   God “has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth . . .” (Acts. 17:26; NKJV).  As human beings we were all created in the image of God, and we share a common humanity.  In the sight of God a human being is a human being is a human being.  Every human life is worth nourishing, protecting and preserving.  And the Bible says that God “administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger . . .” (Dt. 10:18 “sojourner” – ESV; “alien” – NASV).  And God condemns employers who mistreat their employees” (Dt. 24:14,15; Jas. 5:4-6).

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

            Today we take a look at what the American Solidarity Party platform says about the separation of church and state and the freedom of religion, with a commentary by myself at the end.

Religious Liberty and Civil Rights

The American Solidarity Party calls upon all levels of government to live out the God-given ideals of human dignity, equality, and fraternity. The Bill of Rights and later constitutional amendments have recognized rights stemming from these ideals, including the free exercise of religion, freedom of conscience and expression, a fair justice system, and equal protection under the law.

• We advocate for laws that allow people of all faiths to practice their religion without intimidation, and we deplore secularism that seeks to remove religion from the public sphere. We are committed to the “free exercise of religion” guaranteed by the First Amendment, which should not be limited to “freedom of worship” that merely exists in private and within a house of worship. Faith is a public expression.
• Federal and state governments must safeguard laws that protect religious institutions, small businesses, and private individuals from civil or criminal liability for choosing to follow their conscience in matters regarding life, healthcare, morality, sexuality, and marriage.
• Federal and state governments must safeguard conscience protections for employers and charities in health, education, and welfare that do not wish to participate in activities that contradict their sincerely-held convictions. In particular, we are in solidarity with religiously-affiliated institutions such as colleges, adoption agencies, and hospitals, which are facing pressure in some states to compromise on principles central to their doctrines.
• The First Amendment prohibition against an establishment of religion does not require the eradication of religious symbols from community events and property. So long as nobody is compelled to endorse or participate in an activity, communities should have the freedom to celebrate religious events and express religious values, without artificial distinctions that force religious believers to check their faith at the public door.
• All levels of government must defend the rights of public assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, understood through the tradition of ordered liberty.

Commentary:

            The First Amendment to the Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law regarding an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .”  What was understood by “an establishment of religion” was a state church – a formal religious organization supported by tax dollars.  The second clause specifically guarantees the free exercise of religion.  Each person was free to worship God according to his or her own conscience.

            In more recent times, however, the Establishment Clause has been given an atheistic twist. Now it is held to mean that the Federal Government must do nothing to promote or endorse religion in any form whatsoever.  Public acknowledgement of God, let us say in the form of an invocation, is considered impermissible.  The nation (or at least its government) has become virtually atheistic.

            This, however, is extremely problematical.  The Declaration of Independence appealed to the “the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” and went on to state that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain Unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness . . .”  But if God does not exist, if there is no “Creator,” from whence come “Rights”?  And what makes them “Unalienable”?  What we are left with is the tyranny of the majority and the law of the jungle: might makes right.

            In the end, when God disappears, human freedom disappears.

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: EDUCATION

Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip

Education

Education is vital to the formation of the human person and the good of society. The American Solidarity Party advocates for affordable, diverse, and well-rounded educational options.

• Responsibility for the education of children resides primarily in the family. Families should be free to home-school their children or send them to public or private schools.
• We call for public support of both public and private schools, with a preferential option for economically disadvantaged students and an emphasis on making teaching a well-paying occupation.
• Teachers should be free to design their own curricula within general parameters set by local authorities. Standardized testing should not be the most significant factor in measuring the success of students and schools.
• Local school systems should reconsider the overuse of technology in the classroom.
• Local school systems should undertake initiatives that expand education beyond reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts. Additional subjects should include virtue and citizenship, understanding of the natural world, agriculture, trades, life skills, and useful crafts.
• State governments should increase public investment in higher education, resulting in a reduction of tuition at public institutions. To improve the consistent quality of higher education, for-profit educational enterprises must be more strictly regulated. The government should consider proposals for partial forgiveness of student loans, along with more opportunities to work off debt.
• Sex education classes, when offered, should be required to include accurate information on prenatal development, the risks of hormonal contraceptives, and the scientific evidence that abortion takes a human life.

Commentary:

            As the platform points out, the education of children is primarily the family’s responsibility.  It is a part of parenthood.  We are blessed in our society to have free public education available to all school age children; but there is a problem here.  If we have the separation of church and state, and the educational system is entrusted to the state, what will the children be taught in school?  What will they be taught in terms of values and an overall worldview?

            For Christian parents this is extremely problematical.  Fathers are instructed to raise their children “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4b; NKJV).  “Training” (paideia, in the Greek) is a comprehensive term that includes teaching, discipline and correction; in other words, everything that is necessary to prepare a child for adulthood, and that must include more than just “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic.”

            Solomon noted that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, / And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10).  We live in a rationally ordered universe created by an intelligent Supreme Being.  To understand it properly it must be seen in the light of God’s creative plan and purpose.  A purely secular education leaves children intellectually blind and confused.  For that reason parents need to have the option of providing their children the education that fits their values and philosophy of life.

SOLIDARITY PARTY PLATFORM: FAMILY

Here is what the American Solidarity Party platform has to say about the family, along with some commentary at the end by myself:

Family

The natural family, founded on the marriage of one man and one woman, is the fundamental unit and basis of every human society. Family breakdown is a key contributor to widespread social problems in this country. In order to promote stable families, it is in the interest of the state to support marriage recognized as the exclusive union of one man and one woman for life. At the same time, we recognize that the state must support the needs of people—especially children, as well as the elderly and disabled—in families of all kinds.

• States should repeal policies that penalize couples for getting married or that encourage divorce. At the same time, such reforms should not come at the cost of helping single parents.
• States must repeal no-fault divorce laws, which effectively undermine the permanence of marriage. At the same time, it is vital to continue efforts to prevent and prosecute domestic violence.
• In opposition to the commodification of children and the reproductive process, gestational surrogacy contracts and sperm banks should be prohibited. Adoption and fostering should be encouraged as a redemptive alternative, but with the understanding that the separation of children from their biological parents is never the primary goal.
• Federal and state governments should allow public funding for services that promote stable, healthy marriages and the flourishing of children, even when such services are provided by religious institutions with religious values.
• Pregnancy, childbirth, and neonatal care should all be fully covered by all healthcare plans so that no family need worry about the expenses of bringing a child into the world.
• Workplace accommodations for parents, including paid parental leave, flexible scheduling, and affordable child care should be available to as many families as possible. Further, no family should be forced to have two full-time incomes just to survive, and thus policies subsidizing child care by parents staying at home should be enacted. Funding and services should also be provided to encourage families to care for elderly and disabled family members at home without being impoverished by lost income. This could include preferential housing options, tax credits, and respite care.
• We reject the idea that surgical or hormonal treatment to circumvent the natural, healthy development and function of the body is necessary health care. In particular, we vigorously defend the right of parents to protect their minor children from such treatment. We call for legislation prohibiting any form of gender reassignment surgery on children.
• To create a more pro-family culture and strengthen the social fabric of neighborhoods, we favor efforts to make public spaces child-friendly, encourage outdoor play, and reform legal and administrative practices that unfairly penalize parents for giving children a reasonable degree of independence.

Commentary:

            A stable family life is the cornerstone of human society. In a commencement address that President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered at Howard University in 1965, he pointed out that:

                        “The family is the cornerstone of our society.  More than any other force it shapes the attitudes, the hopes, the ambitions, and the values of the child.  When the family collapses it is the children that are usually damaged.  When it happens on a massive scale the community itself is crippled.”     

Children growing up in single parent families are more likely to do poorly in school, live in poverty, and become involved in crime.  Yet in 2017 nearly 40% of all children were born out of wedlock in the U.S., and 12.4 % of all households were headed by single female parents.