If Vulcans Ruled

Great passions and tremendous pain abound in our nation after the mass shooting of children and teachers in Uvalde.  Such passion, so many thoughts, and prayers, and so much pain has occurred after each of the 213 mass shootings this year.  And after the 693 such events in 2021, and the 611 in 2020, and on and on.  If I never loved I never would have cried.  (Paul Simon) 

I love Star Trek.  And, I love the Vulcans, Spock in particular.  Imagine a culture where emotions have been mastered and do not enter into decision-making.  Imagine a culture where logic, reasoning, and science are the basis of all decision-making.  Wow.  I wonder what we would be doing in the USA if we were all Vulcans.  Allow me to hypothesize.

If we start with our core principles our task is made simpler.  One of our dearest notions is that all men are created equal.  That does not mean all men are created the same.  That does not serve as an endorsement of intelligent design.  It is simply the language used in the latter part of the 18^th Century.  Such a statement has now been articulated and clarified.  When the word “men” was used in 1789, it meant everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, political beliefs, or sexual orientation.  It meant everyone.  If we were Vulcans and given this notion it becomes clear that people who practice, espouse, or secretly hide bigotry are un-American and are likely mentally ill.  There is no evidence that any one of the groups mentioned above is somehow superior or inferior to other groups.  People who hold such views should be referred to counselors and denied the opportunity to be a candidate for public office.

The second part of the core statement is that after we accept everyone is equal we also assume everyone has rights; civil liberties that are attached to each person and cannot be denied or taken away without due process of law.  The theme here is equal rights.  So, if men earn more money than women for the same job that is not equal.  If white males control in a nation where white males represent only 31% of the population that is not equal.  If we deny admission to people from some countries then we are not promoting equal rights.  If law enforcement defends and protects some people, but not all, we are denying equal rights.  If we have evidence we are denying jobs, education, or housing opportunities to people based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation we are denying equal rights.  If we deny one gender the right to control their bodies but allow it for the other gender we are denying equal rights.  If we are denying rights and equality we are violating our core principles.  Again, folks who espouse or practice such behaviors are un-American and should be referred to counselors.

A third core principle is the separation of church and state.  Our founders knew all too well what happens when one religious belief is enforced by the government and other beliefs are thereby persecuted and discriminated against.  It is on that basis that churches are exempt from paying taxes on their revenue and their property.  However, once a religious group enters the political arena supporting one candidate over another, or one position on an issue over another, or seeking to have their beliefs enacted into law they have violated the core principle of separation of church and state.  Vulcans would immediately begin to tax those churches.

Further, any elected official who supports including a religious belief into law should be immediately removed from office and impeached.  Laws against abortion are based on the beliefs of religious groups.  Politicians who would take away a woman’s rights should be removed from office.  Politicians who ban books based on their religious perspective regarding sexual preference should be removed from office.  Politicians who attempt to re-write history based on their religious perspective should be removed from office.  Politicians who promote “putting God back in schools” or requiring children to pledge loyalty to a god should be immediately removed from office.  Why such un-American people are allowed to continue to serve as elected officials after they have sworn to protect and defend the US Constitution is illogical.  To be clear, religion, by its definition, is illogical.

The data is robust, and the science is clear:  where there are more guns there are more deaths by firearms.  When and where gun control becomes stricter the number of deaths by firearms decreases.  The US leads the world in deaths by firearm and in the relative ease of acquitting weapons.  Logic would dictate that the number of guns must be restricted, gun ownership must be monitored and the individuals seeking gun ownership should pass certification tests and be able to articulate the reason they need a gun.  Self-defense with no evidence of an attack is not a valid reason.  Fear is not a valid reason if the fear is irrational.  Living alone in the wilderness with predators is a justifiable fear.  Logically, the only people who say they oppose such regulations are the people who manufacture and sell guns as their income will decrease and the death of children does not mean as much to them as income.  The banter supplied by the gun lobby is ludicrous and illogical.  Only good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns.  What a fallacy.  How does one detect a good guy vs a bad guy standing at the counter ready to purchase a gun?  We are all good guys and bad guys at some point in our lives so applying the logic of that statement means no one should have guns, or everyone should have guns.  Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.  That is misstated.  To be accurate and logical the statement could read, guns don’t kill people, people with guns kill people.  On and on, no motto justifies ignoring the data and ignoring the deaths other than the profit motive.  If one believes that the Second Amendment defends gun ownership one needs to take a course in constitutional law and American history.  Those who argue for unlimited gun ownership in the face of all the science and all the data could be labeled delusional and therefore not qualified to own a weapon.

We the people.  Of the people, by the people, for the people.  People rule in a democracy.  Corporations are not people.  The logical thing to do is to make corporate donations to political candidates illegal.  Likewise, PACs that exist to support one group over another should be illegal.  There should be a cap on the amount of money any one person can give to a candidate.  Our decision-making would start reflecting human interests, not corporate interests.

Climate change is real.  Global warming is real.  Logic dictates that if we want to continue to live on this planet (as though we have other options) we must immediately do all that we can to end the use of fossil fuels.  It will hurt, but it must be done, much as a leg with gangrene must be cut off, the oil industry and its subsidiaries must become illegal.  Cars must be electric.  Homes must use electricity, not gas.  Solar panels must be installed everywhere.  Wind turbines are installed everywhere.  Hot pursuit of fusion must occur.  Cruises must be canceled until a ship can demonstrate it is powered by something other than a polluting engine.  Same for airlines.  We must stop making plastic stuff.  We need to go through the industrial revolution again, this time with energy all coming from renewable sources.  Consumption of fossil fuels should be treated as an addiction to a controlled substance.  Help first, prison second.

We are a nation of laws, not of individuals.  Each individual must stand on equal footing before the law.  If a District Attorney, a Grand Jury, a Judge, or an arm of Congress issues a subpoena for documents and/or a person’s testimony, that evidence and that person must be delivered to the agent issuing the subpoena.  Arguing that some people are too important to abide by subpoenas undermines our democracy and our legal system. The punishment for failure to comply with a subpoena should be imprisonment.

Likewise, should the US House of Representatives pass articles of impeachment against a president, the Senate must conduct a trial, in public and before the nation.  To allow the Senate for purely political reasons to simply say no, we will not try this person, does not maintain the notion that we are a nation of laws, not individuals. 

Anyone who promotes the overthrow of our democracy, by law, has committed treason. Such folks should be tried as traitors whether they verbally encourage insurrection, or publicly deny the sanctity of the courts, the law, or the vote.

Those would be the first steps taken, I think, should we live in secular democracy governed by law, reason, science, and a constitution that defines how people will conduct such a government.  Spock would be proud.

Live long and prosper.