*****um Intro Speech
As someone who fancies himself a writer, normally I try not to traffic in clichés, but 2020 is not a normal year. “Twenty-twenty” is considered the standard for good vision, and the Green Party’s vision is as close to perfect as voters can get.
If any year has proven that the United States needs a single-payer health care plan, it’s this year of the COVID-19 pandemic. If any year has proven that we need a Universal Basic Income, it’s this year of the economic fallout from the pandemic. If any year has proven that we need to switch our energy economy to renewable sources as swiftly as possible, it’s this year of more wildfires and more tropical storms that ever before. If any year has proven that we need to demilitarize our police forces—and while we’re at it, demilitarize our military, as we spend nearly a trillion a year on imperial aggression and expansion rather than programs of social uplift—we are there. If any year has proven that we need both competence and compassion in our halls of government, as well as an evidence-based approach to policy—yep, 2020 again.
I’m just a regular guy who thinks he can do the job of US Senator and represent all the people of Texas. This campaign is not about me, but about the people. It is about providing an option for those who dream of remaking our society and government to benefit all the people, not just the top 1% in income and wealth. We are tired of watching the United States become a Third World nation. The people need and demand better-paying jobs, more and better transportation options, better childcare and education, less toxic air, water, and food. The people want a world that is livable for the generations that follow them.
If I may quote Peter Gabriel’s “Fourteen Black Paintings,” a song about Houston’s Rothko Chapel:
From the pain come the dream
From the dream come the vision
From the vision come the people
And from the people come the power
From this power come the change