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From the outset of this crowdsourced We the People project to define the country and the world WE want, I have resisted adding sections for the military, policing, and guns. But our country and our world would be better places if we think through our relationships with these systems and define how we want them to work for us.
I have avoided discussing these systems because I never served in the military. While various law enforcement folks have drifted in and out of my friend groups over the years, I don’t really know much about policing. Growing up in the south, I was around guns from birth, but I’ve always been afraid of them and have only fired a gun once.
So I didn’t feel like the right person to lead a discussion of these topics.
Without attributing the following to anyone, let’s go through what various commenters have recommended in these areas. I hope readers will jump in, refine these points, and add to these sections. This document continues to improve BECAUSE OF YOU.
THE MILITARY
Civilian control of the military. Because the military is an insular structure, it can foster cult-like beliefs and behaviors. Strong civilian control is necessary to ensure the military stays grounded in the shared reality of the country and its citizens.
Evaluate the Commander-in-Chief role based upon reforms outlined in other sections. When Congress functions as designed, it provides a check on the Executive Branch. Those checks have been eroded. We must develop a robust, impenetrable system of guardrails that cannot be hacked. (I would love feedback or a discussion of what those guardrails might be.)
Define what we want the military to do, and stick to it. Right now, our military is being deployed as a world police force, cannon fodder, a propaganda tool, a system for intimidation and regime change, a brainwashed force of religious extremist crusaders, and a threat to its own citizens. Our unwillingness to tightly define the military’s role and confine it to that role allowed this to happen. (Let’s talk about the military’s role in the comments to expand this theme.)
Once we define what we want the military to do, we can determine what that costs, draft a budget, and fund only what we need.
Related to funding, evaluate and reform the entire process for awarding military contracts. Weapons made to kill human beings and destroy the planet should not be a rabid free-for-all of money-hungry people racing to make the biggest and fastest buck. Make it illegal for anyone in government to profit from military contracts, retire from the military and start companies that exploit military connections for profit, and/or accept money to facilitate military contracts. (I have had enough exposure to this piece to say this much, but I welcome more ideas and refinement.)
Do not abandon soldiers once they are injured, disabled, and/or suffering from the mental and psychological impacts of combat. Fund a robust Veterans system of tools to help retired soldiers access what they need to thrive in civilian life. (Every former military person I have met on my emigrant journey is struggling. That’s my experience with this number, but I’d welcome other inputs.)
I may have put this elsewhere, but abolish the Department of Homeland Security; abolish ICE; and abolish the Border Patrol. These agencies are too corrupt to be reformed and must be reimagined from the ground up.
POLICING
Develop screening tools that detect RACISM - in addition to mental proclivities toward violence, sadism, and prior instances of abusive behavior. The police forces of the United States of America are among the most racist forces on this planet. We cannot continue to allow police uniforms to provide cover for racists, white supremacists, and other abusers.
Police departments are CIVILIAN functions. They should look like civilians. We must de-militarize all police forces, prohibit partnerships with military or military-adjacent agencies, and abolish structures of surveillance.
Define what we want police to do, stemming from a locally funded group of civilians who are trained to protect their neighbors. Police forces should be educated about community building, fostering positive community interactions, and de-escalating dangerous situations without causing or using violence.
Investigate and charge every police officer who uses their role for their own personal benefit, for the benefit of their connections, to intimidate citizens, to stalk partners or former partners, commit sexual assault, objectify and abuse children, and/or as cover to project hate upon marginalized, vulnerable communities. We cannot change policing without holding individual officers to the standards we expect them to uphold.
Set budgets according to what we want police to do, and refuse to fund military-type weapons or military-style gear for police departments.
GUNS
The Second Amendment was not an excuse to create a military arsenal in people’s homes. The NRA was once a group focused on firearm safety, predominately around hunting and sport. We must confront how the proliferation of guns is tied to the military-industrial complex of profiteering highlighted in the MILITARY section above.
People do not need automatic weapons to hunt for food or sport. In the military, weapons like AR-15s are only allowed out of their lockers for training purposes, because they are deadly weapons designed to kill multiple targets quickly and efficiently. Otherwise, they are turned in and locked up. It is unconscionable that we allow civilians to own and carry these weapons when we don’t even permit military members who are trained on these weapons to possess them outside of training sessions. It is not excessive to ban ownership of these weapons except in extraordinary circumstances.
It should not be easy to buy other types of guns. We must have national regulations that each gun owner must meet, as well as a national system of tracking every gun to its owner. We must institute stiff penalties for anyone who operates a gun outside of this system.
We should not allow guns to be sold person-to-person or secondhand. (I have nightmares about an Al Capone-style gun my dad bought out of the back room of a southern funeral home - no paperwork - and then sold to someone else - also no paperwork. When I asked him why in the world he wanted such a gun, he said, “I had one in the Army, and it makes me feel young again.” (!) His response when I asked him what he intended to do with it? “I’m leaving it to you.” I guess I shouldn’t have responded by yelling I DON’T WANT IT, because then I wouldn’t have nightmares about who he sold it to and what it might have subsequently done.)
As a society, we cannot put the freedoms of a few (gun owners) over the freedoms and safety of everyone else (people who do not want to live every second of every day wondering when they will encounter a gun.) Living in a functioning free society means taking the rights of everyone into account and adjusting rules and regulations accordingly. I should have the right not to worry about guns 24/7. Those rights should matter as much as the rights of those who want to own an arsenal and carry guns at all times.
In my experience, even those with gun safety training do not treat guns like deadly weapons. I have found loaded handguns - safety off - stowed in purses around children, under car seats, in glove boxes, and in trunks. One of my friend’s husbands - a volunteer police officer, no less - shot through his hand in his garage around multiple vehicles while his wife and daughter watched in horror. Another friend accidentally shot through his floor. Another friend lost a friend when his neighbor shot him for parking his camper van on the street. I have no idea how we change this, but guns are a factor in the destruction of our national fabric. I got so tired of these potentially deadly “surprises" that I limited my exposure to such people. This isn’t necessarily an entry for We the People, but it is a starting point to discuss concrete, actionable ways we can change our culture, regulate guns, and make everyone safer.
This is a start to get us thinking about how to address these structures and issues and build systems we want. I know I’m missing a lot, so let’s build these points together.
Know someone with progressive expertise in these areas? Share this newsletter with them and ask for their input.
