If I Were King

by Robert Lee Camp, August 30, 2006

I really don’t know if voicing my opinion about today’s world would be a meaningful thing to do, but the thought occurred to me today to do just that. Consider this to be a “If I were King, I would….” essay. Here are some things I would do and have done differently if I were powerful enough to make it happen. Who knows? Maybe someday I will be.

Government

I would create a government that was more accountable and honest. That would first mean that the people in the government would be this way. I would create a system by which anyone wanting to run for office would have to be evaluated for their level of competency, intelligence, but most of all, integrity, beliefs and other factors that would really impact the things they would do while in office. They would undergo rigorous testing, designed to really see where they stand, what is most important to them, what their real motives would be for running for office and how mature they are in many key areas of their life. If someone was found to be immoral, or spiritually or emotionally insecure, we would simply ban him or her from running for office. We would want to have folks in there who loved what they were doing and who had a vision for a better planet. We want people in there who are leading us by example, so that we can look up to and emulate them, who will set positive role models for all of us and who will be guided by a higher set of principles instead of fear, greed and the lust for power. My evaluation process would be pass or fail. And the results would be highly publicized. Any crooked politicians would probably not even apply.

Campaign Contributions and Lobbying

No one should be allowed to influence our government with financial incentives given to those in office. Today, we find powerful business people in the cabinet of every president, ones that are unqualified for their positions but are there to influence policy towards making more profits for their companies. This is immoral and should be illegal. I would completely eliminate lobbying and campaign contributions. There would be no way any special interest group could bribe or otherwise influence someone running for, or in, office. Why do we have lobbying and contributions anyway? Is our government meant to be for sale to the highest bidder? Shall financial interests always control our leadership? Let’s just eliminate the entire matter. Instead, when it comes time for elections, let each candidate stand up, state his or her vision of the world with us and then have a debate, not just with their opponents, but with us, the people. Let us have the option to question them on their past choices, actions, words and deeds. Let us have the opportunity to hold them accountable. Then, we can elect the one we like most. Once he or she is in office, let their policy be again guided by their vision of our country, not some company’s balance sheets.

Government Spending and Foreign Policy

If I were King I would have our country get out of all foreign countries where we have no business being. If there is a war going on somewhere, we can offer counseling and mediation, suggestions and perhaps incentives for coming to a peaceful resolution. But we would never take sides and never offer either side weapons. No selling arms to any country. Period. If anyone in America felt so strongly about some foreign conflict, such as the conflict right now between Israel and the many Muslim factions, we would give them the option to become a citizen of another country and go there and help them. We would not allow any lobbying or special interest groups to influence political figures to support either side. Perhaps we, as a country, could do an in-depth analysis of the conflict and present this openly for discussion. We could even take a vote, after getting all the facts about it, about whether or not we, as a whole, approve or condone the conflict. But we would never take an active role in fighting another country’s fight. Of course, if a country came to us pleading for help and if the two of us were very aligned on our vision of the world, it could be possible that we would take sides and protect them. But if we ever took sides it would never be such that it would further the political or financial ambitions of industrial or political figures, or any special interest groups within our country that do not represent the majority.

We would keep investing in technologies that would protect our country in the event of an attack by a foreign nation. We would be prepared to go to war, if necessary, to defend our freedom and way of life. But we would abstain from politically and financially motivated wars and conflicts entirely.

I would take all the money we are spending on wars today and invest it in our country from the ground up. Starting with education of our young, and moving up the line to investing billions in alternative energy resources and options. I would mandate that our country be free of all dependence on foreign oil within seven years. And within ten years be free of all need for fossil fuels, period. We would share all of our research and findings with all nations to contribute to their progress in these areas.

Instead of programs that create more dependence upon the government such as subsidy programs and free handout programs, I would create an atmosphere where we only support people doing good things for themselves. We would create opportunities for the growth of individuals and reward and acknowledge individuals for their efforts. What we need to move away from is the conversation that the government owes us something.

I would create a basic conversation that the government’s true goal is the elimination of government and returning the power to the hands of the people. Today the government is growing more and more. It won’t be long till most of our population is on a government payroll. We need to reverse this process and keep the government out of our decision-making process. I would encourage communities to come up with their own legal systems. If you were living somewhere and you didn’t like the system, just move to an area where others believed and felt the same way you do.

I would devote tremendous spending to developing the quality of life here in America. I don’t mean the attainment of material objects but real quality, which means personal happiness and purpose in each of us. I would love to see a country of informed, educated, conscious people, not swayed by advertising but by the facts. So, if government could really contribute to that, I am all for it. Perhaps if the government could just do investigation and present the facts on all world matters to the people, that might be something worthwhile – some unbiased fact finding so that we could all be informed if we chose.

But mostly I would love to see our country become one of communities of people that shared important things in common. And therefore, people of like mind could live close to one another and share in their lifestyles. And then, everyone would have a choice as to where they want to live. Everyone would be encouraged to express himself or herself and reach their fullest potential, and live in an area that supports their highest expression.

Immigration

As far as immigration is concerned I would allow anyone to come to our country and live. But there would be a program set up and it would not be easy to get in. Everyone will have to meet some strict qualifications and be willing to earn their right to US citizenship. But it should never be denied. They would have to answer some important questions such as ‘why do you want to leave your homeland and come here?’ I think it would be good to do a thorough investigation for all immigrants in our country. Everyone who is here illegally would be sent home and made to pay for the cost of relocating them. Let them know how they could obtain legal citizenship and support them in doing so. But if they are here illegally, they should be required to leave immediately.

The media, television and advertising

I would like to see the entire advertising thing redone. First of all I would not allow any advertising in the movie theatres and have specific cable channels that did not have any advertising. These would be called bullshit-free channels. I would like to see us be able to only pay for the cable and satellite channels that we liked and wanted to have. We could subscribe to whatever channels we watched and not have to pay for the other hundred channels that we have no interest in at all. I would make advertisers responsible.

I would create laws that punish the companies that are using and paying the spammers instead of the spamming companies themselves. After all, they are only the hired guns of the companies that they advertise for. I would like each individual to be able to choose what sorts of advertisements they will receive, in every area of their life. This includes television, internet, radio, and any other personal area. Every advertiser would be required to create and maintain an internet forum on their products where users could share experiences about their products. If anyone wanted to know if a certain product was actually effective, they could go to the forum and read what others are saying. Users of the products could tell the truth about their experiences, both positive and negative.

Any advertiser found to be really lying about their product would be severely financially punished. Third time offenders would lose their business. Advertisers methods would be fully exposed to the public so that when they are watching an ad, they know just how they are being manipulated.

Public transportation

I would create a national system of safe, inexpensive public transportation. Every town would be required to come up with a useful, inexpensive system and the government would handle the state-to-state systems. I want to see a system of public transportation so effective that most people would choose to not even own an automobile. Every town would be required to have bicycle lanes and scenic bicycle routes to encourage people to ride them. Just take a look in many foreign countries to see how great their systems are. Look at Russia, for example. Everybody gets to where they are going, and few have a car.

I would create a computerized car-pooling system where anyone could plug in and catch a ride. Everyone driving would put in where they are going, if they had room or not, time of departure, etc. The rider would contribute his or her share to the cost of the ride to the driver. This is like hitchhiking but would be computerized and there would be identification and records of each trip in case someone tried something illegal.

Medical care, doctors and drugs

The entire medical community (doctors) and drug companies would immediately be put under severe scrutiny. The collusion between them would be destroyed. Doctors would be unable to receive any compensation from drug companies. All doctors would be fully liable for any malpractice and unnecessary operations. We can consider taking away their liability insurance altogether. That way, they will act more responsibly. Drugs would have to have much more testing over time and all potential negative side effects explored before making them available. Everyone would have the option to use natural methods to cure themselves. People would be encouraged to take full responsibility for their health (see insurance below for more) by setting up a plan for health maintenance. Anyone whose illness was found to be the result of poor lifestyle choices and other bad habits would be held 100% accountable for their treatments. Women would be encouraged to have natural childbirths and would only be able to have caesarian births in emergency situations. The entire childbirth process would be one that would be approached differently. It would be great if we would require that couples would have to prove readiness, willingness, and competency in order to have children in the first place. There would be a baby-making program that they would have to complete before having a child that insured their desire and ability to raise children in a healthy manner.

We would spend more money on disease research, but also reveal the ways that people create disease with bad lifestyle choices. We would hold individuals responsible for their diseases. We would fully explore all natural methods and make them available, using herbology and Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic and other proven systems and discourage the use of drugs, except those that are tried and proven to be beneficial on all levels.
Marijuana would be legalized along with some other non-addictive naturally occurring drugs. Marijuana would be encouraged for some people as a natural remedy and for general relaxation though its potentially negative use would also be made very clear. Anyone found to be addicted to any substance would be locked up in an institution and have to attend an educational program to reclaim their freedom. Any individual who hurt others under the influence of a substance would be punished in a like-kind manner.

Insurance

All insurance would be gotten rid of. Everyone would be held accountable for their actions, whether they consciously did them or attracted them by their attitudes and other factors. Instead, there would be health gambling that anyone could participate in. The ‘insurance’ company would be like a health casino, you betting you will get sick and they betting you will stay healthy. It would be just like insurance companies today but it would be called what it really is and made a choice, never a requirement. The same applies to insurance on all material possessions. You could gamble that you will lose or destroy them against companies who say you won’t and see who wins. You will be made aware of the odds and costs ahead of time.

I am not sure why our world today is so illogical. My hunch is that we are essentially a greed-driven world and that this basic intention is the cause of much of the harm we see in the world today. We need leaders who are not greed and power-driven if we expect any significant changes to occur. But more than that, we need more people who are less greed driven for that to happen. We can blame our government and politicians for our problems but we must finally admit that we put them there. They are, in any case, a mirror of the consciousness of today’s society and culture. It should be no surprise that our society today allows such blatant corruption. Ultimately I have to chalk it all up to this age of darkness that we are in. If we expect our leaders to be of a higher caliber, we must first practice that state of being ourselves. Ah, but give me a crown and watch me go!

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