Dream petition
The Petition I Want to Sign
This week I agreed to canvas my neighborhood, asking people to sign a petition that took a stance on a pressing political issue. Although I thought the position was more extreme than my own view, I could not go against the wishes of the organization and I thought trying to get the politicians' attention was more important than refusing to participate simply because my own view is more nuanced. After walking around for awhile, however, I changed my mind, quit, and decided to write the Batesville Guard with the petition I would like to sign.
My "Dream Petition" would be the following:
We, the undersigned, would like the next President to begin from his first day in office organizing a number of study commissions. Each group would have an equal number of Republicans and Democrats and, if possible, members of other political parties. The members of each group would have established reputations for being able to work with people in other political parties. Each group would develop a set of recommendations agreed upon by two-thirds of the members. Each group would interview experts in all the professions involved with the issue."
This model has been used before, most recently in the case of The Iraqi Study Group, whose plenary sessions were held from March-November 2006. The group was co-chaired by James Baker III and Lee Hamilton, a Republican and a Democrat. The members have long-established records in public service, demonstrating their ability to work with people of different persuasions to get things done. The panel interviewed approximately 150 professionals who brought different perspectives and expertise into the debate. Their names are listed under the following headings: 1) Iraq Official and Representatives, 2) Current U. S. Administration Officials from the Department of Defense and Military, from the Department of State and Embassy Personnel, from the Intelligence Community, 3) Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 4) Foreign Officials and 5) Former Officials and Experts.
The panel came up with 79 recommendations agreed upon unanimously. They called upon the Bush Administration to "immediately launch a new diplomatic offensive to build an international consensus for stability in Iraq and the region" (xiv). They also called for "a change in the primary mission of U. S. forces in Iraq that will enable the United States to begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly" (xii). The Bush Administration repudiated the report.
I would like our next President to make decisions about the pressing issues of the day based on reports like this one. We need an "Iraqi Study Group, part two," as well as a study group focused on health care, the environment, education, the economy, and so on.
This position is not utopian, controversial, or partisan. Rather, I wonder why I need a petition to ask our President to rule this way. My "Dream Petition" would end with, "We, the undersigned, wonder why we have to sign a petition to ask the President to do his job. All leaders should either listen to experts directly or convene panels that send reports from which they can make the most informed judgments. We want our new President follow this model throughout his presidency."
Martha C. Beck,
Donna Willis
Batesville
