| A Draft Letter Dear Senator __________, 1. Please ask the people of the USA to make sacrifices. It doesn't feel like there's a war going on. Tell us: How can we make sacrifices? For example, ask us to tax ourselves. Ask us to buy bonds for liberty or democracy. 2. Can you set up Democracy Bonds? The aim of www.democracybonds.com is to raise money to “win the hearts and minds” of all people who might distrust democracy. This includes: - civilians who are hurt by cross fire. - Democracybonds.com could pay for unintended damage in the war on terror (doors and buildings damaged during searches) . - In the USA, there are people who distrust democracy and our capitalist system because they are losing jobs to outsourcing. Some funds from Democracybonds could be invested in retraining people who don’t understand the wisdom of globalization. By attempting a wide range of funding opportunities, democracybonds.com is intended to be a channel, not a new program. There are dozens of non-profit organizations that are already doing the work that will support democracy…they just need funding. In the spirit of WW2 Bonds and Liberty Bonds, the USA government needs to call on US citizens to make sacrifices and buy bonds. We, the undersigned, believe that the USA needs to sell Democracy Bonds to raise funds that will support programs currently operated by non-governmental agencies and organizations. A short list: CIVIC world wide Red Cross Churches and other religious organizations that provide literacy training and health care programs BIBBI (a web site that promotes cultural interchange by internet) And others… The US government should set up an office to arrange sales of the bonds, collect funds, register potential organizations whose activities support democracy, and then report (on a web site) the results of the democracybonds.com program. Can the U.S. Government do this without incurring major costs? The intention is bi-partisan and non-partisan: This campaign could raise $10 billion a year for promoting democracy worldwide (winning "the hearts and minds" of people who fear free trade and who are new to democracy). Please invite all political parties to support this idea. If this program is successful, let’s allow all political parties to claim responsibility for it. This program is more than just compensating victims of terror, and it’s more than helping unemployed workers in the US to adapt to the “flattening” described by Thomas Friedman. If more people get jobs around the planet, if more people talk to people in other cultures, if more people learn about choices, then the chances for democracy improves. It's about winning the confidence of people in USA as well as the Middle East. It's about winning the "hearts and minds" of people everywhere who fear the consequences of change: political change ("Will the Shi'a majority make room for Sunnis in Iraq?"), globalization of the economy and "outsourcing", and change of jobs ("can I learn another skill? Another language?") These people fear that there is a lack of opportunity for them in this new world. Democracy Bonds can help support programs that address all of these fears. Are you interested in helping create a new type of war bond? Are you willing to ask Americans to make additional sacrifices? Have you read Thomas Friedman's book? (A summary is availalbe on this web site: www.DemocracyBonds.com) We look forward to your reply and suggestions on how to proceed, Steve McCrea, middle school teacher talkinternational@yahoo.com (contact me if you want to add your name to this letter) Leslie Lott, President, internationaloasis.net Click to see the draft letter to Mrs. Bush. |
| www.DemocracyBonds.comTM |
| The World is Flat (so stop complaining) by Thomas Friedman Page 190: An entrepreneur in India said: Instead of complaining about outsourcing, Americans and Western Europeans would be better off thinking about how you can raise your bar and raise yourselves into doing something better. Americans have consistently led in innovation over the last century. Americans whining? We have never seen that before. People like me have learned a lot from Americans. We have learned to become a little more aggressive in the way we market ourselves. -- Rajesh Rao, founder of Dhruva Interactive, an interactive game company in Bangalore, India BIBBI Building International Bridges By Internet Go to the FLAT Challenge for Middle School Students about THE WORLD IS FLAT |
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| Booker T. Washington, school kids (1910) |
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| Hands of a former slave. |
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| Rosa Parks |
| Building International Bridges by Internet -- Do you want to help build a safer future? BIBBI |
| This space is reserved for the new Democracy Bonds posters -- to submit your entry, write to analyst@comcast.net FLAT CHALLENGE |
| FAQ Frequently Asked Questions Return to HOME 1. How did the idea for Democracy Bonds start? I'm a middle school teacher. I hear my students complain about the lack of opportunity in their lives. They don't see how studying geometry and science will help them in their lives. What does it matter if they know how to spell cappuccino? Why is it important to know the differnces between a genome, a genotype, and a biome? It was with these thoughts that I came to dine with my colleague Janet V. Janet mentioned that it was irresponsible for people to attack our efforts in Iraq since the government is bringing democracy to that region. Why don't more people support our President? I responded, "There's a list of injured civilians. That list has hundreds of unpaid claims that the US government has ignored. Until the list of complaints is addressed and paid for, I won't support our efforts. Donald Rumsfeld wonders whether we are creating new Osama bin-Ladens everytime we drop a bomb. We can't help but damage some civilian buildings when we hit military or terrorist or insurgent forces. When will we fully fund the list that CIVIC and other groups like the Red Cross are compiling? When will we be asked to sacrifice and pay for these requirements?" That's how we came up with the idea of war bonds to support democracy. 2. Why not just call for more donations to CIVIC, Red Cross and other programs? There are hundreds of companies and organizations that are doing good things in the fight for democracy. 3. Why not let the US Government pay for the repairs DIRECTLY? Bush’s wisdom has been to reduce government oversight and government involvement, preferring to invest in faith-based initiatives. Why not continue to trust in non-profit organizations? Instead of giving money to the US Army to give armor to its soldiers, why not give the money to CIVIC and the Red Cross and ask them to get the armor to Iraqi soldiers? Or give the money to the Red Cross for rebuilding damaged homes? 4. Why don't we call them "Marla Bonds" since Marla Rysinski was trying to win the hearts and minds of people in Iraq and Afghanistan? By NOT connecting the name of the bonds to Marla, the people who buy Democracy Bonds can have more flexibility in directing where the money will go and the operators of DBonds, as the non profit channel, can have more say in how the money will be directed. 5. How much of the cost of the bond will go to pay for marketing and fundraising? Fundraising costs for United Way are 15%. If you give $100, then $85 gets to the charity. If the charity raises the money itself, often the fundraising costs are 25% or higher. If you give $100 directly to the Red Cross because of a telephone fundraising campaign, the programs get something like 70% or $70. They have to pay the phone operators. I propose that Democracy Bonds will be TOTALLY different. Fundraising could amount to less than 2% for the first $1 million raised, and then less, perhaps 1/4 of one percent of total sales. Every piece of publicity and information sharing can take place on the Internet, all fundraising costs can be spent on improving the web site, and the money when it comes in is NOT a donation… it’s a BOND. The government eventually pays the holder of the bond. I think the way WAR BONDS worked was a) you pay $80 for a $100 war bond. B) when the bond came due 15 years later, the holder got $100. Something like this proposal needs to be set up. This proposal requires a US government official to get involved. That’s why we should find someone like McCain or Leahy to back this. 6. How about an UPDATED poster, 2005 style – several versions, why not? We need to organize a contest at the Art Institute or other colleges of art.. 7. What is the goal of the Democracy bonds? The idea is for Democracy Bonds to raise money for worthwhile projects. The idea is for non-profit groups to come to Democracy Bonds The idea is for Democracy Bonds to pay for phone cards and for internet machines in Iraq and in poor areas of the USA and get poor people in the US talking with poor people in Iraq…. 8. Why is this project bi-partisan? News people like reporting when things go wrong. That’s why most of us didn’t hear about CIVIC and Marla until she was killed. Democracy Bonds have to be done quietly and directly with the letter to Mrs. Bush. I’m happy to turn the idea and the web site over to a bi-partisan group… maybe John McCain. 9. What are we not thinking about? If civilians are killed during a military action, the US government generally doesn't pay. There must be a logical reason behind this ikdra The civilians and the insurgents are hard to tell apart. Myabe the dead civilian really was one of the insurgents who started the conflict? What are the unintended consequiences of paying for all damage? 10. Where did the name "democracy bonds" come from? Janet V. kept talking about the importance of suporting democracy and I kept talking about the need to buy war bonds or Liberty bonds. The URL was available for www.democracybonds.com, so why not? The style is always Arial Black and Democracy Bonds can be upper or lower case. 11. Why are Democracy Bonds.com connected to Friedman's ideas about a "flat global economy"? ANSWER: Democracy flourishes in countries that have high employment. Open economies tend to have strong democracies. As the global economy gets flatter, countries will have to choose between protecting jobs at home with trade barriers (operating from fear) or spurring innovation and opening their economies to free trade. These efforts require investment -- and we who buy Democracy Bonds can be strengthening our own economy while investing in the economies overseas. 12. What portion of the funds raised by Democracy Bonds should be invested in the Middle East and what portion should go into training US workers to prepare them for innovation and competition? I don't know. Let's appoint a commission (perhaps with THomas Friedman on the commission) to determine how the funds should be split. 13. What portion of the funds for US education should go into schools and what portion should go into retraining current workers who might be under threat of losing their jobs to outsourcing? ANSWER: I don't know. Let's ask an independent commission appointed by Congress to determine the formula. |
| The Use of Posters Another significant theme supporting United States propaganda was the government's commitment to voluntarism. To this end, the government avoided compulsory rationing of food and financed a significant portion of the cost of the war through the sale of small denomination Liberty Bonds. War posters, then, can encourage students to think about how a nation mobilizes a country for war and the importance given to eliciting voluntary support rather than resorting to coercive measures. From a teaching web site related to WWI and posters http://www.oah.org/pubs/ magazine /ww1/dumenil.html |
| Information about Liberty Bonds War Bonds for World War One From the Wikipedia: Liberty bonds are a special type of war bonds that were sold to support the allied cause in World War I. It could be redeemed for the orginal value of the bond with interest. The idea for Liberty Bonds was an aggresive campaign to raise money from war supporting Americans, created by Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo. The goverment used famous artists to make posters and used movie stars to host bond rallies. Even the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts sold war bonds using the slogan "Every Scout to Save a Soldier". http://www.answers.com/liberty+ bonds?gwp=11&ver= 1.0.4.128&method=3 Questions for my students 1. How much did it cost to buy a Liberty Bond? 2. How much did you receive when the bond reached maturity? 3. How much can your family contribute if they agree to set aside 1/10th of one percent of your family income? 4. Which of the following web sites have nothing to do with Liberty Bonds? a) Liberty Unbound http://libertyunbound.com/ archive/2004_10/woolsey-fed.html b) c) d) Another view by General S. Butler www.american-buddha.com/war.racket.htm asdfasdfas |
| Table 1. The Properties of the Liberty Bonds and The Results of the Campaigns From http://www.stern.nyu.edu/eco/io/rockoff.pdf First Liberty LoanSecond Liberty LoanThird Liberty LoanFourth Liberty LoanFifth Liberty (Victory) LoanProperties of the Liberty BondsDatedJune 15,1917November 15, 1917May 9, 1918October 24, 1918April-May, 1919Coupon(percent)3.50%4.004.254.254.753.75Callable in (years)1510…153Maturity (years)302510204 |
| Why not create your own letter, using your own words? <<<<<<<<<<< |
| Quote from The World is Flat page 105 Our children will increasingly be competing head-to-head with Chinese, Indian and Asian kids.... I'm not suggesting that we militarize education, but I am suggesting that we do more to push our young people to go beyond their comfort zones, to do things right, and to be ready to suffer some short-run pain for longer gain. (That's a good summary of the book, along with the following quote from page 190) |