Peaceful Political Revolution in America
"The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government."
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, James Wilson, Thomas Paine, and many other American patriots and revolutionaries completely agreed with this simple but compelling statement made by President Washington. Yet today, very few Americans know what the basis of our form of government is, let alone understand what it means.
This Podcast will dive into the most important and most censored story in America. We will uncover the myths behind our constitutional history and reveal some of the startling facts about our founding as a nation. Hang on tight! If you haven't honed up on your American history, if you think you understand our American political system, you may be in for a shock.
Peaceful political revolution is your unique American heritage. It is what makes our democracy so special and what makes your role in American politics so important. Are you ready for a peaceful political revolution? Where does it come from? How does it happen? What can you do to change our political system for the better?
We will address these questions and many more in the upcoming Podcasts, so hang on. If you think our politics are bad and only getting worse, you may find that a peaceful political revolution is the antidote.
Peaceful Political Revolution in America
S2 E6 Equality with Frances Chiu
In the last episode, I talked with Juliano Benvindo about the similarities between the January 6th Capitol Insurrection and the more recent attack on all three branches of government in Brasilia. It turns out that Brazil has the greatest level of inequality in Latin America. Inequality in North America has also reached historic highs. It was bad enough that America had imported over 300,000 slaves from Africa. Brazil imported over 5 million. Inequality remains a serious problem for the 2 most populis Democracies in the Western Hemisphere, and that should alarm us all, especially when America is thought to be the leader of the free world.
We might not think inequality is such a dangerous threat to our democracy when it is normalized by public policies, and an economic system based on profit, which is then reinforced by corporate donors and advertisers promoting a pretty lavish and carefree lifestyle. But, is it leading to the collapse of democracies around the world? Do Americans believe in equality anymore? I wanted to talk to someone who might give us a little insight into the history of inequality.
Frances Chiu completed her doctorate in English Literature at Oxford University and currently teaches literature and history at The New School in New York City. She is the author of The Routledge Guidebook to Paine’s Rights of Man (2020) and has written extensively for Occupy.com. She taught the first class in America devoted to Thomas Paine and his contemporaries, and she is currently completing her book on The History of English Inequality.
I am happy to say that she is also the first woman to be on the podcast, and I am fully aware that's long overdue!