For people to "get together" they have to unite under common ideals and principles.
Which principles do you disagree with?
I went to the 9/12 Project and looked at their 9 Principles and 12 Values. Let's look them over.
9/12 Project said:
9 Principles, 12 Values
The 9 Principles
1. America Is Good.
If America is innately good, then why is the 9/12 Project focused on reforming America? This, I don't understand.
9/12 Project said:
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
The Constitution explicitly rejects the U.S. government from establishing, and thereby endorsing, any religion or religion at all. From this we can extrapolate a doctrine of separation of church and state. Keep religion out of government. Keep government out of religion.
And I don't care if George Washington believed in God. George Washington also owned slaved and grew hemp. Just because Washington did something does not mean that a group of people have the right to force others to do it.
9/12 Project said:
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
Okay, sure. But if we want honesty then we're going to have to be responsible with that honesty, and we are going to have to accept things that we'd rather not hear. You can't be honest with others until you are honest with yourself.
9/12 Project said:
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
Ultimate authority over what?
If you think it's over the law, you're wrong. While people have the freedom to make rules over their family, they do not have the freedom to impose such values onto others. People have as much of a freedom from so-called "family values" as they have a freedom to "family values."
Also, families are free to allow their own family values, and not those of other people.
9/12 Project said:
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
Okay. So let's get rid of unjust laws. If people break a law, yeah, they should be prosecuted, But there are a lot of laws that shouldn't be laws. Let's get rid of those laws if you want to ensure people pay the penalty for breaking laws.
Also, once a person is punished for breaking a law don't continue punish him. Help these ex-cons get jobs and suitable housing and reinstate their rights. Otherwise, they have no impetus to lead a life of the straight and narrow. For most of these ex-cons, they don't commit crimes because they want to be unreformed criminals - they commit crimes because it's the only way they can make a decent living to pay for themselves.
9/12 Project said:
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
This is a code phrase to get rid of programs for food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Fine. If we're going to get rid of welfare we'll get rid of welfare.
But let's get rid of
ALL of welfare. That includes corporate welfare as well as individual welfare. Let's get rid of farm subsidies. Let's reduce contracts to defense industries. Let's ban no-bid contracts. Let's allow imports of cheaper pharmaceuticals from neighboring countries.
Let's see how much conservatives will stay true to "equal opportunity with un-equal results" when it affects their own pocketbooks.
9/12 Project said:
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
Fine. I don't want to be charitable to the military-industrial-congressional complex. No more tax money for the meat grinder. Thanks.
9/12 Project said:
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
You're right. So stop using the FCC to censor shows with too many boobies.
9/12 Project said:
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson
All right then. Repeal the PATRIOT ACT, get rid of FISA, allow Alternative Voting methods, and allow more populism in the federal government by instituting a form of popular initiatives.
Also stop trying to repeal the 17th Amendment since such a repeal would decrease the power the people have over the federal government. Also stop trying to institute term limits for politicians since such a thing would prohibit people's freedom in choosing which elected officials to represent them.