Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests - Softcover

Michael E. Arth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0912467126 ISBN 13: 9780912467122

Publisher: Golden Apples Media Inc., 2010

Synopsis

Democracy and the Common Wealth exposes the dirty secrets about the American electoral system and the dysfunctional policies that have resulted from it. From how to rebuild an inner city slum to how to run a government, it traces the simple steps that can lead to representative governance and rational policies.

Follow the extraordinary, often humorous, story of a concerned citizen's journey from outside politics into the dirty business of running for governor of Florida. As one of the most corrupt states in a country that has been sold off to the special interests. Florida may prove to ground zero for a new Progressive Movement. American is about to wake up, and Michael E. Arth is sounding the alarm.

Louis Nizer once wrote, A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist. Also known as The New Urban Cowboy for his rebuilding of a slum and his work as an urban designer, and as Biking Mike for his plan to campaign the length of Florida on a bicycle, Michael E. Arth is all these things, and more. Arth shows clearly in this engaging and challenging book how electoral reform, combined with rational policies, could transform our town, our state, our country and our world.

About the Book & Cover

The book exposes the dirty secrets about our electoral system, and the resulting policies. Part I explains how Americans can break the stranglehold of the special interests and create a more representative democracy. Part II is a step-by-step guide to the kind of equitable and rational policies we should expect following electoral reform. Even though it was written in relation to my run for Florida Governor, the issues are universal. Additional subjects and more fully expanded arguments can be found in my forthcoming work, The Labors of Hercules: Modern Solutions to 12 Herculean Problems. Much of this book is derived from those two volumes, and from my own personal quest.

Strangler fig trees comprise several species of strangling trees that grow all over the tropical world, including in south Florida. These trees are often found smothering the stone ruins of ancient failed civilizations. A strangler fig seed is typically excreted or dropped by a bird high up on a building or in a host tree. The tree begins as an epiphyte, living off air and water. Its roots drop down the trunk of the host until it finds solid ground, while the branches reach skyward. Often the host tree dies and rots away entirely, leaving an empty core. Palms fare better as a host, and are sometimes able to outgrow the strangling trees, so I have represented them as a symbol of hope.

The strangler fig tree is a metaphor for what has happened to our government. A bald eagle innocently defecates on our governmental institution. Because the watchdogs have not been attentive, they do not notice when a parasitical tree emerges from the foul stew and drops its first small tendrils down to the ground. Instead, they lap up the sweet tempting figs (i.e., money, influence and power) on the ground and begin looking for more. A few of the figs fall into crevices so new trees take root. Before long, the seductive strangler fig trees have insinuated themselves throughout the structure.

The government and the special interests form a symbiosis so complete it appears the strangling special interests are holding everything together. This is where we are today, and it seems normal because it has gone on for so long. Maintaining the status quo will allow the parasites to continue to dig in while we are preoccupied with picking up leftovers. Removing the stranglehold of the special interests will require decisive but careful restoration work.

About this title

About the Author:

Michael E. Arth is an American artist, home/landscape/urban designer, public policy analyst, advocate for the homeless, futurist, and author. On June 4, 2009 he officially announced a run for Florida Governor on his campaign website.

Review:

PRAISE FOR MICHAEL E. ARTH: AMERICA'S PROBLEM SOLVER

Michael E. Arth is a hero for the people...A true, modern-day David against the Goliath...

--Sydney Solis, author

There likely would not be a United States without Tom Paine. There is a new Paine among us, and his message is one of reform, not revolution...The time has come for a more perfect union.

--Columnist William C. Hall, The West Volusia Beacon

Arth's a visionary. His dedicated efforts...represents a triumph of will over adversity....He turned Cracktown into a gem. Now, he wants to remake Florida.

--Daytona Beach News-Journal

Michael and I worked together for nearly two years making a documentary about him, New Urban Cowboy. He s the real deal. Big time dreamer, fun and well-informed ideas, always up for a debate, pragmatism learned the hard way, and just enough pluck to pull it off. Vote for him.

Filmmaker Blake Wiers, who edited the award-winning documentary, New Urban Cowboy: Toward a New Pedestrianism.

Any of you who are in the know when it comes to New Urbanism have probably already heard of the New Urban Cowboy, aka Michael E. Arth. He's the mind behind New Pedestrianism, a more extreme form of New Urbanism in which pedestrian lanes instead of streets are the main connectors, with garages and car lanes relegated to the backs of buildings.

Arth is also an idealist, a visionary, and an insanely hard worker he's one of the (too few) idealists/visionaries that have the practical know-how and gumption to see their dream through to the end, to its absolute completion...I'd advise anyone who is overly skeptical of solutions to the problems facing our civilization to see his movie, and to pay close attention. For that matter, anyone who is overly skeptical of our capacity to work together, create positive, major change, and to fulfill our dreams, ought to take a long look at what Michael E. Arth has done. You might be inspired.

I'On Group review of New Urban Cowboy. --Sydney Solis, Blake Wiers, Bill Hall, Daytona Beach News-Journal, I'On Group.

I imagine most people feel downright giddy at some point in their lives upon meeting someone exciting. Often, these are romantic encounters. Sometimes, it happens upon meeting a rock star, famous athlete, politician, or other celebrity. Rarely though do people seem to get downright giddy about someone they do not have a crush on, or admire as a celebrity. One of those rare moments happened to me recently, and now it has implications for Florida's future.

In April 2009, I was invited to co-facilitate a discussion at Stetson University following the viewing of a documentary film about a maverick urban designer and policy analyst. As a political sociologist with only an amateur interest in development and design, I knew next to nothing about the man going into this event. The documentary revealed how he transformed a dilapidated, crime-ridden neighborhood of DeLand, Florida known as Cracktown into what is now called the Garden District, a beautiful place with trees, walkways, white picket fences, clean, brightly colored homes, and a charming courtyard with a fountain at its center. For those who do not know of whom I speak allow me to introduce you to Michael E. Arth.

Some argue that one must pay one's dues to become a viable candidate for higher office. Aspiring politicians should patiently, over years, work their way up the political ladder, commonly starting with school, city or county office. The trouble is that this prescription does not apply to the rich. From Ronald Reagan to Ross Perot to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mitt Romney, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and current New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, the list of rich people who have launched political careers without paying their dues is long. The grim reality is that nowadays winning high office is less about paying one's dues in the political trenches than having the support of a lot of rich and powerful people, and outspending your opponents.

Sadly, our media deepen this problem not only because candidates pay dearly for newspaper and TV ads, but also because news organizations have the self-fulfilling tendency to fetishize the richest or most famous while they ignore or minimize candidates without deep pockets. The result is often a stale choice between two establishment candidates, and an accordingly narrow political discourse that dulls debate and impoverishes our political imaginations. Yet just as the economy benefits from energetic innovators, so too does our democracy. This is why individuals like Michael E. Arth matter to Florida s future.

I talked with Michael for about half an hour after that event at Stetson back in April. What energized me then, and in subsequent interactions with him, is his remarkable combination of vision and pragmatism, intelligence and clarity, energy and focus, passion and caring. Michael has designed communities, built homes and neighborhoods with his own hands, confronted drug dealers and reduced crime, navigated government to get things done, and developed innovative and cost-efficient solutions to homelessness, poverty and pollution.

In a state so rich in sun, yet still so poor in solar energy, in a state so rich in commercial development, yet so poor in walkable communities, an urban planner with bright ideas and practical experience transforming crack towns into beautiful neighborhoods may be just what we need for governor of Florida. If an actor can become president, surely an urban planner and policy analyst with Michael E. Arth's broad experience can become governor. The question is: will we, as Florida's voters, give ourselves the chance? --Paul Lachelier, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of sociology at Stetson University in DeLand, FL.

About this edition

• Publisher: Golden Apples Media Inc.
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0912467126
• ISBN 13: 9780912467122
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480
• Illustrator: Michael E. Arth