This is a total “pretend” board game, and the board is the world.

It is an exercise in principle, virtue, and where these meet with pressing and practical, life-and-death situations “on the ground”.

It’s an exercise that can help all of us sharpen our wits and selves regarding our perspectives and allows us to be more empathetic and compassionate toward the challenges that face today’s political leaders. Well, some of them. When you are empathetic enough to feel other people’s pain, the challenges are many.

But make no mistake, this is a game in which I pretend. I am not running for President of the United States!

But if I were, just for the sake of clarity and contrast, I will outline a paradigm shift in governance over the next few articles but first to say that this article is discussing sane approaches and policy reversals of those put into place over just the last 8 months in the U.S. that literally abort the values, ethics and cultural mores of the United States of America over the past 250 years.

This is especially peculiar because abortion has been one of the hot button issues of this Administration and current Supreme Court, largely appointed by this current President, if you want to call him that—President in title, certainly not in integrity or character—yet it is a nationwide, abortive act I suggest that this Administration has committed that has sent shock waves around the world which will likely never be reversible.

A few powerful men have created a barbaric, violent, toxic world that is reflective of their own out-of-this-world egos. Very few of the 8 billion people on Earth want to have anything to do with the destructive mess these few have created, yet we all suffer the consequences of their pathological actions.

Most people of reason and rational thinking, of heart who love life and respect it, recognize these few elite Presidents as little more than mad-hatters. They are harmful in virtually every way, they are dangerous, and every day they pat themselves on the back for a job well done. Every day that they are in power, they are doing much more harm than good, despite their own opinion about themselves, a measure of their immense ego and delusion.

The seriousness of the damage, on every level, has given rise to the desire to play this game, in some way, on some level, to neutralize the madness with which we have been surrounded that is jeopardizing our challenging, yet wonderful, in so many ways blessed way of life.

This is where we pick up this Board Game, “If I were President….”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the rest of the world is strolling in parks and along rivers, in love, in friendship, enjoying wonder, sport, art, heartfelt appreciation of beauty, adventure, family, and life itself.

My Administration is premised on these essentials: love, respect, integrity, compassion, peace, and honoring all sentient life. It is premised on the notion that people want joy, pleasure, meaning, and being good to others far more than they want the opposite.

It recognizes the value of dynamic tension and works with it creatively to effect positive outcomes for as many sentient beings as possible.

After having defined this next Administration’s values, I must speak to pressing, emergency issues caused by the current Administration elected in 2024, that are resulting in extreme hardship, suffering, and death of many of our fellow Americans right now.

It’s a moment of triage for our nation.

Emergencies have to be addressed that are currently jeopardizing the life and limb of our People, liberty, freedom, and justice, the hallmarks of our Bill of Rights and Constitution that both the current Administration and the other branches of government have ignored and, as such, have violated their oaths of office.

Their allegiance and vow have been to a person, not the principles enunciated in our country’s sacred documents, just the opposite of the purpose and intent of the Founding Fathers.

Then and only then, a larger paradigm shift in governance will occur when it comes to the macro-foreign policy purview.

Most pressing domestic issues needing to be immediately addressed

The primary issues this Administration has been addressing domestically, albeit in the most irresponsible, rough-shod, and most unethical of ways, are: immigration, the economy, homelessness, drugs and crime domestically, and peace and mutually beneficial relations and trade internationally.

This Administration is locking up and deporting undocumented immigrants and even U.S. citizens. Immigrants and citizens alike are being treated like criminals, beaten up, and thrown into jail or detention centers. There, they often sleep on cold floors, eat old, horrific food, have been beaten and shackled, treated like animals, and then deported to El Salvador and now remote parts of Africa.

Whoever heard of anything this preposterous, unethical, unjust, inappropriate, and insane? This isn’t American; it’s against the American People and their long-held values. It is nothing but barbaric. That’s why I called this “an abortive act against Americans and America”.

It should also be said that prior to this Administration, despite its having taken these matters to an entirely different, illegal, and unethical level, the handling of immigrants and prisoners in this country has been inhumane and God-awful for decades, disqualifying the U.S. from holding any kind of position of moral authority in the world as it once did.

The following is a greatly simplified version of the policy, but it's enough to give an idea of where it’s going and why. It’s partly simplified because, in some cases, while a case can always be made complex, there are often simpler solutions, as the principle of Occam’s razor has demonstrated over and over again.

I am going to proceed on the premise that most of the time for most people, having the basics in place—food, water, shelter, education, access to medical care as needed and work with a reasonable, sustainable income and time off to enjoy their family and community, a decent infrastructure in place in their respective locale, there will be peace in the realm and most people will enjoy a sense of equanimity, happiness and well-being. It doesn’t really take much for people to feel at peace and at home.

Not left, not right, human

What follows is not political. It is not classically ideological. It is based on basic, common goodness that all people want to see everyone else with enough food, water, shelter, needed medical care, a home, and at the very least, a respectable level of formal education.

This article doesn’t favor any party but favors having no parties, just as the [Founding Fathers spoke of1. If anything, it believes that life itself is a party which becomes more possible when there are no parties in politics.

What guides all policy positions here is my intention to uphold a mature, evolved, conscious, rational view with an ethical center and attitude of "vivre et laisser vivre”, live and let live.

When one is picking up from the disasters left in one’s wake, one must address the specific disasters one by one prior to addressing macro-conditions, pressing as they are. Therefore:

Immigration policy

If I were President, I would give amnesty to all current, non-documented immigrants in this country and provide a path to citizenship for them. I don’t at all approve of people entering our country illegally, and that would be stopped. Nor would this amnesty be extended beyond a set date. But for the people who are here now and have set up their lives, that’s it.

Explanation

The cost on every level of identifying the undocumented, disrupting them and their families, community’s and workplace lives is economically, ethically, and spiritually outrageously costly (as we are currently seeing) and insanely disruptive to all citizens and non-citizens alike.

The cost of identifying them across the country and deporting them is enormous. For a President who entered office with the idea of reducing spending and the size of government, he is doing the absolute opposite. He is spending like a drunken sailor, bloating the government and his authority beyond what any President has ever done or should ever do. He’s only the President, representing a single branch of government. But when Congress abandons its role and responsibility, its oath of office, the system begins to collapse as it is doing now.

As with anyone in the country, all are obligated to follow the law. There will be no violence against anyone, including alleged criminals. Everyone will be treated with dignity and get the Constitutional protection of due process.

We are all immigrants.

Each one of us is an immigrant. Everyone came from somewhere! The native peoples of Turtle Island are thought to have come here, possibly by a land-bridge from Asiam2 thousands of years ago.

Indeed, there is a legal and an illegal way to enter a country, and from here on out, only legal entry is allowed. But those living here are given a pathway to citizenship. This does not include criminals, of course. Criminals stand trial and, if found guilty, are deported to their country of origin, not some remote corner of the Earth.

Policy on private prisons and detention centers: banned!

This subject is intimately interwoven with immigration, so I am including it here in this discussion.

Currently existing private prisons and detention centers will be purchased by the Federal or State governments for a minor profit to the company owners. This will spell the end of incarceration-for-profit, an utterly hideous concept that is unethical from inception.

Explanation

How horrible an idea to have a profit motive for maintaining and increasing prisoners or detainees. It’s poorly disguised slavery. The disease of greed has gripped this nation so severely that it’s a stranglehold around its neck like a noose. As a result, the country’s moral character is dying a slow death. The insidiousness of the entire idea has been woven into society so firmly, most people don’t even question its inherently unethical nature.

Who came up with this terrible idea?

When it becomes “routine”, normal, the underlying sickness and abnormality get lost, and of course, that’s what has happened in the USA. The cruelty that has long been part and parcel of the prison system, of SWAT teams raiding homes and businesses, even medical practices, should never be allowed in what is held to be a civilized nation.

As this has become endemic in our country, we have become inured—we don’t quite see it for what it is. Hence, the need for objectivity in government, business, and life, a re-awakening of our moral being, is what will navigate the future in my Administration.

Policy on public apologies to ethnic groups abused by the government in the past and even now

We would also publicly apologize to those who have been abused by ICE, by law enforcement, and any government agency over decades in ways that have been illegal, unethical, and even sadistic. The breaking of treaties with Native Americans, the theft of land, once precious mineral resources are found on it, and the brutalizing of people of different ethnic backgrounds over decades is over.

This ethos will go and human decency, dignity, and respect will be restored to these people who have been so abused by our government.

This includes the Chinese who worked on the railroads in the 19th century and the Japanese-Americans who were thrown into camps. It includes the Africans who were ripped from their homeland to be slaves, and it includes the Latin people who have often been mistreated and the subject of prejudice as well.

Of course, the apology begins with the Native peoples of Turtle Island, whose land was stolen at the very beginning of this experiment, and it is still happening as we speak.

We will welcome all and thank them--the hard-working Mexicans and all others--for their service to this country.

Whether it’s work in the fields, construction, or white collar jobs, immigrants tend to do work that native-born Americans, if offered the job, won’t even take. It’s remarkable how immigrants serve our country, absolutely to the extent that it is theirs too. They are a critical part of the economic, agricultural, and industrial infrastructure of this country.

At the base of this policy is recognizing that we are all immigrants and our values as Americans are not to be hostile but warmly welcoming those from other countries, as the Statue of Liberty symbolizes.

Surely there are limits per year, quotas, as each country has.

I believe that it could be that simple. Good will, good cheer, showing respect and appreciation go a long way in empowering people and creating extraordinarily positive results. There are always a few bad apples in every bunch. The force of law will deal with these exceptions, and indeed, exceptions they are.

Most people come to the U.S. because they foresee building a better life for themselves, their families, and look to contribute to the community. Immigrants often make excellent neighbors. They often escape horrendous, dangerous conditions in their own country. Not infrequently, those conditions are a result of U.S. policy and business interests there, corporate monopolies, and enslavement of the local people, as General Smedley D. Butler discussed at length in the 1930s when he declared, “War is a racket”.

The benefit to the U.S. is that many immigrants are ready and willing to take jobs that Americans simply do not want. Other immigrants bring entrepreneurship, and others a professional expertise across a wide array of fields that help U.S. businesses and communities grow. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Explanation

This immigration policy needs no explanation. It’s as obvious and natural as night following day. Again, it’s not left, it’s not right. It’s humane.

Drugs may be everywhere, but don’t have to be used. Policy: emotional education

Where there is a demand, there will be a supply. Dry up the demand, and the supply will too dry up.

The question to ask is, why is there such a demand for cocaine and other similar, damaging drugs?

On one hand, it appears that an inherent part of human nature is to experience adventure and to alter states of consciousness. This should not be judged but enjoyably explored.

There are ways of doing this that are incredibly life-expanding with certain psychoactive plant medicines, and there are ways that are life-contracting, harmful, and addicting. The latter has become a massive epidemic. The former is becoming ever more popular and healing, ironically, including helping those addicted to hard drugs.

Clear distinctions need to be made between substances, as they are radically different, as suggested above. Some are life-affirming, healing, and life-expanding, while others create harm, addiction, and even death.

Explanation

Could it be that people opting for hard drugs are not very happy, satisfied, fulfilled, but instead frustrated, confused, and unmoored without a sense of purpose, meaning, or love in their lives?

Could it be that today’s family and education have both deteriorated and don’t provide the basics that can keep a family unified and children educated?

Everyone wants to feel wanted, loved, connected, and that they belong in order to make something productive of their lives, infused with love, purpose, and meaning.

I suspect that this is largely the problem of why people turn to drugs, to numb themselves from “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. Connected to this is the power of peer pressure. But of course, none of this is a solution at all.

In the 21st century, for so many reasons, life has become extremely hard in for so many. In no small measure, it is because the economy is so out of balance, the insane disparity between materially rich and poor3, inflation has run amok, and greed governs instead of compassion and fair play.

Financial pressure, among many other variables, has so tipped the scale, it takes more than ever to stay centered and balanced in a world pulling on our attention virtually constantly from every direction.

But even prior to that, there is the inner story of feeling divided, uncertain, and diffident. External and internal issues are always at play, from a sense of self to the ability to pay the rent.

The root of the problem with drugs, I’m suggesting, is largely a loss of purpose, love, self-esteem, self-respect, feeling of connection, belonging, and finding meaning.

So, the answer to the drug epidemic? Not so difficult: first, an education about the dangers of certain drugs and the nature of addiction. Then infuse meaning, purpose, connectedness, and love back into relationships and stir the soul of the individual seeking to use them.

Help such a one develop a sense of self-esteem so he wouldn’t want to harm himself or anyone else. Build a community in which everyone has a vital and essential role to play.

Research conducted over the last 50 years has shown that the responsible use of plant medicine4 has had a remarkably healing effect on drug addicts as well as on war veterans’ PTSD, brain injuries, and even those feeling suicidal, for depression and anxiety.

Affordable, straightforward solutions

One excellent example of this is the brilliant work of Dr. Martin Polanco4 and his work, which he calls The Mission Within.

With the supervised use of ibogaine, Dr. Polanco has guided the above groups to a new, healthy, robust chapter in their lives, re-infused with purpose and meaning.

The responsible use of psychedelics in micro-dosing as well as in journeys and retreats has proven to be profoundly healing. This has been the shamanic medicine for thousands of years across the planet that has gone ignored until recently in the West.

There’s also a beautiful story of many drug addicts spending time with horses, developing a love for them, taking care of them, and a sense of meaning and purpose has been restored for them. Giving up drugs then becomes so much simpler and permanent.

This is an answer to many of life’s perplexing questions.

So the answer to much, certainly not all, of the motivation of people to use these kinds of drugs, which keep the cartels alive and well, can be addressed in a loving, supportive community that provides a sense of belonging and purpose.

A deep-seated sense of superiority ends up coming from an inferior understanding

This is largely due to the Anglo-European and Americans have always fancied themselves superior to other cultures, holding themselves to be the most advanced and knowledgeable about most everything.
But time has shown that that is far from the truth. Look at the mess the world is currently in. The world has been militarized, chemicalized, medicalized, drugged, McDonaldized, and, in short, everything monetized.

They’re inarticulate—they just bomb each other to death instead of holding rational dialogues for peace and mutually beneficial trade.

In all fairness, by no means has it only been the white, male Anglo-European and American with these attitudes toward others, not at all. This group just successfully wedded that attitude with militarism and colonialism. But throughout the world, the Chinese and Japanese, among them, have had the attitude that they are the superior ethnicity of them all.

To put it mildly, it adversely affects human relationships and is worth moving beyond.

It is not the people who cause wars and trouble, but the power elite at the top of the economic pyramid, then their political puppets, that cause wars and deceit around the world.

Appreciating the wisdom of the elders

How could it be that tribes in Africa, Australia, and South America know more about healing drug addiction, trauma, and the like better than we modern, scientifically-based, medically-oriented 21st-century professionals? Well folks…

Ancient wisdom, indigenous knowledge, which deeply includes a relationship to the plant and animal kingdoms, reaches into ‘the essence’ of things that stretch beyond time.

Summary

We have lost so much of our sense of soul in the modern-day American family and community. Both parents are working long hours to pay the bills, and a sense of family cohesiveness has unwound, causing emotional wounds.

Economic disparity in this country is too great; the middle class has sunk because big employers are too busy cutting the wages of their workers and coveting executive bonuses and shareholder dividends.

Add to an incredibly unjust system smitten with inflation, which steals money from everyone, and a corrupted tax system, people are obliged to spend an inordinate amount of time simply working to pay their bills and less time having a real life.

At the base of this Presidential platform is creating a sense of trust, integrity, respect, good will, and cheer in our own home country and around the world. We have had decent degrees of these before, and we need to re-establish their levels again.

These are the lifeblood of a nation and the world. They have been largely both increasing and vanishing to varying extents since WWII.

In this first article of a series called If I were President…., the topics covered were immigration and drugs, two big issues facing all countries today, and the U.S. significantly. Next up will be homelessness and healthcare, so stay tuned!

Notes

1 The Founding Fathers Feared Political Factions Would Tear the Nation Apart on History.
2 The Origin of Amerindians and the Peopling of the Americas According to HLA Genes: Admixture with Asian and Pacific People on PMC.
3 Wealth gaps across racial and ethnic groups on Pew Research Center.
4 Psychedelic medicine: a re-emerging therapeutic paradigm on PMC.
5 Mission Withing Foundation.