When City Council passed the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, we (re) learned many relevant truths:
a. The Power is ALWAYS with the People (when we assert it) – The reason the
ordinance passed is due to the people standing up, canvassing, expressing truth at City Hall, and putting pressure on the council, and spreading mass awareness to the media and community awareness.
b. City Hall is (and has been) Reactionary, Not Visionary. Especially when it comes to
basic rights and freedoms, City Hall has never shown a proactive willingness to assert fundamental rights on behalf of the people, they only retroactively and narrowly codify minimal protections, tragically after years of struggle, death, and torment on behalf of those who are negatively impacted by the lack of protections of said basic rights. In other words, City Hall has no vision. They do not see things as they should optimally and naturally be, but rather they react only to the bare minimum concessions to maintain the appearance of democratic process, and to remain in good favor of demographic groups likely to support their reelection.
c. The State must be Circumvented – Texas technically owns the corporate entity called “The City of Austin” which is why they feel entitled to mandate what can or cannot be done here. However, the time has come for the people to assert our authority. As
MAYOR OF AUSTIN, TEXAS, it will be my inaugural oath to honor and defend the Constitution of the State of Texas, and the United States. I would like to point out two very important sections of each document, and in citing this, express accurately why we will win any legal challenge to the people of Austin asserting their authority. (1) The Texas Constitution states: “All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican for of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their government in such a manner they may think expedient.” From the United States Constitution, Amendment 9, Unenumerated Rights, states: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” What we learn here is that it is incumbent upon us, and legally guaranteed to us, to assert any authority we see appropriate, so long as it does not violate anyone else’s rights. So, in the case of re- defining basic freedoms on a fundamental level, such as “health care is a human right”, there is moral ground and legal precedence to support this. Our approach always to the state will be to cooperate with the Constitution, which grants us the right to assert all rights. Specifically with this ordinance, the main opposition argument was that “the City has no right to tell private business what to do with their money”, which is supported by the State and Supreme Court (re: corporate personhood). However, a fundamental and relevant freedom, which is “the duty of the city to protect public health, and the general wellbeing and quality of life for ALL citizens of this sovereign area” supersedes the notion that any personhood-entity-company could ever conduct commerce in this city while being in violation to the overall wellness and public safety of all by not providing adequate measures to deal with employees who get occasionally sick. In other words, it was everyone’s right to be healthy before it was a companies right to engage in commerce, and it is the people’s right to assert, through democratic and republican processes, the duty of the city to protect the overall wellness of public health. This is common theme you will see throughout.
d. We must Transcend Struggle & Class Systems – The mere fact that the people do
not already have basic freedoms and developed systems to optimize human vitality, shows us exactly why we must shift our approach using a higher consciousness. I am not here to fight with blood, sweat, and tears just to gain the bare minimum for people. I am here to assert my divine authority as a co-creative and powerful being of Earth to help my sisters and brothers assert their divine authority as co-creative and powerful beings of Earth. In such a reality where ALL life is valued, respected, and cherished as the infinite blessing it perpetually reveals itself to be, no class systems, scarcity, or struggle will exist. This is a fine statement to make, while remaining present in the dark reality where the parasite of fear possesses the consciousness of many, where the spiritual warrior is needed more than ever. So, rather than fighting for minimal gains and addressing issues with ‘band-aid-policy’, I will always aim for unified solutions to address and resolve the root causes of our problems. In relation to this paid sick leave ordinance, for example, we will not need it once we provide health care for all, shelter for all, abundant renewable energy for all, organic food for all, and liberate ourselves from financial slavery. This is not a fantasy of delusion, this is a reality worth building together.
The solutions exist, and it’s up to us to implement them. Let’s move beyond partial measures. It’s time for transformational change.