My mom said that I could be anything that I wanted to be. Until I wanted to go to art school.

But when I was in grade school, before I wanted to be a lifetime artist, when Kennedy and Johnson were in office respectively, I had grand ideas of becoming both an Astronaut and the President one day. I was never told that a woman couldn’t be President. I was never told that an artist couldn’t be an Astronaut. Or a President. It never occurred to me that I couldn’t do both, or even one of these things.

I didn’t have a strong STEM background in my schooling. I had a hard time with mathematics. Biology boggled me a little and I never made it to chemistry. So my Astronaut career went out the window decades ago. Now I could only hope to be a space traveler someday. Maybe in another lifetime.

It’s something I dream about.

I often still think of running for political office though.

I live in a Volkswagen bus, so it’s a little difficult to put myself out into the public eye. I like living as an outlaw, but I prefer to be under the radar. To run for office would have my quiet alternative lifestyle exposed – and possibly threatened. But if it came down to it, if I was needed, if I felt that I could influence change, I would do it.

I often think about my platform though, should I make a run for it. The Presidency, I mean. Right now the GOP resembles a very scary clown car, the Greens are too angry, and the DEMS are, well, circling the drain. How would I run? Whose rules would I follow? Which group would I identify with?

The Independents.

Or some sort of version of being an Independent.

And I often think about the platform I would run on. And how the world is not yet ready for someone (anyone) like me to be their leader. We almost had it in President Obama. I love the man, felt only so-so about his eight year presidency, but after I thought about it for awhile I realized that he was there to set something in motion. He was there to open the door into our next stage of being. Why is Trump there, you might be wondering? Obama opened the door for Trump to take hold? Not to take hold, but Trump does have a purpose. His purpose is to destruct and to bring out the American shadow into full view. All of our ugly bits out in the open. It is no coincidence that the August 21st total solar eclipse, bringing the United States into its shadow self, is happening during his reign.

Once everything in the collective American shadow is brought to the surface, we can begin to heal it. And it will be the next President (if there is one) who will begin that process, the process that was begun by President Obama.

But back to my platform. And all of you should be thinking about a platform. Why? Because we are going to be in such chaos by the time this part of our lives is history, that we will need to develop a new platform. What would your ideal platform be? How do you see the world, your world? What kind of world do you want to live in? How do you see us living together? If you were an independent sovereign over your own destiny, what would your life look like?

My second order of business (my first will be disclosed further down in this post) would be to start picking up the pieces of whatever aftermath we are left to deal with. Once that is accomplished to a level where real work can begin these line items would be at the top of my list:

A Basic Monthly Income for ALL Americans. Imagine if, from the time you turn eighteen, you were given a monthly stipend that would cover the basics in life – shelter and food. How would that free up your life? How much more would you be willing to be of service to your fellow human if your daily worries did not revolve around where your next meal was coming from? Would you live a simple life? Would you be of service to others? Would you use the money to create the basis for the next big thing? Would you write the next great American novel? Would you be able to take pride in your job or the work that you do or the service that you offer because it will be something that you WANT to do, rather than a work path you were forced to be on?

Why wait until the age of eighteen? Why not from birth? Because if you want to have children, you really have to have them because you want them, not because they will increase your monthly stipend. Harsh. But plain and simple.

Universal Healthcare for all. It’s time to take down the insurance companies and replace it with a Universal Health Care system that is paid for by the government. This could be a Medicare for all, and if you want something better, then you can pay for it yourself. UHC would promote prevention and healing and healthy active lifestyles over maintaining an illness with Big Pharma. Medical costs would be reined in and well documented and a position in the medical field would be one of service and healing, not one of bribes and over pricing.

A freely educated society with the option through university level. A strong society is an educated society. That said, not everyone learns in the same way and different systems need to be in place for different types of education. For example, some children learn better through creativity and being given the freedom to learn at their own speed, while others learn better through memorization and schedules.

Four years of college or university would be included in the tuition free system – although it is not required to attend, it would be encouraged and of course, people could choose to go to a private college or university and pay their own way.

A freely moving society – with access to public infrastructure, transportation, and a train system that connects us all. With a growing population we need to reduce our reliance on owning a car. Public transportation systems need to be supported and enhanced. One should be able to go from town to town, state to state, or across the country without hindrance because of lack of transportation systems. Building this system and maintaining it would create jobs.

A lessening of the power of the Pentagon. This is where part of the budget would come from for the previous platform items. The whole point of moving forward is to have less need for funding fighting power and more funding for the people of the United States.

A foreign policy of making friends, not enemies. It would be the goal to move away from a war society to a diplomatic and peaceful society.

A compassionate and fair Supreme Court.

Equal human rights for all people. Creed, color, gender, lifestyle would not inhibit any citizen from enjoying the right to life, peace, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Equal pay for all work. It’s about time.

An end to The Corporatocracy. Corporations can not be allowed to own us. They need to be held in check. While innovation and advancement would still be a focus, influence in government would not.

As AI and robots take over our future work places, it would only be fair to the American public if the Corporations added their part to the Basic Universal Income system.

An end to the prison system, a restructuring of how we deal with criminals and what we think of as a crime. This issue needs to be discussed and a think tank needs to be formed to come up with ways to make this system more holistic and a benefit to society and to the individuals involved.

I’m sure that if the Basic Universal Income and the Universal Healthcare system were installed, the rate of crime would decrease dramatically. That’s only a guess on my part, but I feel it would play out to be true.

An end to the death penalty. The death penalty is barbaric. We are more enlightened than this.

Congress. We need a Congress that is about helping the American people, not one about politics. The whole mindset behind the Congress and how it works needs to be addressed and changed. This would happen faster if the entire current body of Congress was voted out of office.

Promoting living with nature rather than as living separate from it. It’s time that we recognize that this planet is our only home and that we should treat it with respect in the same way that we respect the homes that we create ourselves.

This is just the tip of my idea iceberg. It’s the part that is visible above the surface.

My first order of business would be to encourage you, the people, to vote into Congress members who would support my platform. Members who want to see us live and thrive and be the best we can be.

I’ve been accused of being an idealist. I so am. I believe that people should aim for their ideals. Why not? What is holding you back?

I’d love to have a conversation in the comments here. Tell me what you think. What you want. How you see your future if you could have it any way you want. Do you ever think about your agenda if you were going to run for office?