As we view Putin’s assault on The Ukraine and take stock in where we are in the world today with countries possessing unspeakable arsons of nuclear warheads, DEWs and other psychopathic tools to kill, maim and torture men, women and children, it’s opportunity to turn back the page forty years ago when we watched two leaders pivot the course of nuclear doom.

Those leaders, of course, were Reagan and Gorbachev, for those of us who can remember. As children of that time we practiced drills at school in case of a Soviet invasion or nuclear war. We believed the USSR to be evil because we were told they were bad. And yet, there was a Russian president we can look back on today with absolute respect. His name was Mikhail Gorbachev, who was born a farmer and rose in the ranks of the communist party to ultimately lead the Soviet people, as well as the world, during a critical time, ultimately being awarded The Nobel Peace Prize.

As we review those years and speeches by Gorbachev, we can uncover a level of propaganda we were fed in The United States, as we can see today he was a man of peace and vision. Like President Jimmy Carter who created The Carter Center to build on ideas of democracy, health and other global issues important to us all, Gorbachev created The International Foundation For Socio-Economic and Political Studies (The Gorbachev Foundation). His words:

“The XXI century will be a сentury either of total all-embracing crisis or of moral and spiritual healing that will reinvigorate humankind. It is my conviction that all of us – all reasonable political leaders, all spiritual and ideological movements, all faiths – must help in this transition to a triumph of humanism and justice, in making the XXI century a century of a new human renaissance. – Mikhail Gorbachev

These are words of a true leader. And as we refocus our lens of 40 years ago, we can see that Gorbachev had the courage and the will to listen to “the people”, opening the doors for his people to choose who they want to be, instead of aggressive controlling, building more military or launching a nuclear arsenal in order to achieve domination. He was and remains a true leader for the people, by the people and of the people.

In Wernor Herzog’s film Meeting Gorbachev we get to pull back the proverbial curtain of 40 years of US political propaganda to actually learn about Gorbachev, as a man, and his dreams. During one interview he said “There are those who don’t understand the importance of cooperation. Such people don’t belong in politics.”

In the book Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future, there is an entry that described a flight that Gorbachev and his wife took with the Reagans across the United States. Reagan proudly looked down at the landscape of small homes and said “one day everyone will have a swimming pool,” as an example that no one will be poor. This idea is nothing less that a promotion of utter capitalism, an idea that big money and luxury leads to happiness, security and health. Apparently these words jolted Gorbachev’s wife. And in her eyes perhaps she saw the materialistic path the United States was paving by this president, ideals very counter to their approach to helping their own country simply be healthy with what they need – food, shelter and support.

I traveled through former Soviet Union in the year 2003, visiting Romania, Bulgaria and Albania, recognizing a lingering hunger as many struggled just to have food, health and a future. I stood on the concrete huts that the fear driven leader Enver Hoxca built to fight off Americans, littering their countryside into a wasteland. In Romania and Bulgaria and a few from Eastern Germany I learned of a different story than the one I was told. “We had what we needed,” I heard, as now many face other forms of corruption from a new oligarchy, as we do the same in The United States. After the fall of The Berlin Wall, the people lost everything that they had – medical care, dental care and other government support that are similar to the very services we are asking for in our country – The United States. And as we look around our own country, The US, today, we see the horror of poverty, lack of education and horrific health, including diabetes, obesity and more. We are The Soviet Union of the 1980s, ruled by elites, corrupt politicans and propaganda under the guise of capitalism instead of communism. And we don’t even have a wall locking us in these injustices. We choose to be locked into these injustices.

Five years ago, as I learned more about the failures of Reagan’s policies including his tax restructuring that have led to the power of the elites/American oligarchy and collapse of the middle class, knock down of President Jimmy Carter’s visionary environmental policies and knock down of labor (my family stood in the 1981 National Strike against Reagan, as I’ve written in my memoir documenting the journey of a working class family standing up to a president), I wanted Carter to be recognized for his leadership and visions instead of his failings, which too many people are quick to note without recognizing his speeches of “Crisis of Confidence,” which resonates boldly today, and his energy policies that could have thwarted not only our US economic and moral stability but could have mitigated the climate crisis today. So, as a teacher,

I reached out to my community to do what Carter said during the Bob Dylan award ceremony with Musicares: “Musicians have far greater power than any President of the United States.” In short, local musicians came together to simply play music on Carter’s birthday on October 1 and before long we were awarded Proclamations of support by two cities, Novato and Fairfax, along with the Supervisors of Marin County, all of which is documented here as part of The Jimmy Carter Jamboree.

I also reached out to Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, seeking his support, given he is a leader of peace. As a former farmer, too, his age and experience could offer a perspective on humanity and give us a glimmer of hope too, in his words, to “transition to a triumph of humanism and justice, in making the XXI century a century of a new human renaissance.” To my surprise, he responded and wrote a letter to President Jimmy Carter, in my care, to deliver it, which I did, with a frame and a California Resolution honoring Carter, the first of its kind, supported by State Senator Mike McGuire and State Assembly Member Marc Levine.

In my final note, why do I call Gorbachev “my friend”? It’s simple: He trusted me, a humble citizen and one of “the people”. I am not a fancy politician, business owner or tech guru. He supported me with a message and a project that had the intention of creating good will and peace. He never even met me other than to acknowledge my written words to his foundation with my request to support a celebration by the people to honor President Jimmy Carter. And this amazed me, when even my own government leaders rejected me and refused to support an intention “by the people”. Those politicans were Al Gore, Governor Jerry Brown and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi who had rejected while a Russian President stepped forward.

It taught me something about leadership – trust in “the people”.

Thank you President Mikhail Gorbachev. I do believe your inspiration will cultivate the will of a new renaissance by the people one day.

Resilience. We need to rise. We have everything we need to create who we are and ensure our government officials see who we are.

Like you, I demand an end to the absurd mandates that have been nothing less than comical, if you can laugh at the fact that officials were clever enough to convince the American people to literally and voluntarily cut off our own oxygen supply. . . sometimes with double masking. Our children walk around with snot filled, bacteria laden rags on their faces that drop, get stepped on in the school yard and then back on their faces they go. One silver lining? Comedians will have fodder for the next 1000 years after we are done with this episode of insanity.

What’s even more maniacal? As we face an obesity epidemic with one out of three adults obese and facing horrific chronic health ailments and now one out of five children face the same fate, we can recognize that with 80% of the covid dead being such victims, we have an entirely OTHER conversation that is immediate and life threatening to us all given we see that when you have a hugely vulnerable society with a large elderly population (the baby boomers) plus a huge obese population facing life threatening status (dietary diseases are the number two killer in our country, second to smoking), we will face pandemics for years to come, just as the US Surgeon General called out in 2001 – “Obesity is becoming an epidemic and it’s a pandemic in the making.”

So, this is the time to think radically different. Here are a sampling of my ideas as Governor of California:

1) Time To End War: If leaders have a conflict, they can get into a boxing ring themselves with the other leader they have a problem with and “we, the people” will buy popcorn and watch them duke it out and see who really wants peace.

2) Transportation: Time to mandate all elected officials to take public transportation ONLY. They must get rid of their own cars and participate in our public system given they are public servants. Watch how quickly our public transportation system improves.

3) Economy: Time for cooperatives to rise. Nonprofits have served as a very good example of how to run an organization while providing a service to the people. If you want to start a cooperative grocery store, cafe or business. . . our government should support you instead of singular individuals who make grand profits while pitting their workers into poverty.

4) Infrastructure: Who really needs a huge garage to fill with junk? Let’s reimagine our neighborhoods that lack cafes and grocery stores and support homeowners to take charge of their neighborhoods to fill these needs from their own garages. Our government should provide grants and more to support such needs while also providing a seed stipend to all homeowners with a yard to start a micro farm to grow food and share with the community.

5) Health: High time to recognize we have an obesity problem in our country that is hurting us all. Let’s regenerate our schools to become working farms to help grow food for the entire community, while empowering our students to understand good food, healthy soil and the value of nurturing. We need to tackle the childhood obesity rates so the entire society can thrive and live healthy.

6) Animal Rights: End animal experiments that create harm, trauma and pain to sentient creatures. Most experiments are no longer necessary. Let’s put them out of business!

7) Food Forests: Let’s create food forests in our community. Plant a fruit tree instead of meaningless decorative trees, so everyone can eat without worry. We can harvest trees that have been forgotten – such as the oak and bay trees, which provide wonderful nutrition, helps to mitigate fires and provides a local food resource.

8) Death: Nobody should have to pay huge sums to put a loved one to rest. We can create a program to help regrow our forests while honoring our dead. Instead of expensive caskets, land and tombstones, trees can serve to honor our legacies. Given the state already has a budget for our forest lands, people can augment to initiatives into one – honoring our dead and creating national sanctuaries for us to preserve. This is already being done by private companies that charge heavy prices. We don’t to make this an elite option for the few – we need to make sure everyone has a chance to provide a respectful and thoughtful end of life act for their loved ones.

9) Elderly: We have an emerging crisis, a heavy burden on our younger generation who will be carrying the load of taking care of a large elderly society – the baby boomers. While they age and need more care in a culture that has never respected the caregiver with either proper compensation or support, now is the time to raise the level of pay and recognition. To care for others, whether you are a teacher or a care provider, is a heart filled yet demanding work. Our society must recognize that we need reshape incentives and financial compensation for these incredible people, and that work should first start with our own families, as more often than not, families will care for their elders on a much higher level if they have the support. We ought to have tax incentives, just like childcare incentives, and provide a network of home care professionals who can support the home caregivers.

Housing: We have the answers to affordable housing. Habitat for Humanity. Instead of big investors profiting off the people, we, the people can build our own houses for one another. The structure is already in place, it just takes the right energy and commitment. What’s more is it’s time to rethink housing structures and needs. Is small apartment living so bad? Could a percentage of rent be used as secure investments for future housing to help those who do not have the large initial resources and who are being stripped of their financial worth by greedy corporate landlords? Could we rethink resources used by homebuilders? Cob and adobe homes are tried and true methods for long lasting structures, reducing our need for valuable wood and transportation.

Time to think different . . . WE, THE PEOPLE, HAVE THE ANSWERS. Don’t give away our power to those who exploit us.