America is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Counts may act like they’re entitled to shape America’s future for us. But American citizens are not here as background characters while Counts play America like their own video game. The bigger the decision, the more important that all Americans—we the people—are able to understand, debate, and decide.
Americans can say, “Enough!” to the out-of-control, extreme Money Counts of elite, entitled Counts. Contributing Americans can renew the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, free from the corruption of extreme money, as we:
Decide on the big stuff. Counts corrupt our large-scale decision-making bodies: corporations, nonprofit organizations, and governments. They try to monopolize decisions about everything that shapes American lives: AI, “crypto” money, education, housing, healthcare. Americans can reclaim our tools for making big decisions.
Require clear and simple terms. Counts can hide behind technical jargon instead of being straightforward. They pretend their plans are too complicated to explain to regular Americans. But that’s just an excuse to leave us out of important decisions. Americans can require clear and simple terms for anything that needs doing.
Think like parents. Counts abuse and waste America like there’s no tomorrow. And if things get too difficult, they can afford to leave. But Americans know that’s not OK. We can think like parents as we make decisions. We can make sure the regenerative cycle of American Life is strong. We can help future generations thrive.
On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Big Woods Declaration (BWD) renews the call for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, free from the corruption of extreme money.
The BWD is a First Amendment petition to the American people and our government. It is not limited to any political party or group.
The BWD is a total of 60 pages: the Core Declaration (4 pages), the 13 Notes, the 27 Dangers to America, and the 16 Solutions for America.
The BWD may be shared and reused under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. View a copy of this license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
The BWD was created without the use of any AI, opinion polling, or focus groups. The BWD draws on many core American ideas as well as the work of Thorstein Veblen, America’s visionary from the Big Woods of Minnesota.
All photos in the BWD were taken in the Big Woods. The BWD was framed by Erik Christopher Sahlin with Alyssa Beth Wulf.