The American Dream Lives On

It has been quite some time since I have posted here but today seems like an appropriate time to rectify that. There is a lot going on in our world. Both foreign and domestic, it can be very scary. Today I'm going to focus on a domestic issue. For a couple of months now a group of people calling themselves the Occupy Wall Street movement have been protesting. I will admit, as an avid news watcher I have been having a hard time figuring out exactly what they are protesting because it does seem that they are protesting everything. For the purposes of clarity though, I'm going to pick a couple of issues that I think have risen to the top for this movement.

Before I get into their issues, I would like to say that I do applaud what they are trying to do. I wholeheartedly support people's rights to speak their mind and to peacefully protest. It is one of the great things about our nation. We don't have to agree on issues and we can peacefully agree to disagree. Now, back to some issues. 

Last night as I watched the Los Angeles Police Department remove the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) from the grounds City Hall, variations on phrase "we are the 99 percent" was heard repeatedly. According to factcheck.org, in the 2008 election there was a 61.6% voter turn out. This was for a presidential election. The question that hasn't been asked yet is how many of the "99 percent" voted in the last elections? If we were to look at the 2010 election we'd find that only 40.9% of our voting population voted. Were the "99 percent" all voting then? Were a bulk of them voting? Do they intend to vote in the next election? I do recognize that they define themselves as the 99% economic bracket that doesn't include the richest 1%.

The argument being this "99 percent" is that the rich need to pay their "fair share." Last night on the news I heard countless interviews where people said that the capitalistic system needs to be thrown out. Take a look historically and let me know how well this worked for the USSR or the People's Republic of China. These were systems envisioned to give everyone their "fair share."

People are demanding equal distribution with their demand for their "fair share." Since when has the United States of America ever been about equal distribution? America has a history of working towards equal opportunity. There is a very big difference between the two. Equal opportunity means that I can work my way from being a poor, broke, student living out of his car to owning his own business and building a name for himself. Yes, that is my story. Equal distribution means that this poor broke student turns to someone else for a bailout and spends the rest of his life knowing that life doesn't have consequences because there will always be a safety net.

Safety nets don't lead to innovation. With great risk comes great rewards. Ask Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln. These are consider great American men. These men also had great failures at some point without a safety net. The consequences were real. They were hard. They were devastating. However, how these great men faced these failures helped define their legacies and also helped create this great nation.

It is time to back away from the politics of temper tantrums. I don't care what side of the aisle you are on, temper tantrums have to stop. We need serious voters and serious leaders. We also need mature voters and mature leaders. It is ok to disagree. It is also ok to compromise. Compromise is viewed as a dirty word by many in this day in age but I am here to challenge this viewpoint. I remember taking US History in high school and learning about the Great Compromise of 1787. If the founding fathers can compromise, so can we.

Now is the time to make a difference in our great nation. It is ridiculous at how low the voting turnout has been in recent years. If you don't like how things are being run, get out and vote. If you don't like who there is to vote for, find someone you do like. If you can't find someone you would like to vote for, run yourself! You aren't the only one who is disgruntled about the way things are in this great nation of ours. Let's move away from the politics of temper tantrums and into a new era of discussion, respect, maturity, and discipline. This will be a true era of change. This is going to take true leaders to do this who can focus on solutions and not on personal attacks.

Let's start the discussion. Leave a comment below and lets start an honest and respectful dialogue about true solutions to help fix our country.

Voting

We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands: we have a check upon two branches of the legislature, as each branch has upon the other two; the power I mean of electing at stated periods, one branch, which branch has the power of electing another. It becomes necessary to every subject then, to be in some degree a statesman: and to examine and judge for himself of the tendencies of political principles and measures. 

-John Adams

Often in politics it is much easier to complain than to step up and make a difference. Rarely can a day go by where some complaint isn't heard about what is going on in our great nation. However, before we complain we really need to stop and ask ourselves a couple of questions: Am I contributing to a solution or am I just complaining? Do I really want a solution to these problems or do I just like to complain?

If you find yourself on the solution end of things, awesome! Thank you for being a part of the process. I don't care what side of the process you are on but the fact that you are contributing is a big step forward from a lot of people. According to George Mason University statistics, just under 2/3 of eligible voters exercised that right to vote in the 2008 election. I don't have to remind you that this was a presidential election and attracted more voters (the most proportionally since 1908).  This, being a midterm election, won't attract as many voters.

For those that find yourself on the more complaining side of things, I get it. There is work. There are family commitments. You may feel uninformed. You may just not feel like your vote makes a difference. Whatever the reason you may feel you don't need or want to vote, I'd like you to think about the following quote: 

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote. - George Jean Nathan

Every election cycle we hear that this is the most important election ever. This may seem like it is a bit of an overstatement to some but I would argue the contrary. The vote we make today is going to shape where our country heads tomorrow. The votes we make today are going to pick the people who are going to steer our ship of state. I don't know about you but I want a say in where we are headed. How about you? 

I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it. - Alexander Woolcott

Debt

“Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt.” – Ben Franklin

As we grow up our parents warn us of the perils of getting into too much debt. Students are warned about all those offers that credit cards will send in the mail once we are old enough. Young adults are advised to live within our means. Some people end up doing this quite effectively and others live life constantly struggling and living from month to month fearing debt collectors and phone calls from unknown numbers. It is a very uncomfortable place to live as the future is always uncertain.

How is it any different at a national level? It seems that our government is living way past its means. Rather than being uncomfortable and worrying about the future, the people who lead our country instead worry about how they are going to appease their voters and keep their jobs. At the time of this writing, the United States of America is over $13 trillion. The debt per citizen is $42,120 and if you are a tax paying voter you owe $118,205. Those that make the decisions to keep increasing the debt most likely believe that the choices they make are for the good of the country. However, when countries like China are chiding our Secretary of the Treasury on our fiscal policy, it seems indicative of a problem.  

Thomas Jefferson was acutely aware of the dangers of debt. This is the problem. He once said, “I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.” 

As we move forward in the history of our great nation, we need to look at the past and learn from it. We need to heed the warnings of some of the greatest thinkers and leaders in our nation’s history. We need to collectively agree that unless we can’t pay for it, we can’t do it. The national debt is a serious threat to the future health and prosperity. We need leaders who can recognize these facts and are principled enough to vote in a manner that reflects them. Let’s start working towards financial freedom in the United States of America.

I leave you with one last thought by Thomas Jefferson, "The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."

Stepping Out

There are certain topics that are always bound to cause some sort of controversy when a person steps out and starts stating their opinion on the matter. Obviously this is because of the importance and sensitive nature of these topics. So because of potential conflict of fears of attack, people keep their mouths shut. Or if they do talk, it is done with people who are a safe audience with the safety of a general consensus. It is incredibly difficult to discuss issues in a civil and mature manner with the general populous. Because of this difficulty and other issues, it is incredibly rare that this happens. While most people will nod and agree with this assessment, not as many people will step forward and do something to change this. I have definitely been in this category for several years. I intend to change this, at least in my own life.

Envision Integrity is going to be my forum to share my beliefs and thoughts mainly in the realm of politics. This will not be a place for partisan politics as usual. It will be a place where ideas and policies are evaluated from a perspective of practicality, integrity, honor, and common sense.

I do not expect people to always agree with my ideas or thoughts. I do expect people to respond in a civil manner with their own ideas and thoughts. Personal attacks against anyone will not be tolerated. To put it incredibly simply, I will delete any comment that is inflammatory (i.e. violent, racist, derogatory, etc) or is a personal attack.

Now let’s start talking and having a dialogue. Let’s create a forum were diverse opinions can be talked about without people wanting to destroy each other. Then let’s share these ideas with our representatives and be a positive force for change in our great country!