Volume 3, Issue 23
"If we continue the political path of name-calling, we are dooming ourselves to accept leadership that in our heart of hearts we do not trust."
There was, however, one great difference in our country then and our country now. Our leaders lead the United States in an effort to pursue principles that united us rather than policy that divided us. It culminated in the drafting and signing of the Constitution of the United States. George Washington served as the new republic’s first constitutional President. He was elected by acclamation. He virtually ran unopposed, received 100% of the electoral votes, and is the only president in the history of the United States to do so. The confidence of the people was made whole in principles and in his presence and leadership.
The difference today is that the two leading candidates of the two major parties for President of the United States are Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald Trump. They both have higher negatives among the American people than positives. The majority of the citizens of the United States are actually in a situation where they may have no option but to vote for someone for President that they do not like and they do not trust. In a recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll, Secretary Clinton had 100% name ID. Yet on the question “do you trust her?” 75% of the American public said no. It was an unqualified question. In other words, in general, for whatever hope you have for the country, do you trust her leadership? And a majority said no. In that same poll, on the head-to-head between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, she won the ballot 51%-49%. That means that 25% of the American public doesn’t trust her, but will vote for her. This is hardly a promising position for our electoral process.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, begins his quest for the presidency not only with negatives higher than positives, currently almost 40% of the American public has said they will not vote for him under any circumstances. Based upon his performance in the debates, I expect his numbers to remain flat or decline. The main result of the most recent Republican debate appears to be that the candidates are now resorting to personal attacks and statements on the character and intentions of their opponents. This is not the type of dialog we need as a country. We need thoughtful debate on principles that provide fair solutions for our country’s problems. A debate on principles that will render a vision that the American people can understand, take ownership of, and participate in with hope.
The process by which we as a country together seek the Constitutional leader of our great nation has been hijacked by hyperbole, partisanship, hard line ideology, and sectarian cultural differences. All of these lines of division are exacerbated by a biased press, dysfunctional Congress, and an elite that claims intellectual superiority.
In the late 1780’s, the establishment, religious leaders, land owners, and business owners sought principles by which society in general could prosper, regardless of one’s station in life. Say what you may, the Constitutional debate was about principles. The world was no less complex then than it is now. The country had no clear strategy about how the vast territory of North America would be settled. They had no concept of the ultimate conclusion of self-rule. It had never been attempted before. They proceeded into the future, unafraid, together, based on the philosophy that all men are created equal, in and through an equal pursuit of happiness. Were there struggles? Of course! Were there epic events like the Civil War? Absolutely! Was there racial intolerance? Yes! The critics who want to tear down this country cite these troubles as examples of why America was never exceptional and, therefore, it should retreat into history as a failed experiment.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that we survived the turbulence and progressed is manifest that our destiny of greater days is still ahead. Lesser countries with lesser standards and lesser commitments have failed. We did not.
Ask yourself what principles are you willing to commit your life to as a sustaining purpose?
On what foundation do you desire the generations to stand? What axioms will they climb to the next level? Our differences as a people in the 1780’s were just as intractable as they are today. Yet the country pursued a definition of America based on principles. It was this process that yielded the Constitution and a hope in the leadership of George Washington that bound us in our early years. It is not enough today to seek another George Washington. What we must look to is our inner self. We must make caring for each other a priority. We must realize that the pursuit of happiness is different for each individual and observed through the eyes of the beholder.
Freedom cannot be for one, it must be for all. Freedom cannot be obtained without each of our efforts to provide freedom for our fellow citizens. Whether we are gentry, land owners, business owners, workers, ministers, missionaries, or a perceived oppressed, our efforts as a country should be to develop principles that bind us and, therefore, a morality that makes us exceptional. Without an agreement on who we are as a people, we will continue to be divided along partisan, ideological, geographical, religious, and economic lines. If we continue the political path of name-calling, we are dooming ourselves to accept leadership that in our heart of hearts we do not trust.
Without trust, there is only measured confidence. With measured confidence, there is diminished hope. What we need is principled leadership. What we need is a vision.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?