George Washington’s Farewell Address. I am awe-struck at the vision these men had when considering the possible outcomes of a newly created government! He knew that his words would be tossed about for as long as the Union stood. He ENSURED it would by how he acted. How he set the tone, for the respect of the Office. So long as man puts pen to paper, the words of true fellowship and liberty will always win the day.
As true visionaries tend to do, Washington saw how this could all end. As he said, “prevent our nation from running the course which hitherto marked the destiny of nations.” He knew because it had happened before. As did ALL the Framers of our Constitution. The evil of Man has corrupted countless souls, as far back as one can see. The historical tyrants recounted today, number far fewer than the ones long forgotten, who’s actions, though less known, still led to the moral corruption of nations just the same.
The greed of corruption. The self-enrichment from the treasure of our nation, sometimes at the cost of our nation. Blood money. Pork. Lard. Pay for Play. Payola. How ever you frame it, it has stagnated cesspools and swamps, burdened the citizens, and upended civilizations throughout history. And knowing this, Washington spoke after two terms as the first President. Seeing how the nations of humanity reacted to this new ‘organization’ “…what did they call it, an ‘experiment?’ Those crazy colonists…”, and knowing this ‘experiment’ would prove a success, he gave some advice as he left-
“… the JUST pride of patriotism…” Not that the act of patriotism is just, but the patriotism that, today, We take for granted +200 years later. The strong footing on the moral high ground. Not passively enjoyed as passing fad or trend, but hard won over two centuries of shared loss, and triumphant joy in re-unification.
A Well Worn Relationship, Of Union Celebrated, and not of one Unknown!
We KNOW these words, because they were taught to us in public school. We know these words because we BELIEVE in these ideals, and have lost family to keep them. We see the words of George Washington and take them for granted. Because we have now given our all, for generations, to these conceived principals, and it lives WITHIN US! It is real, it is “good”, and THAT is why it is a “…JUST Patriotism”. “You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together!” His words, now amplified over 200 years.
“… to listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal.” Let experience solve it!
We have now reached a sizable data pool to extrapolate from. The Office of President has been filled as prescribed by the Constitution, 45 times. 45 times our country has elected a President! Yet, to many people in this country, that rings hollow. To many people I know, this doesn’t matter, because they say “my vote doesn’t count. I live in____.” (insert red/blue State) OR “The President is only chosen by Electors, not popular vote.” The disconnect between the value and power of the voter and reality is real. And it is costing lives due to impotent leadership in dealing with natural disasters.
Many of us have forgotten the power to create positive change in our country is balanced… there is a shared responsibility. We are TIED to each other, for better or worse. Most assuredly, we WILL all hang together! No one is doubting that for one moment! That is why it was enshrined in the “Bill of Rights”… Our solution. The ability to Amend, to bend, to create a more perfect union. The existence of a “blank sheet” at the end of our Constitution. It is the most brilliant part of the whole document… nothing. everything. anything. The People’s will. Where the wellspring of fraternity flows strong, that is where OUR just patriotism comes from. Washington KNEW that the exponential growth of human minds, burning brightly within the kiln of a fair and just system, would always provide a solution.
Because the alternative… Our Constitution is a patchwork quilt, made of the beautiful parts of corrupt civilizations long fallen. It’s multi-textural structure, the framework of Laws paired with the flowing and ever changing interpretation, is a singular powerhouse BECAUSE WE SEE IT AS EVER CHANGING… as we should. Our endeavors, though blessed by Universe, are executed through the ‘Word’ of Universe. And as we advance in knowledge, so too must our system of governance. AND KNOWING THIS… over two hundred years ago, fully envisioning how a free country would likely fall, The Framers made their ONE FATAL ERROR. It is the “experiment” directly spoken of.
The ability to FULLY share responsibility for another soul, whom you will surely never meet. Can that SHARED responsibility be given FREELY to others? AND fully reciprocated? For myself, my family… our future? They balked… They had DOUBT. They had NO DATA to base a conclusion upon.
WE HAVE THAT DATA! THAT DATA IS GOOD DATA! And we now face a point where the worst envisioned fears of the Framers has come to pass. Sadly, it was of their OWN MAKING. But they left us the SOLUTION…. Because the alternative has been done before.
The intensity of the conflict at the heart of Our American struggle is unrecognized among the media, the polling, the leaders and legislators. The voters KNEW the choices for president, and their disgust for the whole corrupt political system was shouted loud and clear… “These are NOT the two best choices for the HONOR of the Office of President of OUR UNITED States.” THAT was the message. That was the demand. “FIX IT!” Not “BURN IT DOWN!”
So long as we follow the Law, and hold sacred the same values and fears our Founding Fathers held, We should re-affirm our Union and create, through Regular Order, and ratified as prescribed in our Constitution, a more perfect system. Dissolve the Electoral College, and establish in Law, our firm faith in the ideals of LIBERTY, EQUALITY, and FRATERNITY.
As this idea surely will create some panic, as change suggests an unmooring will occur, we must not forget, ALL voices MUST BE EQUAL. Though we all come from differing places, we ALL live our daily lives under the common structure that Every One is Created Equal. And ONLY from that shared equality can we have the balance, for our shared economic prosperity, our shared security, and the comfort that comes from connections unseen but treasured none the less. Values we celebrate not because they are Our values, but because they are WORTH CELEBRATING-
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” –Abraham Lincoln, second Inaugural Address
To a just and lasting peace.
JC
End The Electoral College NOW!! 