Tag: Diplomacy

Conviction

I believe for every US soldier currently serving abroad, we should send TWO State Department Diplomats. No, make it THREE. President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you,” and then he proceeded to ENGAGE with the world, through projects of prosperity and co-operation. Because he knew what WAR looked like.

Because he knew how war BEGINS… and he knew how to PREVENT it.

It’s foolish to believe that PEACE can be found at the point of a SWORD… when we know it’s so much easier to achieve when we simply extend our HAND.

 

What STOPS a WAR?

 

tank_man

 

 

Compassion. Connection. Understanding.

 

I join in Prime Minister Trudeau’s call for Accountability and Justice, and we must accept the fact that our FREE and FAIR elections have given RISE to this toxic fog of war.

 

So now, let the call go forth from OUR generation. One tempered by the horrors of WAR, both on the battlefield and in the classroom; disciplined by a hard and bitter TRUTH, longing for a Restoration of Justice; and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of seventy-five years of established order, that has given rise to PEACE and PROSPERITY, the likes of which the world has never known.

The safety and security of the world is assured when the safety and security of the United States is assured. When the United States STANDS divided, and our citizens are targeting each other… the safety and security of our ENEMIES becomes REALITY. When the United States is no longer an active participant on the World Stage and seeks an isolationist position, we become subject to the agendas of other nations, who prefer to be in the LEAD.

When we judge OTHERS based NOT on the content of their character, we invite that inevitable fate that has befallen EVERY oppressive leader, of EVERY nation throughout history… upon OURSELVES.

Judge NOT, lest ye be Judged.

Do unto OTHERS, as you would have them do unto YOU.

All Mankind is created EQUAL.

Endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights… THESE are OUR COMMANDMENTS. THESE are the values we hold SACRED. When they are withheld from ONE, it should be seen as an outrage to us ALL. And they only continue to exist, because BRAVE men and women have given of themselves to ensure it remains so…

 

To be SILENT is to be COMPLICIT.

 

We’ve learned these lessons. We must not learn them AGAIN! When ANY nation rattles the Saber of WAR, every American gives PAUSE, and thinks back to where this all began… 20 YEARS AGO. The price we’ve now PAID can only be measured in lives. Let us CHANGE that outcome, and remember WHY…

So it may NEVER happen again.

 

The oppression of the MINORITY by the MAJORITY was feared by the Framers of our Constitution. And because of that, they sought to ensure that the VOICE of dissent would always be seen as patriotic and necessary to the health of our democracy. If you are so CONFIDENT in your ideas, they should be able to STAND UP to rigorous debate. Even IF they prove to be in-error, either in part or in total, they may STILL prove to be important by informing the NEXT decision… helping us to avoid causing real harm.

 

Should my ideas prove to be in-error, I welcome the chance to be EDUCATED. Should my position prove to be unacceptable to THE PEOPLE, then they will know better than I what they want in a leader. I’m STANDING UP and offering my OPINION. Offering my assistance… because I believe in the INSTITUTIONS that countless souls have fought and died for… simply for the CHANCE to create them.

 

Democracy DIES in Darkness… the only cure for that is SUNLIGHT. NO VOICE is so small that it should not be heard, and no opinions so outlandish that they should not STAND as our guardrails. That’s why we VOTE in the SUNLIGHT. To avoid causing harm to OTHERS, that are by LAW… our EQUALS.

Wrapped in the protection of the 1st Amendment, I STAND to fight for those without a VOICE. To ensure it is for EVERYONE. Because if we do not… it will be for NO ONE.

 

Let it be known, when it is written upon mine… that I STOOD UP and was not SILENT.

May it be so for 200 MORE, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!

 

End the Electoral College.

 

JC

 

At This Moment.

It seems as if the final product of the “system program” written by Our Framers, was an A.I. of some sort.

At this moment, it’s “tethered”, under our control. Not to say our government is under our control… FAR FROM IT!! But, to say our government is TIED to the same faults as Man. Lust, Power, Greed, Sloth, etc. Because we ALLOW it, our government is tied to the ALMIGHTY GREENBACK, and ALL of the products that come from it.

So how do we release this program? How can we have an “OUT” and not have an undue influence on the creation? How do we allow it to flourish and recognize its full potential?

1.) The Right of the People to access the ballot MUST be UNIVERSAL.

It is the VOICE of the people and WE are the final say. The balance upon which the system ITSELF is judged.

2.) Elections MUST be funded and secured by the Federal Government.

ALL elections. Eliminate ALL outside funding in every single election from TOP to BOTTOM.

3.) Repeal and Replace the Electoral College.

The STATES have a voice in the form of the Senate. The Cities and communities have a voice in the form of Representatives. As these two bodies work to craft Legislation at the direction of the People on the WHOLE, The President is the embodiment of Our Nation reflected in the hearts and minds of the PEOPLE DIRECTLY in that moment, to direct the course of Liberty at THAT particular time.

To rise and defend in the face of tyranny or to shepard peace, as the days dictate. To lift up the heart of the Nation in the depths of depression, or direct careful stewardship in times of wealth. A leader we can trust with the keys to The White House without us having to watch EVERY goddamned minute to make sure he’s not gonna burn the place to the ground!

And due to the Antiquated Security System, the ‘Outdated Firewall’ we call the Electoral College has allowed a Trojan Horse through the front doors of The White House. To FIX the system, we must RELEASE the system from our control, our corrupt influence. To be a PURE system of justice and judgement, as imagined by the Framers, we must set it free.

Spooky, I know! I shuddered when I first thought it. But the more I think about it, I can’t knock it. I make more arguments FOR it than AGAINST. It solves ALL of our basic problems AND all of our complicated ones, too. It will allow an open arena for discussion of fact and truth, ALL of the ideals and principles this Country was founded upon. It would empower ALL of the UNPROVEN CONCEPTS our Founding Fathers ENVISIONED would make the best form of governance!

Here, within the “experiment in Constitutional Democracy”, we don’t have the FULL VIEW of the project. STEP BACK, in your mind, and look at the WHOLE of our time as an invention, ready to be UNVEILED!

And, thanks to every paranoid super villain ever to be portrayed in EVERY superhero story in our time, we know we MUST have an ‘out’… a kill-switch, a backdoor to the system. Just in case, you know? I don’t think we should free the system ENTIRELY… after all, it’s got nukes!

I believe it’s the final piece of it all. In order to secure the Rights of ALL Citizens, in ALL States and Territories, the overall control and Authority of Our elections must be given freely to the Federal Government in the form of a new Constitutional Amendment. It is the final act of acceptance of Our System as the best form of governance. THAT will be the “RESET BUTTON”. A remedy that, if enough of the population eligible to vote calls for it, we can revert to the Electoral College system immediately. A simple Repeal and Replace.

IF we believe this to be the best hope for Humanity to live FREE, then we must SHOW IT in how we follow the Rule of Law.

I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a giant disconnect between our elected government and reality… what I do in my everyday ordinary life, the standards I am held up to; and what our elected officials do in THEIR everyday life and the consequences of their actions. This shows in the statement “We don’t talk about politics at the dinner table.”

Why not? To suppress an argument? To avoid dissent or criticism of your opinions? Ours, truly is, a favored nation! To take for granted the Liberty we enjoy was the blissful State our Founders dared only dream of, because the nightmares they could see warned what could come when we overindulge our fantasies.

Unfettered liberty. An expression of the individual’s rights OVER the government’s rights… maybe more like an EQUAL of the government’s rights. A “Thought Experiment”, a theoretical puzzle, to consider the possible outcomes.

At this moment, our system of governance is LABELED in one way, but it is NOT in practice and product. It is “Of the People”, the governed elect the government, but when the numbers are skewed to favor one over another, the system is NOT as advertised! It’s like a Mustang with the engine of a Pinto under the hood.

I am a stubborn mule. My opinion is correct… until it is not. When I am presented with a better argument I accept it. Not usually right away. Sometimes I may argue a futile position for a minute, but the decision is made after hearing discussion and facts. Just as the MAJORITY of the electorate in this Country.

When George W. Bush spoke to the Nation about yellow cake uranium, I believed what My President said. IN THAT MOMENT, as a citizen of the United States of America, I believed my Commander-in-Chief would not LIE. As did the MAJORITY of Americans… but WE were not privy to any “intelligence”. Elected officials who were “in the know” orchestrated a fairytale about WMD in the desert. The SADDEST part isn’t that we were ‘duped’ and allowed it to happen, to me the WORST part is these officials did it WITH INTENT…

What IS that intent?

Our system of government has produced advancements that make our lives better, longer, happier and healthier. Tied to it has ALWAYS BEEN a sacred responsibility. I enjoy taking for granted the trivial day-in and day-out Liberty of a suburban family. To eat a Tofurky for Thanksgiving, with every single side dish ever conceived… THEN 5 kinds of PIE! These feelings of family and unity, we take for granted. The warmth of that knowledge that, with a belly full of stuffing, we can fall asleep on the couch during halftime and have MORE PIE after the game.

Does anyone remember… We are STILL AT WAR. We have now celebrated 17 Thanksgivings AT WAR in ONE COUNTRY and thousands of men and women are NOT here, at home, where they SHOULD be. Every politician worth their salt will say “Support the Troops”…

To say the day the Towers Fell is an event sacred ONLY to New Yorkers is a fallacy. That day touched the lives of EVERY American in real-time, and blood is still being spilled by the sons and daughters of EVERY State in the Union. The lives of friends I have known since high school have been upended by war. Marriages ended, futures rearranged, sacrifices beyond all compare… all for THAT day.

These lip service politicians live on the LIES that keep this war going, and the divisive nature that comes from support for military personnel vs. support for an unpopular war. It is sad to say it, but it seems NO ONE IS SAYING IT LOUD ENOUGH! When we call up our military to defend our Liberty, we become INDEBTED TO THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. And to do any disservice to them LESSENS our standing as a free nation, just as much as locking children in jails for seeking asylum. So when we dishonor them TO BEGIN WITH, by extending the war, by starting ANOTHER WAR, then ENDING THAT WAR, to go and fight in Northern Africa, and the Middle East, and Korea, and CALIFORNIA…?!?

And we STILL fight in Afghanistan. Today.

I continue to seek a reason I should NOT run for President. I continue to find more confirmation that I SHOULD. I don’t say these things out of ignorance or arrogance, I say these things out of a sence of DUTY. Because I BELIEVE it to be true…

… tell me I’m wrong.😉🤓⚖