BEACONS OF LISTENING - The Responsibility for the Right to Free Speech

We desperately need a moment of national silence and reflection.  Silence should overwhelm, like a tsunami, the volume of our nasty and negative voices.  

Only when we hear with an ear that seriously and sincerely considers the possibility of change, are we truly listening.  We must have an open mind so that we can learn.  There is no progress without change, and the conscious effort to learn.  This approach and mindset supports two of our most basic and fundamental American virtues, honesty and public service.

What is the most important thing we can do to insure and preserve our right to free speech?  Listening is perhaps the most critical responsibility for preserving free speech.  What is free speech, really?  It is two things.  It is not only a right.  It also includes a responsibility to listen.

When do words become illegal?  When they are words uttered only for their own sake.  Our words should have a positive direction and force behind them.  They must simultaneously exercise and support our inalienable rights as articulated in the US Constitution.  We are 200+ million American voters.  When our collective voice calls us forward with a positive force, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.  Without this positive voice, there is little that we can accomplish.

Call to action 

There is a personal call to action here.  We should all hang a mirror in our minds and look in it often.  We should always see someone who is willing to listen.  Someone who thinks them not me.  This may seem counter intuitive, but this is the only way we can make personal progress and American progress.  This is the only way we can find personal happiness and happiness as a country.  

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2019 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

BEACON OF HOPE--Wanis Kabbaj

Recently, one of the things the press in America has been consumed by is the fact that President Trump declared that he was a nationalist.  When I heard him say it, images of walking on the moon, the building of our transnational railroad, the steady walk of settlers westward, and even the Civil War with the abolishment of slavery.  That the press would necessarily compare the Presidents statement to Hitler’s or see it as racist is really extreme.

I’m proud to be an American and feel a strong sense of nationalism within.  However, I am also a globalist.  I believe President Trump is a globalist too.  He is a generous person, and I believe he’s proud of America as the most generous nation on the planet.

So, it is with great confusion and with frustration settling in, that I read about another war within our psyche created by the press.  Fortunately, my inability to express all that I feel is rescued by Wanis Kabbaj.  His TED Talk is full of clear thinking and common sense.  I hope you will take a few minutes to listen to and view it.

“How Nationalism and Globalism Can Coexist”

LET’S ALL VOTE!!

. . .  and as we do, remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2018 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

IF by Rudyard Kipling

Written in earlier times when the use of pronouns was too one-sided, the message at that time, and the message for us today is the same.  

How do we keep calm when times are not calm?  How do we keep our faith when so many seem to have lost theirs?  How do we keep a steady focus when there is so much “noise” and “dust in the air?”  Indeed, how do we decide anything when those who claim honesty are the loudest, and they offer lies disguised as the truth?  In his poem IF, Rudyard Kipling offers a compass to help us find our way.

We should live by our own wits, seek the truth, count on the truth and live by the truth, have dreams and keep them close, know that there are trap-setters for fools — don’t be a fool, don’t worry about failure — be ready to start over, never quit — that you are human will sustain you, count on mankind — but count on yourself more, and fill every second of your life with all of your effort.

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

LET’S ALL VOTE!

. . .  and as we do, remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2018 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

RAW POWER and Politics (Not Immigration)

A good place to start on the issue of immigration is with how each of us think about our own homes.  America is no different. It is our national home. Basic principles about how we want to do immigration in America are identical with the common sense rules we apply to where we live.

Our homes are sovereign just like America.  We control the door and lock it sometimes.  Do we let people jump through windows to enter?  Or, break down a wall to invade?  Rarely, do we allow entrance to a stranger.  If they are with a trusted friend, perhaps (think Green Card).  When someone enters without permission, and they refuse to leave, we call the police (ICE).  In America, when the government wants to enter, they can do so only for narrow and good reasons.  There are strict procedures.  An order must be signed by a judge.  We wouldn’t dream of losing or given away control over who can enter our homes, would we?

Ironically, there are compelling reasons that we allow strangers into our American home.  Immigration has been critical to the growth and development of America through history.  This is still true.  However, those who come should want to melt into our “melting pot” and work hard to realize what America offers, and their own personal potential.  Immigrants should come for the American Way, not to create a fresh version of what they left behind.  They should come for what America is, not what they want to make it.

So far, this is common sense, isn’t it?  So why is there so much noise on the issue?  Well, the immigration issue as we read about it in the media really has nothing to do with immigrants.  It is about power and politics, not people.  The currency of the discussion (argument) is lie and deception, not truth and sound judgment.  Even voters who are in their 20’s, have lived long enough to see political leaders flip-flop on their positions.  It’s hard not to notice that they shift to the position which they believe will earn them more power.  At the same, as if on cue, the media seems incapable of helping to sustain a calm and reasonable national discussion.  Rather, the media seems to inflame and divide instead of reporting the facts, which we voters need to make a choice.  Perhaps, the politicians and the media have forgotten who chooses in America.  It’s time to remind them.

Also, before we vote, we voters should recall the difference between legal and illegal immigrants.  Legal immigrants enter through valid points of entry.  Depending on their individual situations, there are numerous visas they can apply for.  Because America is generous and sympathetic, we offer asylum to some who come from terrible places and terrible conditions.  In all cases, a legal immigrant is properly taking their first steps to becoming American citizens and realizing personal dreams through one of these processes.  

Illegal immigrants also want to enter America, but they choose to break our laws as their first step.  They don’t use legal points of entry.  They sneak across the wilderness.  If they are lucky enough to make it to America, there’s a good chance they’ll be deported.  Or, if they fall into the right category of illegal immigrant, they may receive more benefits than the legal immigrants, and in some cases then American citizens.

How to vote?  Vote as you would for your own house on this issue.  Don’t vote by party!  Vote for Congress people who will use and apply common sense.  Use your vote to affirm and renew the virtues of honesty and public service.  Who will do the best job?  If you are still hesitating, then vote for someone who sounds reasonable, isn’t filled will hate or disrespect for other people, and is new and fresh.  Someone who has never served before.

In writing calmly and reasonably about immigration I hope by example we can all respectfully use our 1st Amendment right of free expression to add positively to the discussion.  However, with the right comes the responsibility to listen.  Even more, listening must mean we are willing to change.  We must be willing to let the other person, or the other argument, or the other viewpoint change us.  If we all come with that commitment, we will indeed meet in “the middle of the road,” and continue building an incredibly strong Common Sense for America.

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2018 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

Detroit’s $500 House

“WE THE PEOPLE” are at our best when we work together.  Everywhere in America, on a daily basis, civic responsibility and community service are flourishing.  The virtue of stubborn persistence, in the face of never ending obstacles, quietly erupts one person at a time in the march forward toward a better future.  We don’t need the media to highlight these moments, because they are all around us.

Drew Philp is a shining example of one of us (WE THE PEOPLE).  The introduction to his TED Talk concisely explains why:  

“In 2009, journalist and screenwriter Drew Philp bought a ruined house in Detroit for $500. In the years that followed, as he gutted the interior and removed the heaps of garbage crowding the rooms, he didn't just learn how to repair a house -- he learned how to build a community. In a tribute to the city he loves, Philp tells us about "radical neighborliness" and makes the case that we have ‘the power to create the world anew together and to do it ourselves when our governments refuse.’”

After viewing this video and hearing Drew’s story, I felt filled with hope again.  I remembered again, that America and Americans aren’t what we read about in all the media sources these days.  We are much different.  We are what we’ve always been.  Forward looking, generous, and “never quitters.”  I hope this message inspires you too!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2018 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

BEACON OF HOPE - John F. Kennedy On Hope

President Kennedy was many things.  That he could leave us with so much to remember him by, in the short time he was President before his assassination only, speaks to his immense capacity to lead.   

That he could rise to meet the challenges of his time highlights the same courage and determination he used to become a war hero.  That he could speak of a bright future and take actions to bring it closer demonstrates his vision.  However, there is one underlying virtue which informed everything that he was and did.  It is his sense of HOPE.  

View this video clip and see if you might also think he wrote and spoke it all for our times.  He probably didn’t, but he could have because his sense of HOPE was timeless.  

As you start a new week, I HOPE you will go forth optimistically in everything, and that you will pass it on to everyone you meet.

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2017 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

BEACON OF HOPE - Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

It's a fateful moment in history. We've seen divisive elections, divided societies and the growth of extremism -- all fueled by anxiety and uncertainty. "Is there something we can do, each of us, to be able to face the future without fear?" asks Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. 

His Answer:  "We can face any future without fear so long s we know we will not face it alone.  For the sake of the future you, together let us strengthen the future us."

In this electrifying talk, the spiritual leader gives us three specific ways we can move from the politics of "me" to the politics of "all of us, together."



. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2017 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

Here’s How I Feel

I've been thinking about America all day. Like all of us, I feel shock and great sadness about recent events. Good lives have needlessly been lost and families torn apart. It's hard to find answers, isn't it? Nonetheless, we must move forward into the wind. Straight ahead, we need to continue building our American future. Can we not learn some lessons and build a better America still? In spite of everything that seems wrong, I see a bright future. I believe there is much to look forward to. Why?

Our freedoms and liberties are guaranteed for ALL. That's a fact! That some of us have suffered over the years because others among us would deny those two things must now become a point of focus. This can be corrected! IT MUST BE CORRECTED!

We ALL have another job to do. ALL of us must focus on our responsibilities as citizens. The amount of freedom and liberty any of us enjoy is directly connected to how well we do in fulfilling our responsibilities. We should never expect a fire to warm us if we refuse to give it the wood it needs to burn brightly. In the days ahead, our first responsibility should be to hold and comfort each other. At least in spirit, if not in fact. Let's use this as a time to extent kindness and civility. Let's look out for each other. In so doing, we'll find ourselves united, not divided. The American way!

Lastly, tonight, I also believe we can and will reach MLK's "promised land." He was one of our greatest leaders and I find comfort in his words spoken so long ago.

What do you think?

Let us always remember that honesty and public service are the gears that drive our democracy, and we turn those gears with our RIGHT TO VOTE.   LET’S ALL VOTE!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2016 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

CHANGING THE GAME

We (the People) need to re-assert our rules in place of theirs (politicians).  Then, they either change their play, or, We quit giving them cards (our votes), and We deal them out of the game.  

The Voting Alert Beacons are the new rules.  They are a map for voters, and directions for how to play the game for those who want to serve America in elected public office.

Honesty and public service are the gears that drive our democracy, and we turn those gears with our RIGHT TO VOTE.   LET’S ALL VOTE!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2015 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

Could Mayors Do A Better Job?

I promise you won't regret spending the 18 minutes needed to listen to Mr. Barber.  You will see it as time well spent. 

In his TED presentation, Benjamin Barber offers a thoughtful analysis on why democracy seems to be in trouble in America and around the globe.  His thoughts connect well and make sense.  See what you think!

http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_barber_why_mayors_should_rule_the_world.html

What do you think about his idea of "changing the subject?"  Do you believe him when he says that mayors already rule the world?

In my previous post, I proposed we keep our Senators and Representatives in our states and districts more than we send them to Washington DC.  If we do, won't they feel the need to get things done just like mayors?  Perhaps, they will learn from the mayors. 

What would happen if we were to cast our votes as if voting for city mayors or council people?   Use the Voting Alert Beacons to increase the power of your vote.

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2014 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.

NOTHING CHANGES UNTIL SOMETHING CHANGES

Elections can bring high hopes.  They can bring new energy to our democracy.  An election should also bring a renewal having nothing to do with anything partisan.  However, sometimes none of this happens.  Sometimes the energy and the renewal turn into disappointment. 

After the election of 2012, I think we all felt relief that things would return to normal.  Many of us also hoped that things would get better and the fulfillment of the many campaign promises might occur.  What a disappointment.  Why did we think anything would change?!?

But nothing changed this time.  Everything is literally the same, almost.  We have the same leaders.  All of the issues remain.  All the talk on the campaign trail and in the debates now seems to have been nothing but excited breathing.  Six billion dollars was spent by all the campaigns.  Plus, we have several new “scandals” that now challenge the core credibility of government itself.

Let’s look at some of the details.

Same President:  Barack Obama

Same Vice-President:  Joe Biden

Same Senate Majority Leader:  Harry Reid

Same Speaker of the House:  John Boehner

Same Representatives in the House:  90% of those seeking re-election were successful

Same Senators in the Senate:  91% of those seeking re-election were successful

NOTE:  The re-election of both House Representatives and Senators was greater in 2012 than in 2010.  With the job performance in both chambers at an all time low, it’s hard to imagine why their jobs are apparently more secure.

All of this proves once more that nothing changes until something changes.  Oh, by the way, another thing that didn’t change in the last election is that approximately the same number of us voted in 2012 as in the past recent elections.  Voter turnout has been hovering in the 50-60% range for many years.  This voting result almost certainly explains in a large part why nothing else changed.

Let’s make some changes.  Let’s begin by changing the one thing that will change everything else.

Let’s change our voting habits today.  Mark your calendar to vote on November 4, 2014.  Do it now!!!  It doesn’t matter how you vote on the issues or for which candidates.  If we all vote, the right decision will emerge out of our collective wisdom.  In the Voting Alert Beacons, I’ve already set a goal of 95% turnout in 2016.  Let’s take a smaller step for 2014.  75% is a good number.

The “how” in change.  In future posts, I will offer my thoughts on how to apply the Voting Alert Beacons to the specific issues and challenges that America now faces. 

If you look carefully at each of the Beacons you will notice that they are simple and act like magnifying lenses allowing each of us as individuals to affect great change through our votes.  As we implement each Beacon we shouldn’t see ourselves as alone and powerless.  View your actions as the sum and whole of all voters.  Imagine that all voters use this same system to decide how to vote.  What each of us decides on the issues isn’t as important as using these Beacons to make those choices.

Again, remember, nothing changes until we change something.  There is much we need to change, but let’s start with the most basic thing:  Voting!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2013 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.