VOTING ALERT BEACONS : Public Servants

Showing posts with label Public Servants. Show all posts

Thursday, August 13, 2020

THE TALE OF TWO WOLVES (A Guide for Voting)

At all levels of government, a lot is said. There’s a lot of talk. Especially, during campaigns candidates make many promises (how many are kept?).

With this in mind, it’s best to watch what is done, and what is accomplished. Promises are always kept through actions! This is key to how we vote. Look at what has been done, and what has been accomplished.

Also, ask questions. Because of policies and decisions made by the government, is your life better than it was? If so, then vote for that to continue. If not, then vote for something else, or someone else. All of this is like feeding the wolves.

How do voters feed the wolves?

With our time
By ignoring one or the other way. Thereby implicitly making the other stronger.
With our money.
With our attention.

Demonstrate the power of your vote. Vote for vision and positive actions. Ignore the words.

VOTE FOR THE WOLF YOU WANT TO FEED!

. . . 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

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

(REPEAT POST) BEACONS OF COMMON SENSE-The Middle of the Road

Below is a post from 2018 about "the middle of the road." I had posted it "a few short months" before the fall election. Now we are close to the 2020 election. Not much has changed, and I still think the message hits the bulls-eye. What you think?
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In a few short months, another election will be here. We the People will have another chance to “speak,” and tell our leaders what we want them to do.

When we elect representatives in our American Democracy, we ask them to represent us because they come from us, and are like us. They should do their work on behalf of us. They should serve, not rule. They should serve briefly and then make room for others. They shouldn’t have perks, literally, they should have what we have, and live as we do. They should be honest so we can respect them.

It’s time to begin a new era! Elective office is a public service opportunity, not a career. (REPEAT). Elective office is a public service opportunity, not a career.

So now, please join me in the middle of the American road with a new focus on possibility and potential. Let’s not drive on the left or right shoulders, but travel down the middle of the road, where the language spoken is common sense supported by HONESTY AND PUBLIC SERVICE. While the shoulders certainly define the outer limits or extremes of the road, and every road has its shoulders, they aren’t where we should be traveling down, and certainly not governing from.

Just as the speed bumps on the shoulders can shake a car apart, literally shake a car apart, in some kind of grand intramural tug of war, the left and right are shaking our country apart. IT’S DISGUSTING AND JUST PLAIN WRONG! IT NEEDS TO STOP!

If we can find balance in the middle of the road, a destiny of continued blessings for each of us, and for America, will be assured. Yes! Let’s meet in the middle of the road where common sense lives. Let’s use our right to free speech responsibly. 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

Tuesday, August 06, 2019

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

Tuesday, October 09, 2018

Beacons of Hope-SUSAN COLLINS SENATE SPEECH

Cornerstones of the Voting Alert Beacons are honesty and public service. Recently, Senator Collins shined a bright light on both cornerstones and became a Beacon of Hope in the process.

If you haven’t had a chance, or taken the time, to listen to the October 5th, 2018 Susan Collins Senate floor speech, below is a link giving you an easy opportunity. Her speech is one more historic example of why over the years the Senate has come to be considered the “greatest deliberative body.” That reputation has tattered in recent times, but Senator Collins repairs some of the frays in her speech.

Thank you Senator Collins:

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

Thursday, June 28, 2018

BEACONS OF COMMON SENSE-The Middle of the Road

In a few short months, another election will be here. We the People will have another chance to “speak,” and tell our leaders what we want them to do.

It’s time to begin a new era! Elective office is a public service opportunity, not a career. (REPEAT). Elective office is a public service opportunity, not a career.

. . . 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

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The Virtues of Honesty and Public Service

Honestly and public service are our most important virtues, individually and as a nation. THEY are fundamentally critical to the functioning of a successful democracy. THEY are the gears that drive our democracy, and we turn those gears with our RIGHT TO VOTE. THEY are bedrock principles that can bring happiness and fulfillment to each of us, and to all of us as a nation when we live them out in our lives. THEY give us the moral courage and energy we need to look deeper inside our basic natures, and to know better what it means to be human. LASTLY, HONESTY AND PUBLIC SERVICE are assured only when they stand on actions of CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY.

We should not forget that in a very basic way …

Public service grows only from the fertile soil of honesty and a charitable outlook.
It follows that no position on any specific issue is a fair position without honesty and …
That means we should first think of everyone else as we think of ourselves. How would we want to be treated? That’s the question. Indeed, the answer to that question tells how we should treat everyone.

When we are true to these three principles, in word and deed, there will be both HONESTY AND PUBLIC SERVICE in fact. Our democracy will be enriched and strengthened.

Abraham Lincoln called attention to honesty and public service, and their relationship to citizenship, civility, and civic responsibility with a simple turn of words. If he disagreed with someone, he said, “I don’t like that man (or women), I must get to know them better.”

It’s time for us to take that approach for a test drive 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

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

BEACONS OF HOPE: Democracy by Random Selection

When did politics become a career field? Why would anyone aspire to become a politician? I know the answer to the second question. They work for their interests and special interests, all the while making a great deal of money without producing anything. In the work they have done, they created a new class called the “elite.” It’s hard to understand, but some of them now see themselves as modern day rulers.

In the beginning, and for many years, we called this career field public service, didn’t we? The people who entered the field were called public servants. Who did they work for? They worked for us, WE THE PEOPLE. What did they do? What did they make? They swore an oath to the US Constitution, and worked diligently for each American Citizen they represented, and for America as a whole. Then after they served their term of office, they went back to their career and job. They returned to the body politic we call WE THE PEOPLE. Best of all, these public servants were honest.

Today, I’d like to dedicate this BEACON OF HOPE to the virtues of honesty and public service. To the public servants we still have, this one’s for you.

WHAT IF WE REPLACED POLITICIANS WITH RANDOMLY SELECTED PEOPLE?

. . . 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

Sunday, April 29, 2018

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

Sunday, February 04, 2018

PASSION vs. ANGER

At the State of the Union address last Tuesday, January 30, 2018, expressions of anger abounded with a certain group of elected representatives and their leaders. It was sad and even alarming to see the spectacle of our political divides, as created by the politicians, playing out before our eyes. What we saw had nothing to do with who is President and who isn’t.

If Ronald Reagan had given that State of the Union speech, it would have been more evidence of how he was a “great communicator.” If John F. Kennedy had given it, it would reverberate for decades to come like others he gave. My fellow Americans, we are witnessing the greatest intramural power competition in history, and “We the People” are paying dearly for it in many ways, including our treasure.

On the playing field of public service, both passion and anger will appear. We need to remember that passion is one of the most positive forces in the universe when properly understood and used. Anger is the most destructive for both the person expressing it, and those around them. Public office and public leadership is a multiplier of both or either.

PASSION vs. ANGER

Passion is separated from anger by a very thin line.
Passion for something or someone looks outward for what it can accomplish and the good it can do. Anger for something or someone is only about the person who is angry.
Both produce and bring tremendous energy. One is so creative and the other so dangerous.
Passion is directed toward achievement and accomplishment.
Anger is directed at the thing or person who is hated, or both. Anger is destructive of everyone and everything that it touches. It is most destructive of the angry person.

“We the People” must remember the behavior of our public servants last Tuesday and every day. Then we must act on those memories on election day. We must remember the difference between passion and anger. Then at the 2018 midterm election in November, we must choose.

. . . 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

Saturday, May 06, 2017

BEACON OF HOPE

MAN (OR WOMAN) IN THE MIRROR!!!

In almost every post I make to the Voting Alert Beacons Blog, I mention or call out the importance of fulfilling our personal responsibilities to ourselves, our families, our communities, and America, our country. I will continue to do so in future posts. However, nothing I’ve written, or I will write, will be as eloquent or on target as Michael Jackson’s song, “Man in the Mirror.” It is a true Beacon of Hope.

My call to responsibility ensures that our America Freedoms continue and that the Voting Alert Beacons Vision is realized.

Voting Alert Beacons Vision

Work toward the day when, through high voter turnout in our elections, we realize once again the genius of our combined American intelligence.
Give rise to a new higher standard of civil service and servant leadership.
Turn the tide on negative campaigning, and the influence of money and polls, so that elections become events of national renewal.
Strike the bell beginning a new period of enlightenment in the American democracy that will ring for millennia to come.
Renew and fulfill the original American Dream, the right to vote, for all her citizens, so that America continues to shine as a beacon for the world.

God Bless 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

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

FREEDOM OF SPEECH ALERT

Our most fundamental freedom and right is the right to free speech. It is articulated in the First Amendment to the US Constitution:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

With few exceptions, all speech is protected, including hate speech:

The Supreme Court has identified categories of speech that are unprotected by the First Amendment and may be prohibited entirely. Among them are obscenity, child pornography, and speech that constitutes so-called “fighting words” or “true threats.”

Freedom of speech has a long history in America. However, now, for the first time, we are experiencing demonstrations that seem to be targeting speech itself. For example, this is true of recent demonstrations at Berkeley, University of California and at New York University. They haven’t targeted specific issues, but more dangerously targeted speech itself. At times, they have been violent all the while claiming freedom of speech for themselves and their actions. This is wrong. Freedom of speech does not include a right to assault people or damage property.

Democracy is a marketplace of ideas that relies on the influx of new ideas of all kinds. When this stream of ideas lessons, democracy begins to die. Freedom of speech is absolute. It’s not a partial right. Giving more of it to someone doesn’t lesson it for someone else. Like voting, freedom of speech is the birthright of every American citizen, but like all rights, it comes with responsibilities. For each of us to fully enjoy freedom of speech, it’s critical that we recognize this right for others no matter how they and their ideas are different from ours. They can say what they want! We all can! If we support this right and defend this right for others, then our own is assured.

ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS AND ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES who swore allegiance to the US Constitution, and to protect it, have a special duty to speak out when freedom of speech is infringed by anyone. When this happens, and especially when some use violence to prevent speech, those actions are hypocritical, disgusting, and un-American.

THE MEDIA has a special opportunity and obligation to speak out when the right to free speech is threatened. Their historical responsibility as the “4th branch of government” demands condemnation of any action or effort to block speech whether it is from the left, right, or the middle. In recent times, the media hasn’t alway been unbiased and alert to the importance of fulfilling this role and their responsibility.

AS VOTERS, it is our job to monitor and ensure that the public servants, elected representatives, and the media do their job. After all, effective voting relies on the right to free speech. It is the ultimate free speech. Political disagreements, and losses in elections, do not impact or lesson our duty to protect this RIGHT.

. . . 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

Monday, August 01, 2016

CONTRIBUTION vs. COMMITMENT

When I was a young boy, I remember my father telling me a story about the difference between contribution and commitment. I know many parents have told this story to their children. Quite possibly yours told you too.

I don’t recall if we were actually at breakfast when he told it, but growing up eggs and bacon were a standard breakfast. He said something like the following:

“Dave, it’s important for you to know the difference between contributions and commitments. I hope in your life you make many of both to our world. Think of them this way. When we have eggs and bacon at breakfast, look at your plate and know that the chicken made a contribution and a pig made a commitment. Son, as your father, I hope you do both, but if you are ever called to making a commitment, I hope you will.”

That story has been with me all these many years. Here’s what I think it means now.

We make a contribution when we: Pay taxes, do some public service, obey the law, support our democracy, if we protest something — we do it peacefully, and always look for a chance to help someone in need.

We make a commitment if we: Serve or have served in the military, go daily to our duties as a police officer or fireman, make the ultimate sacrifice and give our life in the afore mentioned, or WHEN WE VOTE.

As with the pig, commitment sometimes rises to the level of sacrifice of one’s life. Many Americans before us have paid this highest price.

ARE YOU PREPARED TO PAY THE HIGHEST PRICE IF CALLED UPON? IF NOT, WHY NOT?

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

Saturday, July 02, 2016

GOD BLESS THE USA

MY FELLOW AMERICANS, this day and this age calls us. Everything we want and all that we need IS in front of us, but we must focus on its potential, and embrace it.

So, it’s time for us, “WE THE PEOPLE” to quiet our voices and become calm. It’s time for “WE THE PEOPLE” to increase the volume of our VOTES. Whether we are liberal or conservative, left or right, man or woman, young or old, no matter our color, no matter our language, no matter our religion, and no matter what divides us or makes us different from each other, it’s time for all of us to put aside these labels and just be Americans in the United States of America. It’s time for each of us to awaken our sense of CIVIC responsibility and become “WE THE PEOPLE” again.

Please enjoy this Home Free a cappella arrangement of "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood.

Have a great and safe Fourth of July!

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

Tuesday, March 01, 2016

THE POWER OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Ted Cruz is right when he says,

“The power of the American people, when we rise up and stand for liberty, knows no bounds.”

However, what he and the rest of the candidates, both Republican and Democratic, right and left, liberal and conservative, man and woman, black and white, don’t understand is that we’re looking for a leader who will bring us together. We are looking for an honest public servant who will serve only one special interest, OURS. We are looking for a leader who can look to the brights stars that light our future, and take us to them. We haven’t seen the next President of the United States yet, but surely we will in time.

Now, we should become calm and thoughtful. We should lesson the volume of our voices and prepare to increase the volume of our votes. This time, every eligible voter must vote.

When we raise our voices through our votes, on the same day, we vote together as a country. Counted one at a time, our voices sound very different. We are a country of many different points of view. However, through voting we harmonize with each other in the song we sing. The more people who vote, the more harmonic the melody becomes, and we become the greatest acapella choir of all time. Our best decisions in voting result from our diversity as a country, and when we exert the personal independence and liberty we all enjoy as Americans.

Our decisions shine brightest when we have faith, in both our diversity and independence, and we follow our faith. The act of voting turns our heads to the future causing us to imagine new possibilities, and energizing us with the hope they bring.

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

Saturday, January 16, 2016

CONSIDER THE DIFFERENCES (Politicians vs. Public Servants vs. Leaders)

Politician President

This is the pinnacle of my career and power.
I’m looking forward to the increased retirement and continuing benefits-perks.
I will work to fulfill the interests of those who voted for me.
I will lead on the issues to implement my agenda and my party’s platform.
I will interpret the rules so that my actions are legal
I care about what is good for me, my party, and our viewpoint on the issues.

Public Servant President

I will do my best to put self last and America first.
I will work hard to make a contribution, and then move on to give someone else the same opportunity.
This isn’t my career, and I look forward to returning to mine in private life as a citizen.
I am embarrassed by all the perks people want to give me.
I never take credit, but find out who really deserves it, and I give it to them.
I serve my constituents and will lead them toward consensus on the issues.

Leader President

I will lead America toward fulfillment of its potential and destiny.
I lead all Americans whether they voted for me or not.
I lead toward a vision not a position on an issue.
Leading is my service and my duty.
The only special interest that matters is America’s.
I will lead toward leaving America in better shape than she was in when I took 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

Thursday, August 06, 2015

AMERICA IS LIKE NO OTHER PLACE

In recent years, our elections have been defined by issues. Accordingly, we’ve become more and more divided. The campaigns have turned into win/loss slugfests instead of productive competitions between visions and ideas. Somewhere in this we’ve forgotten that we’re all Americans. Somewhere in this we’ve stopped reaching to do hard things because we’re focused inward.

We need to remember once again that America is like no other place. History tells us that. Our accomplishments demonstrate that what we can do and create is only limited by the size of our dreams, and the reach of our imaginations. As we pick the next President, lets find a leader who will challenge us again to dream big dreams, and lead us to expand our national imagination.

In his course, TO LEAD A NATION, The Presidency in the Twentieth Century, Robert Dallek discusses the reasons why some of the Presidents of the Twentieth Century (Theodore Roosevelt through Ronald Reagan) rose to greatness, while most of us can’t remember who the others were.

Mr. Dallek identifies several things that the “great Presidents” consistently score high in. This list of items includes: Vision, charisma, pragmatism, consensus building, trust or credibility, and luck.

So, now lets start watching the Presidential candidates with all of this in mind. Let’s look for those who have the capacity to dream big dreams, and imaginations with a long reach. These are sure signs of leadership. Also, look for the attributes the Mr. Dallek identified. If we focus on finding a leader, then that leader will help us find agreement on the many issues.

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

Wednesday, August 05, 2015

LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC PUBLIC SERVANTS!

I started to write another article about polls, but my thoughts drifted into many interweaving and related areas. Finally, I ended up with notes comparing the thinking, activities and actions of politicians and public servants. My list(s) are below.

I’m glad I took this detour given that the first Presidential debates are tomorrow. In addition to using your Listen/Ignore table from yesterday’s post to keep score, ask yourself how each candidate rates according to the points below. Are they a politician or a public servant? By my count, there are only three candidates who can fairly call themselves public servants. See what you think.

Politician

Pursues and accepts money from special interests, organizations and wealthy individuals in ever increasing amounts.
They like polls, and can make a negative poll look good, and use a positive poll for negative purposes. Their focus on polls is strategic in terms of helping them divide voters into groups as they look for our votes. The terms “divide and conquer” come to mind.
Use the influence that comes with their office and responsibilities for the benefit of special interests.
They view their elective office as a career with some taking the word incumbent to the next step of entitlement.
They are generally willing to sacrifice national progress to further their own interests, or that of the party.
Views “perks” of their office as required and deserved. Always in the ready to create more.

Public Servant

Accepts campaign funding only from individual voters.
Ignores polls and talks directly with voters. Their leadership and ideas are based on direct contact with their constituents and their imaginations.
Voters are the only special interest they serve, and use the influence of their office for.
They look forward to returning to the careers they left behind to serve in elective office.
Seek win-win, and compromise, in the interest of America and progress.
Pursue consensus in word and deed.
Happy with expense reimbursement and personal benefits during the time they serve, but they leave those behind when they return to their lives back home.
They have a retirement program back home, and don’t expect one as a result of their relatively brief public service.

DISCLAIMER: The lists above are mine, but I believe I could objectively find numerous examples of each point. Although, it would be more difficult for the public servant points. Nonetheless, as a responsible voter, please form your own opinion(s), and then vote in secret.

Elective office is a public service opportunity, not a career!

. . . 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

Monday, August 03, 2015

IT’S THE IDEA! (without the word stupid)

Do you remember the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid?” I don’t recall who coined the phrase or which election, but it has resurfaced in most if not all the elections since it was first uttered.

I know of an economist whose articles I read on Facebook. He has good ideas and thoughtful presentations. They are worth listening to, thinking about, and otherwise absorbing. Except, he surrounds his ideas with many negative comments about the other political party, accusing them of lying. I’m not sure why he does this. He causes a dark cloud of negativity to descend over his ideas, and they become lost.

Guess what, the other party has good ideas too. We need competition between ideas, not between people. We need public servants not politicians. A public servant will look for the right question, and the matching solution, no matter where the trail leads. A politician only sees the process as a sport and game to be won. Even if they win occasionally, we voters always lose when we play their game.

Think about it this way. Have you ever had an idea? Whether you pass it on, or not, it’s alive, right? In many ways, it is another one of your children, isn’t it? It lives because of you, and it’s normal to feel like you want to protect it. We put all our effort into helping our children develop until they can finally stand on their own two feet. In the end, no matter how they grow, we always love them, right?

Do you like it when someone or something attacks one of your children?
Do you like it when they say their children are somehow better than yours?
Aren’t all children beautiful and deserving?

Well, so are ideas! Maybe, like we try to teach our children to work together, we can also find ways for our ideas to blend and strengthen each other. The third option really can be the best option.

It’s the idea! Think about it without the word “stupid.”

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