BEACONS OF INQUIRY--INTRODUCTION

What is Beacons of Inquiry?  What is inquiry?  What place does it have in our democracy?  Why is it important to WE THE PEOPLE as voters?

The most important reason to ask ALL the questions (Inquire) is to insure that we find all the best answers and solutions.  All the questions also means thinking both short AND long term.  If there is a debate, and one side of an argument purposely omits a question, that is deception.  It is likely they aren’t looking for the best answer, but instead are looking for the most political advantage.  Identifying all the questions tends to maximizes justice.  This approach has been baked into our justice system through the formal process of discovery since the beginning of our American journey.

EXAMPLE

Let’s give Inquiry a trial run using the current debate on socialism.  America has a market economy (capitalism).  Several Democratic hopefuls are advocating for a sharp turn to socialism.  In America, this would be an abrupt change.  It is the kind of issue that elevates passions on both sides of the argument (question).

Here’s a beginning list of questions we might ask:

• What is the history of socialism on our planet?
• What is the promise of socialism?
• Where has socialism succeeded?
• Where has socialism failed to live up to its promises?
• What about democratic socialism?  How is it different from socialism?
• How does socialism compare to a market economy (America)?
• Are there examples where market economies competed with socialism?
• What are the pros and cons of market economies and socialism?
• … etc.

In future editions of Beacons of Inquiry, we will do our best to identify as many questions as possible for each of the most controversial issues.  The best answers and solutions depend on knowing all the questions first.  So, over time there will be followup Beacons of Inquiry for specific issues.  

Our goal as voters is to push candidates toward the questions.  Then when they offer their vision, and their solutions, they should tell us how it positively answers all the questions for America.

Then we will know how to 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 © [2020] 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.  

VISION

I wrote the first Voting Alert Beacons post on March 26, 2012.  A lot has happened in America and the World since I wrote that post.  To the point of voting and governing this great land, there have been two Presidential elections and a mid-term election, not to mention scores of local and state elections.  

Along the way, the Beacons have grown and matured.  I’ve added a couple Beacons and fine tuned several.  Through it all, my belief in the power of each individual vote, the wisdom of a voting America, and the increasing brilliance of America’s star has only grown stronger.  

Even now as all public talk seems filled with vitriol and petty differences, and the two major parties are entangled in some kind of grand intramural competition, we are all bearing witness to great American history in the making.  For the first time, someone not a career politician has been elected President.  It doesn’t matter that it was Donald J. Trump.  It matters that it happened at all.  It is a bugle cry to a core belief of mine.  A belief that drove me to create the Voting Alert Beacons in the first place.  

I believe that elected office is a public service opportunity, not a career.  That belief is embodied in the Voting Alert Beacons vision below:

• 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.

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 © 2017 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

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

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

O’ AMERICA

Compared to the bond that we all share as Americans, compared to the history, both good and bad, that we all share, compared to the accomplishments we share, and can claim as personal because we are Americans, compared to the sea of limitless possibilities which is our destiny, if we will claim it, there is no religion, no language, no color of skin, no issue, no geography or no argument that can separate us, unless we let it.

All we need to do is follow the Voting Alert Beacons, and 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.  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 itself turns our heads to the future causing us to imagine new possibilities, and energizing us with the hope they bring.

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.  

VOTING-Why Should We?

I believe in America, don’t you?  I am proud to be an American, you should be too.  I believe in public service, and don’t think politics was ever meant to be a career.  I believe in the potential each of us has within because we are human beings.  I also believe that what we can do and accomplish is personal, and that it’s up to each of us to shape our own destinies.  The person in the mirror is the responsible one, not someone else or the government.

More than anything else about America, I believe in liberty and the power we each have when we vote.  As I state in the title for the

Voting Alert Beacons blog, when we vote, each of us becomes a “Lighthouse To Keep Honesty, Public Service, and Democracy Safe.”

So, I’m only one and not famous.  If you have doubts, I understand.  However, others have been one, and even now they reach forward in time to us with the wisdom we starve for.  Believe them!

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ― Robert F. Kennedy

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.  

Voting Does Make a Difference — IF WE

The real enemy the American democracy faces is apathy among we voters.  Where apathy exists, it is an expression of frustration with government at many levels and a feeling of powerlessness to do anything about it. 

Here’s the IF WE

The Voting Alert Beacons is a simple process that does three basic things:  1) Stop negative campaigning, 2) Take the money (special interest) influence out of our government, and 3)  Attract the “best and brightest” people back into public service.

Here’s the QUICKSTART LINK

VOTING CAN CHANGE ANYTHING WE NEED TO CHANGE, AND THEY CAN’T MAKE IT ILLEGAL!!

So, what do you say?  Lets change a few things!

Spread the word!  Tell your friends about the Voting Alert Beacons!

. . .  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.  

Minnesota Primary Results

Yesterday, August 12th, 2014, the Minnesota primary election was held.  Current reporting is indicating that only slightly less than 10% of the eligible voters cast a vote.  According to predictions, this seems to be what everyone expected.  The reasons given are classic:  Midterm election, Disinterest or disgust in politics generally, or maybe in Minnesota we’re doing pretty well according to some.  For better or for worst, depending on your point of view, the budget is in balance at the moment, and our unemployment rate is generally low.  Of course, if you don’t have a job, you wouldn’t consider pretty low as good enough.  Nonetheless, and in any event, the primary election results are now in.

Let’s look closely at the statewide races.  This year in Minnesota the statewide top of the ticket race for Governor is between Mark Dayton (incumbent-Democrat) and Jeff Johnson (challenger-Republican).  The race for U.S. Senator from Minnesota is between Al Franken (incumbent-Democrat) and Michael McFadden (challenger-Republican).  Now the candidates reset their clocks and begin campaigning to win the election in November.

It’s also time for we voters to reset our clocks and watch what the candidates do next.  Let’s get into the habit of using the Voting Alert Beacons.  We can start with the core Beacons:  Beacon #3:  Listen/Ignore, Beacon #4: The Polls, and Beacon #5:  The Money.

Beacon #3:  Listen/Ignore

Go back to the Voting Alert Beacons blog and review the detail of this step.  At its core is that we want to only listen to what the candidate says about themselves, their positions on the issues and what they plan to do.  Ignore everything else they say.  To begin, check the candidate’s websites.

Mark Dayton

Jeff Johnson

Al Franken

Michael McFadden

Beacon #4:  The Polls

This is about what you shouldn’t do.  I know that sounds negative, but it’s important not to read polls and not to participate.  When a candidate’s representative call you, a polling company appears, or the media interrupts your day, just say no.

Beacon #5:  The Money

Let’s start with the numbers as of the end of July (see below).  This information comes from the Federal Election Committee and from the state of Minnesota.  Generally, it’s what we might expect (not saying this is OK).  The incumbent has a lot more money in total and they have a lot more money from PACs and special interests.  Again, review Beacon #5 and remember the ideal candidate won’t take money from special interest groups and only smaller amounts from individuals.

Minnesota Governor Candidates

Mark Dayton

Individual  $549,437.07

Lobbyists  $11,540.00

PACs  $41,446.86

Jeff Johnson

Individual  $204,640.29

Lobbyists  $2,898.40

PACs  $1,050.00

Minnesota Senate Candidates

Al Franken

Individual  $12,442,034.00

PAC  $1,003,139.00

Candidate  $0.00

Other  $1,680,395.00

Michael McFadden

Individual  $3,147,166.00

PAC  $249,500.00

Candidate  $5,200.00

Other  $2,448.00

NOTE:  There is a lot more money in the senate race because contributors (individual and special interest) from all over the country send money.  Human nature being what it is, the result is that whoever our Senator is really doesn’t faithfully represent Minnesota, as they should.

OK, VOTERS, let’s get to work.  Let’s get ready to vote in November by following the Voting Alert Beacons along the way.

Spread the word!  Tell your friends about the Voting Alert Beacons!

. . .  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.  

COMMENT AND QUESTIONS: When will the world be “appalled” by Hamas?

Comment

Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Britain) from 1937 until 1940.  During these three years, in concert with France, Adolf Hitler and Germany were given the Czech region of Sudetenland with the hopes that it would appease Germany.  This hope was never realized and by the end of 1939 Hitler had taken the rest of the Czech regions and Poland.  Britain and Chamberlain declared war, but it was too late.  The march of Germany across Europe had begun resulting the virtual destruction of Europe, the death of tens of millions of civilians, and the killing of over six million Jews by the Third Reich in the Holocaust.  

Now, in the Middle East, Hamas (the proxy of Iran) has attacked Israel once again. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by all of the civilized world.  Hamas has been killing innocent civilians since their inception in 1987.  

Questions

• President Obama, how would you lead and what would America’s response be if 240 million American citizens were threatened and/or injured by rockets fired by a terrorist organization in a neighboring country?  What if those same terrorists had constructed a complex tunnel system which allowed them to infiltrate into our largest cities closest to our borders?  How is it possible that your administration can say that America is “appalled” by the defensive actions Israel is taking, all the while doing its best to minimize civilian casualties?  Especially, when there is clear evidence that Hamas is directly responsible for these civilian deaths.

• Chancellor Merkel, given that Germany (your country) is the country which tried to conquer Europe in WWII and killed over six million Jews in the Holocaust, why haven’t you used all of your powers of oratory, both inside Germany and directed to the rest of the world, in defense of Israel’s right to exist and live in peace?  Don’t you feel any responsibility to speak the truth about Hamas?  As leader of a now free and moral Germany, don’t you feel any responsibility to lead toward the moral high ground?

• Prime Minister Cameron, during WWII England suffered tremendously and was in a real fight for its’ existence like the Israel of today.  When you bombed Germany because you existence was threatened, were you as careful about doing everything you could do to protect the civilian population as Israel has been?  Why haven’t you risen up with clear oratory, as Chancellor Merkel needs to do, and declared the rightness of what Israel is doing in defending itself?

• All media, why do you only publish the pictures of Palestinian suffering?  You are all such great investigative reporters and organizations, would now be a great time to put those skills to use?  Can’t you dig a little deeper to find pictures and video clips of Hamas forcing its civilians to stay in harms way?  In this day of modern communications, can’t you find evidence of how Hamas is using schools, hospitals, mosques, and other public places to store weapons and conduct war from?

Remember, when we step into the voting booth in November, lets vote for people who are clear on the difference between right and wrong!!  

Using the Voting Alert Beacons, we all need to step forward to do our duty and then demand that the public servants we elect, do theirs!!

Spread the word!  Tell your friends about the Voting Alert Beacons!

. . .  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.  

Cantor vs. Blat and Voting Alert Beacon #5

Did you see it?  Have you heard?  Today, the earth is still trembling after David Blat beat Eric Cantor in the Virginia Republican primary for Congress.  

The newspapers and the news websites are all declaring the magnitude of the earthquake and guessing about the dramatic changes this one election may predict about the elections next fall.  It was predicted in the morning and by afternoon, Mr. Cantor had resigned his position as Majority Leader in the House.  Now the guessing games by the political professionals is focused on whether John Boehner can survive as Speaker of the House.  

In the last election, Mr. Cantor won by a wide margin.  Actually, almost the same margin as Mr. Blat defeated him by last night.  Keep in mind that Mr Canter had served since 2000.  The reasons for Mr. Blat’s victory have been declared.  Mr. Canter wasn’t returning to his district often enough.  He was out fundraising across the country for other Republican candidates.  In the past few years, his focus had shifted from his district to his own position of power.  It is said that he coveted the Speaker spot.

Now enter Voting Alert Beacon #5 about Money.  This Beacon recommends that voters should vote for the candidate that doesn’t take special interest money, and only takes smaller donations from individual citizens.  So, here are the numbers.  Mr. Canter spent over $5 million dollars in the election (by all accounts largely negative).  Mr. Blat spent only a little more than $120,000.  Yup, you read that correctly, and I’ve verified these numbers with the Federal Election Committee records.  What do you think?  I’m guessing that Mr. Blat isn’t in any special interest pocket, and he modestly appreciates every vote from ordinary citizens he received.  

OK, so we know it works.  Vote for the NON-incumbent and for the candidate who raises and spends the smallest amount of money.  Whatever political party is irrelevant.  At this point the parties just don’t matter.  In my next post, I’ve give you some numbers that demonstrate why that is true.

Spread the word!  Tell your friends about the Voting Alert Beacons!

. . .  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. 

Truth and Honesty

Our history as a country has demonstrated time after time that we can accomplish anything when we work together and focus on the mission.  When this happens the beginning is always with truth and honesty in recognizing what the reality is and how we relate to each other.   As a country we need to understand again what these two things are, and once again, put them first in our thinking, discussions and actions. 

Truth can be found in the alignment of our senses with ideas and viewpoints that are supported by facts.  To pursue the truth we need to use our intellect, our spirit and all of our powers of intention.   It has always been a quest, and still is.

Outside of a way of living, talking about something, or in taking an action, honesty doesn’t mean much.  However, it is everything when our lives, the words we speak, and the actions we take line up perfectly with the truth.  The truth, not from only our point of view, but from point of view of others, too.  Our honesty isn’t so much about ourselves as it is about how we treat others, the actions we take, and what we give of ourselves to the world around us.

When we cast our votes for our public servants we will be blessed as a country if we find people who have vision for the truth and the will to fully embrace honesty.

The Voting Alert Beacons are based on, and stand solidly on, truth and honesty!

Spread the word!  Tell your friends about the Voting Alert Beacons!

. . .  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. 

EXCEPTIONAL-ISM

In the process of justifying what’s happening to Crimea, President Putin, from the Russian Federation, has complained about something called American Exceptional-ism.  Generally, I don’t think we Americans think about ourselves as being exceptional.  Instead, most of us in our day to day lives just go about getting the job done.  Like most people in the world we want to take care of our families, and find happiness in what we do with our lives.  Perhaps, we could point to our democracy and the foundational right to vote. 

Then, if anything is exceptional, it would be the spirit of freedom and liberty that was given to us in the beginning by our founding fathers and mothers.  If we are guilty of anything, it is only that we wish others around the globe might enjoy the same blessings that we enjoy.  We might also be guilty of our conviction that everyone has the right to rise to their own potential without restraint and restriction other than the limits of their own efforts and desires.

Here’s one expression of our American conviction.  Enjoy!

MY CREED ...by Dean Alfange (Flying "W" Ranch)

“I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon.  I seek opportunity to develop whatever talents God gave me, not security.  I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.  I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.  I refuse to barter incentive for a dole.  I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.  I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout.  I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat.  It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say-----This , with God's help, I have done." 

All this is what it means to be an American. 

Mr. Putin, you should give this a try.  You might even find some success.

. . .  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. 

The Voting Alert Beacons Vision

Following is a "re-post" from last September.  Given the current failure of our elected representatives in Washington DC, and the need for us as voters to focus on electing new public servants, this vision below seems like a great place to start.  Remember, the next election opportunity is now less than a year away in November 2014.

Recently I was talking with a friend who had seen my Voting Alert Beacons blog, and they weren’t sure what it was about.  Why are you writing it, they asked?  As we talked more, I showed them the “tab” which contained the vision, and described how there were simple things an individual citizen could do to make their vote more effective.  All of these “simple things” are positive in spirit and designed to call forward the best in our elected public servants, and the best in America as a nation.

Then they asked whether I seriously thought enough citizens would take these simple steps.  We talked about Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  We talked about the “60’s” and how citizens can come together in ways not thought possible to do things that seem impossible.  While it is only the beginning, we should not be discouraged.  As you can see in the blog “tab” or here in this post, it is now only a vision, but it is the first most important step.

I have a small consulting company called Wormhole Consulting, LLC in which we always begin engagements and challenges with, “What we have the vision to see, we can find a way to be.”  In my experience, the most difficult step is always the first step.  We must first see, and find the vision.

Now read below and review.  The most difficult first step has been taken.

Vision for VOTING ALERT BEACONS

By the Presidential election of 2016, and continuing thereafter, reach a 95% voter turnout thereby realizing the genius of our combined American intelligence, and giving rise to a new higher standard of civil service and servant leadership.  Without negative campaigning, and the influence of money and polls, elections will become events of national renewal.  Let us strike the bell beginning a new period of enlightenment in the American democracy that will ring for millennia to come.  We can renew and fulfill the original American Dream, the right to vote, for all her citizens, and once again let America shine as a beacon for the world.


The day after the 2016 election, the media will report the following:

• 95% of eligible voters cast ballots
• All candidates for President created visions and offered them to America
• For the first time in American memory, the new President leads with a vision of success that looks 25 years into the future
• The new President was elected by 75% of the votes cast giving their vision a mandate

. . .  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. 

Voter Practice for the Next Election

As I’ve written before, the Voting Alert Beacons are basic and easy to understand principles for voters to use to maximize the power and effectiveness of their individual vote.  Connected to this idea is the notion that we should cast our votes with courage and confidence.  Courage that even as we vote individually we vote together if everyone votes.  Confidence, that when we all vote, the best decisions will emerge.

As another election cycle approaches, this is a good time to practice two very important voter skills.  Those skills are:  1) the ability to ask questions, and 2) the ability to listen.  Later, in another post, I will go deeper into the basic candidate skills as laid out by the Voter Alert Beacons.

SYRIA CHALLENGE PRACTICE PROBLEM

For this practice session, let’s talk about Syria.  Over the past several weeks, as you’ve watched your news source there are a number of prominent headlines that have talked about Syria.

• Approximately a year ago, President Obama very publicly declared that if Syria used chemical weapons, they would be crossing a “red line,” and there would be serious consequences.
• Now, the United States is sure Syria has used chemical weapons on its own people.
• UN inspectors have investigated and their results will be released in several weeks.
• Both Russia and China intend to vote no in the UN Security Council to any Syria punishment.
• The British Parliament has voted no to any military involvement with the US in Syria.
• It seems President Obama has decided that something needs to be done militarily.  “A shot needs to be fired across Syria’s bow.”  Now he is looking for support abroad and at home.
• The President has decided he will wait for a vote from Congress on whether Syria should be bombed or not.

Are there any questions we voters should be asking?

 QUESTIONS

It seems like common sense and fair that we voters should expect that anyone who we vote into national office should have skills in four basic areas:  Visioning, Strategic Planning, Leadership, and Team Building.  Given the details of this practice problem, what questions should we now be asking?

Some questions:

1. Given the lessons of history, is there anything that has happened in Syria and the surrounding countries which couldn’t have been predicted?  Is it a surprise that Assad wants to stay in power?  Is it a surprise that he would use his substantial military to destroy any opposition to his rule?  Because he has chemical weapons, doesn’t it seem highly likely he would use them?
2. Given the geopolitical and economic interests of Russia and China, is it surprising that they tend to work against taking effective action in Syria to bring peace and stop the bloodshed?
3. Why did President Obama think that his statement about using chemical weapons and crossing a red line would in fact stop Syria from using those weapons?  What does it mean that Syria used chemical weapons in spite of the “red line?”
4. Because the events in Syria, including chemical weapons, were predictable wouldn’t it have been a good use of visioning and strategic planning to ask Congress to have a “red line” debate and vote before making the red line declaration?  Then, would the “red line” be so easy for Syria to ignore?  Wouldn’t a little preplanning in terms of “what if” have been a great thing to do with our allies too.
5. A broader question now might be whether the President has stepped back to look at the Middle East as a whole to see what other red lines might exist.  Are there finished strategic plans that can be called upon and implemented when needed?  Has the consulting and communication with Congress and our allies been done ahead of time so action can be taken when certain things happen?  
6. It seems that the military is prepared to implement a number of options, if needed.  Why is leadership in the White House and in Congress so unprepared to make a decision and to act?
7. The big question overall is why does it seem like we’re so unprepared?  What if our leaders had the skills of visioning, strategic planning, leadership and team building, would we be better prepared?

PART OF THE ANSWER TO ALL OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS

Sadly, instead of focusing on answers to the questions above, most of our elected public officials are more interested in planning political strategies and winning political battles around issues that are only partisan because they want them to be.  

As voters, it’s time for us to use the Voting Alert Beacon principles to elect leaders who will work for us as individuals, and the collective we call America.  In terms of our national interests and defense, it would also be great if our leaders knew what the words “Be Prepared” meant, and could take the required actions at the required times.

. . .  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. 

The Voting Alert Beacons Vision

Recently I was talking with a friend who had seen my Voting Alert Beacons blog, and they weren’t sure what it was about.  Why are you writing it, they asked?  As we talked more, I showed them the “tab” which contained the vision, and described how there were simple things an individual citizen could do to make their vote more effective.  All of these “simple things” are positive in spirit and designed to call forward the best in our elected public servants, and the best in America as a nation.

Then they asked whether I seriously thought enough citizens would take these simple steps.  We talked about Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  We talked about the “60’s” and how citizens can come together in ways not thought possible to do things that seem impossible.  While it is only the beginning, we should not be discouraged.  As you can see in the blog “tab” or here in this post, it is now only a vision, but it is the first most important step.

I have a small consulting company called WormholeConsulting, LLC in which we always begin engagements and challenges with, “What we have the vision to see, we can find a way to be.”  In my experience, the most difficult step is always the first step.  We must first see, and find the vision.

Now read below and review.  The most difficult first step has been taken.

Vision for VOTING ALERT BEACONS

By the Presidential election of 2016, and continuing thereafter, reach a 95% voter turnout thereby realizing the genius of our combined American intelligence, and giving rise to a new higher standard of civil service and servant leadership.  Without negative campaigning, and the influence of money and polls, elections will become events of national renewal.  Let us strike the bell beginning a new period of enlightenment in the American democracy that will ring for millennia to come.  We can renew and fulfill the original American Dream, the right to vote, for all her citizens, and once again let America shine as a beacon for the world.


The day after the 2016 election, the media will report the following:

• 95% of eligible voters cast ballots
• All candidates for President created visions and offered them to America
• For the first time in American memory, the new President leads with a vision of success that looks 25 years into the future
• The new President was elected by 75% of the votes cast giving their vision a mandate

. . .  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. 

IF IT QUACKS LIKE A DUCK AND WALKS LIKE A DUCK, WHAT IS IT? CORRUPTION?

In other countries, both rich and poor, developed and underdeveloped, we shake our heads at the corruption we think we see.  We are critical, as we should be anywhere, that we see money exchanged directly with the influencer.  We call these bribes and are thankful that such things don’t happen or are very rare in America.  Or, do they, sort of?

Now consider this …

• Corporations, unions, lobbyists, special interest groups of all kinds make very large campaign contributions to candidates.
• For many years now, Presidents have made appointments to important government posts at home and abroad in considerations for campaign funds donated and favors given.
• Elected public servants receive as compensation salaries that are above the private sector for similar work and responsibilities, gold plated health insurance, budgets for overly large staff, “investigative” trips that are of little value to taxpayers, but quite enjoyable to the elected public servant and their families, and the age old “franking” privilege with the post office.
• In terribly abusive cases, elected public servants exchange power for sexual favors and break the law.

These are just a few examples where the people we elect to lead us give away their influence and the power of their positions in exchange for cash and perks.  I realize the money rarely flows directly to their personal bank accounts, and instead legally goes to huge campaign funds, but they enjoy the benefits just the same.

Over the years, well meaning senators and representatives, along with the President at the time have tried to change our written laws to reform our political system, but any restrictions are unconstitutional as they should be.  Then how do we fix this?

Beacon #5:  THE MONEY

The remedy is simple and its application is constitutional and absolute.  We vote for candidates who only accept money from individual citizens.  Furthermore, we vote for those candidates with the smallest average citizen contributions.  

Beacon #6:  ALL VOTE and Vision for VOTING ALERT BEACONS

It’s important, however, that we ALL VOTE.  If 95% of us vote using this method, many things will change for the better.

. . .  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. 

Just Vote Your Feelings!

• When you grow tired of the childish behavior of our national leaders, just vote your feelings.
• When you’re fed up with the whole thing, don’t sit at home, just vote your feelings.
• When you’re tired of people who think working in Congress or any of the state legislatures is a career, remind them it isn’t.  Impose your own term limit on them by just voting your feelings.
• When campaign yard signs get on your nerves as an intrusion to what is a personal matter, and a private consideration, just vote your feelings.
• When campaigns make you sick to your stomach, and you just want to run away, instead of feeling a sense of opportunity and optimism, just vote your feelings.
• When you see the BOZO Principle (see the 7-4-13 post) in operation at all levels of state and federal government, just vote your feelings.
• When you must balance your checkbook, but it seems like the politicians never knew how, just vote your feelings.
• When there doesn’t seem to be a leader anywhere, find another average citizen (or you) to lead knowing they will do much better than your average politician, and just vote your feelings.
• When it’s hard to remember and know that America’s best days are still ahead, just vote your feelings.
• When you think the government (at any level) believes that it’s in charge, not the voters, then just vote your feelings.
• … and on and on and on and on, just vote your feelings.

Next Steps

Now look again at Voting Alert Beacons #6 and #7 to remind yourself what your responsibilities as a citizen are, and to remember that a secret personal vote is extremely effective.  Remember that you’re smart and you can trust your vote with your feelings.   Resolve to do your part in changing a voter turnout of 61.8% in 2012 (as reported by the Census Bureau) to a turnout of at least 95% in the next election, and all the elections that follow.

Then, just vote your feelings!

. . .  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.