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

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

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

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

SCORING THE FIRST DEBATE

The first Presidential debate of the 2016 campaign season is hosted by Fox News.  It will be in Cleveland, Ohio on August 6th, beginning at 5:00pm ET.  Only two more days!  

For this first Republican debate, the good news is that finally all of the candidates will be in one spot, making it easier for we Voters to gauge their experience and capability.  By-the-way, it is also good news that there are so many of them.  Hopefully, more will become Democratic candidates soon.  Having a wide selection of opinions and personalities is good for the country, and makes our job as Voters more interesting.  

The bad news is that it could get noisy.  Will the candidates talk about the issues we’re interested in?  Look for candidates that seem to have we Voters in mind.  Or, will the debate devolve into a discussion that they’re having with themselves?  Look for candidates that directly talk to us.

First remember: Voting Alert Beacon #3:  Listen/Ignore

This is a great opportunity to “listen” to positive candidates and “ignore” negative candidates.  Before the debate, take a moment to review Beacon #3, but the gist of it is that we should listen intently to those candidates who talk only about their leadership ability, experience and position (plan) on the issues.  Just as intently, we should ignore candidates that talk about the other candidates “stuff.”  

For the debate, create a scorecard with two boxes next to each candidate’s name.  Label the boxes as Listen and Ignore.  When a candidate talks only about their stuff, put a check mark in the Listen box.  If they talk about the other candidates stuff put a check mark in the Ignore box.  When they make negative comments of any kind about the other candidate (s), that should also earn them an Ignore checkmark.  

Then after the debate, for each candidate, subtract the number of check marks in the Ignore box from the number of check marks in the Listen box.  Presto, you have the score for each candidate.  Lastly, see who has the largest score, and then think about how you feel about their positions on the issues.

Second remember:  Voter Alert Beacon #7:  Keep It A Secret

Now your done.  You watched the debate.  You kept score using Beacon #3.  You have a candidate high score, and you’re thinking about what they said about the issues.  Keep all of your scoring, and your thoughts or feelings secret.  They belong to only you!  As long as they are your secret, they are powerful, and your vote will be.

Third remember:  Voter Alert Beacon #4:  Polls

Talk with your friends.  Discuss the issues.  Combine information and all learn together.  Just be sure you don’t respond to candidates, media, or organizations who are conducting polls and want your opinion.  If you respond, you lessen your power as a voter, and of your vote directly.

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.  

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

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

TALE OF TWO POLLS

A Virtuous Circle of Activity

The first poll is conducted by business to understand what products and services we need.  Then, they are able to create the products and services we want.  While the process can vary, it often begins with customer research which uncovers unmet needs.  Then a vision for how the need might innovatively and profitably be met emerges, followed by actions and activities that lead to the creation of the product or service.  Our lives are further enriched, and business makes the profit it needs to employ people,  build more products and services, and pay taxes.  A virtuous circle of activity.

A Negative Feedback Loop Is Created

The second poll is used by politicians to build positions on the issues that will insure they are elected or re-elected.  Some of the negative consequences include the following:

• Polls divide us against ourselves as citizens and voters.
• Polls lessen our independent thinking by creating a bandwagon for us to jump onto.  
• Polls are used to design and measure the effectiveness of negative advertising.  As a result, the advertising becomes more negative and more personal.  
• Polls determine the issues and “talking points of the day.”  The connection between what needs to be discussed and what is discussed becomes weaker and weaker.
• Polls are used to “keep score” between candidates and negatively reinforce the arguments they have with each other.  The campaigns become louder and more negative, and eventually reach a point where we voters are no longer part of the discussion.

A negative feedback loop is created that excludes independent thought, leadership, and new ideas, while serving to suppress honesty and genuine public service.

PLEASE FOLLOW VOTING ALERT BEACON #4:  POLLS

Stop giving and participating in political polls and focus groups taken by the candidates.  Let’s make America a poll dead zone. When we stop telling the politicians what we think, then maybe, we’ll find out what they think.  The only questions that should be answered by anyone, are the questions we voters ask the candidates.  Then we can decide what we think, and vote powerfully and effectively.  

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.  

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.  

DO YOU FEEL SAFE?

Government’s obligation to provide for the nations defense, and its safety, has been a core responsibility from the beginning.  For most of us, we think of safety in our cities, towns, neighborhoods and homes.  In that regard, the police and fire departments have always been our first line of defense, our friends and heroes.   When we have suffered public disturbances or mass crime in our cities, or when nature has unleashed her fury and destructive powers, we have relied on the “state guard” to restore the order, or keep order, as we put things back together.

I’m raising these issues now because soon we will be voting again to select a new set of leaders, and whether we are safe, and feel safe, has to do with selecting the right leaders.  I will also confess that for the firs time in my life as an American citizen, I’m not sure if I really do feel safe.  

As we continue to move into another election season, I am thinking carefully about the questions for which we need answers.  Using the Voting Alert Beacons as a guide, I will first look for candidates to think of the questions on their own.  Are they in touch with reality and me?  Then I will listen carefully to their answer.  I will carefully consider the details of their plan(s).  Does it answer the questions?  If they focus on criticizing other plans instead, then I will ignore them, and they won’t get my vote. 

OK, where do we start?  What questions should we begin with?  Well, for me the murder of Kate Steinle, the Chattanooga terrorist attack, and the recently signed nuclear agreement with Iran are good places to start.  They are recent.

Here’s my list.  Add your own questions and go from there.

Kate Steinle:

• How is it possible that a felon with multiple convictions and deportations was released to walk freely in an American city?
• In the midst of this tragedy, why must we watch local, state, and federal officials quarreling about who is to blame? Why can't they think more about how they broke their oaths to keep us safe?
• Doesn’t responsibility start at the border?  How does a person like Kate’s murderer walk or transport himself easily back into the United States?  The border is well defined.  The objective is clear.  Why can’t we close it?  

The Chattanooga Terrorist Attack:

• How is it possible that members of the most highly trained armed forces in the world through all of history were on duty without the means to protect themselves, and those around them?
• How can we ever ask anyone, under any circumstance, to give an oath to preserves and protect the Constitution of the United States (which includes us), and at the same time leave them disarmed?
• An ordinary citizen can carry a firearm in Chattanooga.  Why can’t an elite marine or sailor when they are on duty?
• Generally, isn’t it common sense that those who wish to do us harm with think twice if they know we can, and will defend ourselves?

The Nuclear Agreement With Iran:

• Why did we abandon all of our negotiation goals in the process of arriving at this agreement with Iran?
• What happened to anytime and anywhere inspections?
• Why would we ever want to willingly agree to lift the arms embargo on Iran, and permit them to develop missiles?
• Why do we want to give them $150 billion dollars if their support of terrorism is clear?
• If we want this agreement because it will help the common folks inside of Iran, why didn’t we just support their uprising in 2009?
• What about the only democracy in the Middle East and our friend Israel?  Why are empowering neighbors who define their existence by the destruction of Israel?

OK, I gave you a few questions to start with.  Now think of more questions you’d like answers to.  We need to start asking our leaders for solid answers. 

In this election season, there will be much to think about and questions to ask.  As we ask the questions, and listen to the answers given, all of us will begin to develop “feelings” for what we should do as individuals, and who we should vote for.  Don’t hesitate to follow your feelings and vote accordingly.  After 200 million of us vote, the answer we provide will be more correct than any person or group of experts could ever be.

Let’s also practice looking for honesty and true public service.  By that I mean honesty in fact, and public service that causes our leaders to put us first, not themselves or their careers. 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.