BEACONS OF COMMON SENSE-INTRODUCTION

What is common sense?

In the weeks and months ahead, I plan to write a series of Voting Alert Beacons posts called “Beacons of Common Sense.”  Issue by issue, it will be my goal to find “common sense” expression of the challenges we face and what the solution(s) might look like.  This view of common sense will hopefully transform and take us to a higher plain of civics and civility.  A place where we aren’t Democrats, Republics, or Independents.  A place where we can all just be citizens of the United States of America.  

I find my inspiration for Beacons of Common Sense in the book written by Thomas Paine before the America Revolution.  At the time it was a best seller.  If you thought the British should go back to England and leave the Colonies alone, you thought it expressed common sense.  Interestingly, the thoughts Paine expressed proved to be truths through the American experience of self-government.  In many cases, common sense became common practice through the US Constitution.

I’m also taking advantage of the internet.  How could I not?  I’ve compiled a list of words that express different forms of common sense.  Here’s the list:  Good sense, native wit, sensibleness, judgment, levelheadedness, prudence, discernment, canines, astuteness, wisdom, insight, perception, practicality, horse sense, gumption, savvy, and street smarts. 

I plan to write about the topics and issues we should all watch closely as the next election approaches.  What are my goals as the author?  It is my hope that in a tiny way I can help people realize that even Common Sense must be willing to change.  It is critical that we all respectfully use our 1st Amendment right of free expression.  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 build an incredibly strong Common Sense for America.

As one writer, and indeed one voter, I hope you will follow along in the weeks and months ahead.

. . .  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.  

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

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.  

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

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.  

A HIDDEN BEACON OF HOPE

A hidden BEACON OF HOPE sometimes shines the brightest. 

Let's remember that we all bear a shared burden to guard our freedom and liberty. When either of these is diminished for one of us, it is diminished for all of us.

Equally important is the idea that one person can make a difference.  Each of us is one person.  Each of us can make a difference.  All it takes is deciding to.

Likewise, voting and one vote can make a difference.  How we conduct ourselves in our public discourse, and how we demand our public servants act, is tied ultimately to our votes.  Use the Voting Alert Beacons to dramatically increase the effectiveness of your vote and all of our votes.

. . .  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.