A New Way Forward

As I said last week, I am posting a platform designed to identify common ground among all Americans. It is my contention that we aren’t all that different; we’ve just been led astray, away from the fundamental principles upon which this great nation was birthed some 235 years ago.

The real impetus for this platform is to identify those principles, and to re-establish an allegiance to America’s core values as expressed in the Constitution of the United States of America. It is broken down into the major issues we must address – and sometimes confront – and I will be the first to say that, although these are in fact my words, I do not necessarily agree 100% with everything that I’ve written. I have tried to be as intellectually honest and open as I could possibly be, while keeping an eye toward what I feel are the essential tenets of our republic.

If you are a subscriber to the “blame America first” credo, or if you have a very limited understanding of the geopolitical realities faced by every nation on Earth (Do I repeat myself?), then you probably won’t fully appreciate the rationale behind many of the positions outlined below. The same thing may be said for "single-issue" voters, for those who stake their entire worldview on just one particular issue tend to be overly devoted to that issue, bordering on the manic, and they tend to have no room for compromise. I personally find this to be an immature and short-sighted approach, but to each his or her own. Having said that, if you can and do accept that America is good and that America strives to do as much good as is possible within certain very strict and very logical boundaries, then perhaps you will come to understand the fundamental assumption at the heart of this endeavor, which is this: I want people of all backgrounds and inclinations to read it and think: “You know? It isn’t perfect, but it does represent many of the very best ideals of America, and overall I can stand with my fellow Americans in support of those ideals.”

Within each “plank” you will find that I have provided an Assertion, which is generally a basic statement (or statements) of fact regarding the principle being presented. The Assertion, in turn, is supported with additional detail in Why This Is Important. Here I have sought, again, to nail down some of the particulars with regard to the basic premise of the Assertion. Where possible, I have sought to discern whether or not a Constitutional Basis exists to support the current state of things. While I am a student of the Constitution, I am no constitutional lawyer; this is my opinion and I welcome the counsel of those who are wiser than I. Finally, I added a Quote. This I did in order to add a little illumination to the subject at hand, and for no other reason than that I wanted to punctuate each plank with some “food for thought.” Speaking of which, here is a quote to kind of get things started:

"The path we will chart is not an easy one. It demands much of those chosen to govern, but also from those who did the choosing. And let there be no mistake about this: We have come to a crossroad, a time of decision and the path we follow turns away from any idea that government and those who serve it are omnipotent. It is a path impossible to follow unless we have faith in the collective wisdom and genius of the people. Along this path government will lead but not rule, listen but not lecture. It is the path of a Creative Society." – Ronald Reagan

The platform will be posted in a more or less alphabetical order, except for the first plank, which I feel sets the tone and is perhaps the most important one.