For the love of the Republic!
Ignore Biden and Trump and focus on Representation.
The Presidential debate between Biden and Trump is scheduled to take place tonight. I have been dreading it all week. I debated writing about their strengths and weaknesses as leaders, their incompetence and corruption as men, or about the absurd rules of the debate, but I don’t know what value that would bring to the average citizen. Instead, I tried to imagine if someone else was running for president who embodied the knowledge and spirit of our founders. What would that person say? How would they lead? Would they point fingers and name-call or deliver an honest assessment of our situation? Would they use fear to drive support or hope?
While writing the speech below, I thought about Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, Lincoln, Garfield, and Kennedy. What would they do? How would they lead? What would they say? Would they beg for more power or empower others to make change?
After all, why should I care about Trump and Biden when it’s so obvious from their actions that they don’t care about America?
I stand here tonight, humbled to be running for President of the United States of America. I know many of you out there don’t have a high opinion about the country right now. I don’t blame you. However, it’s not as dark and gloomy as others paint. It is still the greatest country to live in, hands down. In America, liberty rings for all to hear.
I get it though. You’re frustrated. Maybe you’re a little afraid. War is all around us. Technology is advancing at an alarming rate. The economy is a mess. The debt is out of control, and the political temperature keeps rising. And while the parties are pointing fingers over immigration, our border is overrun. It’s like those leading us don’t care about the future.
These problems didn’t happen overnight; they resulted from decisions made generations ago. And those dividing us are only a small representation of America. We can either be mad at the past or focus on the future. We can either hold a grudge or forgive. We can become part of the problem or get to work on solving it. On the horizon is a generation of leaders who are prepared to clean up the messes of our grandfathers—leaders who won’t be distracted by saving democracy but focus on repairing the lifeblood of liberty—the Republic.
The American Revolution was fought over a lack of representation, not taxes, as commonly misrepresented. After the founding, the new American Republic stood as a beacon of liberty for the rest of the world. South America was determined to follow the American model and free itself from monarchal rule. Simón Bolivar, inspired by George Washington, liberated Venezuela from Spanish rule in the early 1800s.
Bolivar was born into a wealthy family of Spanish descent. He was educated abroad and, like our founders, studied Enlightenment Philosophy. He understood that for a nation to support liberty, it needed a government of people, not kings. A Republican government made that possible, and Venezuela, New Granada, Ecuador, and Panama joined to form the Republic of Colombia.
If you were to ask someone in 1800 what makes America great, they would have told you the Republican Government. Republican government divides, separates, and balances power so no person or party can have absolute power over the rest. Republican government allows many leaders to speak with one voice—not one voice to speak for the many.
But people are flawed, so a Republican government of the people is not perfect. A republic's flaw is a spoils system. It was spoils that infected the South American Republics, and it’s the core issue we face today. A spoils system uses executive patronage to concentrate power. Political parties seek to align the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to advance the interests of the few while ignoring the interests of the many. Governments infected with spoiled power elect leaders who are entitled, incompetent, and corrupt. It leads nations to war and divides them from within.
But don’t be afraid. America has been infected with spoils before and survived, most notably during the Antebellum period and Gilded Age. While some may call for a revolution, we only need a little reform.
As your President, I will champion the cause of congressional reform, but I alone cannot solve our problems. In a republic such as ours, the supreme power is with you, the American people. So go out and find the next generation of American leaders. Those who understand America’s virtue and sin, those who are inspired by her progress, and not distracted by her setbacks. Support them and lift them above the noise of negativity. Elect new Representatives who support reform and understand how to write law.
If you fulfill your responsibility, I promise to fulfill mine and execute the laws written. Together, we can write the next chapter in the American Republic, advance the cause of liberty, and secure freedom for the next generation.
I hope you enjoyed my fictional speech. I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with citizens at coffee shops, breweries, and doors. And I know how concerned they are about our future. But I have also spent time with the next generation, and I can tell you the future is bright. So, if you are down on America, don’t be. Seek out those who have taken the time to learn about her, those who will forgive her flaws and help her grow. Invest in local leaders and ignore those grasping for power.