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Political Philosophy

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, many of us paused for a while to consider what was really important in our lives.  A good number of us are still trying to understand how the world changed that day and the ramifications of this new reality of a war that has no front line.  This era of challenge and concern for the future have made this election cycle more important than any in recent memory.

I am running for Congress because I want to aid in this discussion of values and purpose.

Most of us, when asked, say that the most important thing in our life is not a thing, it is something more.  We say that what we value the most is our family, our friends, our religious faith, or our country.

I agree that these American Values are what should be important, but I feel too many of us have been living as if we believed that bumper sticker that says, "He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins!"  

Our American Values have turned into Commercial values. 

America is at war, but there are no victory gardens, no scrap drives, no gas rationing. In fact, one of the biggest debates in Congress recently was over the size and shape of a tax cut!  Where is the opportunity for us to demonstrate our patriotism in that?  

For months after the attacks our leaders asked almost nothing of us, causing many Americans to ask, "What am I supposed to do to help strengthen America and rid the world of terrorism?"  In response, President Bush suggested (in his State of The Union Address in January) that we should all volunteer 4,000 hours over the rest of our life to community and charitable causes.  I applaud his suggestion, but ask how any of us can afford to do this if we are stuck on a treadmill of consumption?

The answer is we can't, unless we get off the consuming track and back onto the living track.  

It is not how much you live, but how well you live that counts.  We each have a civic duty, as citizens of the greatest country in the world, to do our part to strengthen America in this time of turmoil.  I believe that almost all of us can find ways to simplify our lives and get back to basics.   By rearranging our priorities, we will be able to spend more time with our families.  By reducing frivolous expenses, we will become more financially secure.  By being more responsible and less self-indulgent, we will be willing and able to invest in our community and in our country.

At the height of the Cold War, President Kennedy implored us to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."  He knew what was needed in his day and time and urged Americans to shoulder their responsibilities and build a better world.

Today, in the midst of a new kind of war, we have our own responsibilities to shoulder.  I know we are up to the challenge.  The first thing we need to do to rekindle that old sense of community and civic duty and to begin the task of strengthening America and defeating terrorism is to get out of the rat  race and back into the human race.