Pile of VOTE buttons

You Can End Corruption

posted in: Inspiration | 0

Pile of VOTE buttonsBusinessweek this week reported that in a recent study by Chapman University it was revealed that 75% of Americans believe that corruption is a factual reality in politics today, making it the #1 biggest area for bi-partisan agreement in the country.  And yet, if asked what we can do about it, the American electorate doesn’t seem to know how they can possibly have an impact on how business is done and decisions are made in government.

“It’s just how the game is played.”

It may be, but does it have to be?

Imagine a country in which we all took the simple admonition posted on airport and train station walls seriously,  “If you see something, say something.”

Imagine a country in which every public servant refused to accept any gifts over $500 regardless of the legal loopholes available to them.

Imagine a country in which every citizen received and used their one vote.

Imagine a country in which the courts stood for truth, justice, transparency, equal protection under the law, the balance of power, and the rule of law.

Imagine a country where the laws were enforced equally and without prejudice, and where unjust laws were repealed instead of ignored.

Imagine a country where it wasn’t about how much money you spent or had to spend, but was about the truth of the facts of the case that determined the outcome in our courts.

Imagine a country in which those in public office practiced servant leadership.

Imagine a country in which money didn’t determine the outcome of elections, but the electorate took the time to consider thoughtfully the character, the platforms, and the issues and used their best judgment to make their decisions with purpose and a long term view instead of falling prey to the emotional appeals and shallow promises, the greed and the fear, and the other base political rhetoric that characterize every election and have so little to do with how candidates will govern.

Imagine a country in which we collectively decided to guarantee the rights of every individual, whether we agreed with them or not.

Imagine a country where the right to free speech wasn’t about what was said, but was the protection of the conversation as a treasured feature of our community and our nation.

Imagine a country in which we had the honesty and integrity to justly enforce the law so that it was unnecessary to create special protections under the law in order to achieve equal protection under the law.

Imagine a country in which righteousness, the moral high ground, and the objective truth were the most appealing positions that any leader could take.

Imagine a country in which there wasn’t partisan science or studies that only found the results their sponsors were looking for, but where the value of discovery and the objective facts were paramount to everyone.

Imagine a country where the right to practice one’s faith was protected in every context from the public square, to schools, to government, to churches, to communities, to families, to businesses, to charities, to society at large.

Imagine a country in which people could see past the spin and the angles and cut to the heart of what was actually happening.

Imagine a country in which the press was free of government influence, fair and balanced in reporting, rigorous and reliable in their fact checking, and in pursuit of the truth more than the agendas of their owners.

Imagine a country in which transparency and accountability were the two greatest descriptors of government.

Imagine a country in which the political affiliation of a person didn’t impact the enforcement or interpretation of the law in their case.

“If you see something, say something.”

Jesus said,

“The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!” – Luke 12

This is Christ’s answer to corruption.  Corruption cannot survive the light of day, the clarity of transparency, and the shared conscience of the people all across our nation.

“If you see something, say something.”

It starts with us.  If we won’t accept corruption, corruption will not survive.

We deserve a government of the people, by the people, and for the people — not of the money, by the money, and for the money.

It starts with us.  It starts with you.  So, make your voice heard!  Tell your candidates for whatever office, from school boards to mayors, senators to presidents, sheriffs to judges, and all the rest.  Tell them that you expect more from them.  Tell them that for you its not just about whether or not it is legal, but whether or not it is right.  Tell them that you don’t want them taking money from any donor whether individual or institutional that offers them more than $500 because you want your one vote to be on a level playing field with every other vote.  Tell them that you want equal access to them as your representative and you don’t want them granting better access to some over others.  Tell them about the issues that matter to you.  Tell them how they can change their platforms to better serve you even if the issues cross party lines.  Tell them what other candidates for other offices they should be supporting.  Tell them that you will reward honesty, transparency, and accountability more than feel good rhetoric that is not based in fact.  Tell them that you value your individual rights and actual justice for all and you want them to stand up for them at every opportunity.  Tell them that they should defend equal protection under the law, not special protection under the law.  Tell them that you want them to reform how government is funded and how decisions are made.  Tell them that you want them to stand for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to the best of their ability regardless of their personal interests.  Tell them that you expect them to be public servants, not make the public their servants.

Corruption cannot survive the collective awareness of the people governed.  We see it every day.  And when we accept it, we perpetuate it.

“If you see something, say something.”

The real enemy of truth, justice, and the American dream is not one political party or the other, one candidate or the other — it is corruption, and, according to recent research, we all know it.

Let’s not let another election pass us by without taking a stand against the actual enemy of every individual citizen — the actual issue that concerns the majority of people from every party, every walk of life, and every demographic.  Let’s take a stand against corruption and ask every candidate, from every party, for every office to take a stand against corruption with us and vote for those who will.

“If you see something, say something.”

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.” – Matthew 5

Follow Steve Simons:

Bible Believing Follower of Jesus Christ. Preacher. Conservative. Republican. NRA Member. Chevy Truck Guy. "God's Answers Are Always Simple. God's Answers Always Work." #GraceRevolutionGeneration #IAmNotAfraid

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