Why do some people run for a public office and others do not is an interesting question.
My "why" came while volunteering many hours for others and watching a legislative process that I believe to be less than transparent, ethical or efficient. In 2012 I volunteered with three different campaigns that I believed were worthy of my support. Two of the three have now become what I believe is part of the problem with politics in Utah and Nationwide.
C-FEEET is what I have discovered is my acronym for running for public office. Citizens For Ethics, Equality, Efficiency and Transparency. I discovered that we may not know as citizens what the four words ethics, equality, efficiency and transparency mean. In my humble opinion we must get back to basics before we can really make lasting progress.
When it comes to ethics we have many in both State and National politics who themselves have major conflicts of interest and are the first to vote against ethics reform and/or recuse themselves when they personally or the industry they represent will benefit. Yet they are the first to call out others on their unethical behavior.
Equality in representative government should represent the “people,” not small, medium or large groups who form special interests in order to benefit them and the organization or cause they belong to. We as citizens for far too long have been electing those who will follow an ideology and party to the grave before they will treat others with dignity and respect. Worse yet those same elected officials and we as citizens believe that a particular party platform will be followed and do what is right for the citizens of a State or our Nation. When in reality the party one belongs to means more than holding our elected officials accountable to the very constitution we all hold dear. Representative government must work to protect and defend the weakest among us or there is no liberty.
Efficiency can be described in many ways, including great people who get involved with good intentions ending up doing exactly the opposite of what they said they would do when they first started running for office. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand it takes money to run and win these campaigns. My issue is when these people look you in the eye and tell you “I am different and I will not take money from special interest groups.” The fame, power or hunger for whatever politics brings takes over and many good people become victims of the system. Efficiency can never be achieved when one aligns themselves with special interests that want to control rather than represent the people as a whole.
Transparency in government is an interesting notion. When a candidate runs a campaign on particular issues and then once elected changes their promises and statements, are they really being transparent? When an elected official votes overwhelmingly in favor of special interest groups’ agendas, yet claims to represent their constituents, is that transparency?
Many in our political circles are the first to quote the first part of the Declaration of Independence, but are the last to subscribe to the last sentence, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
John Adams
once said; “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the
republic into two great parties, each arranged under its’ leader, and
concerting measures in opposition to each other. This in my humble
apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our
constitution.”
It is not enough to stand behind the preamble and use it when it benefits one’s political agenda and continue to ignore the founders’ warnings of two party ideological rule and political extremism that would destroy our constitution, but we must as a citizenry get back to electing those who will follow the sacred pledge to follow the constitution “so help them god” without regard to party. We must elect those who will do what is right, not what is popular. We must elect people of character and integrity that will have the fortitude to stand behind the constitution and not consider it an antiquated document that is no longer valid.
In my opinion there can be no “blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” without the "firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, and the pledge to each other of our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
My "why" came while volunteering many hours for others and watching a legislative process that I believe to be less than transparent, ethical or efficient. In 2012 I volunteered with three different campaigns that I believed were worthy of my support. Two of the three have now become what I believe is part of the problem with politics in Utah and Nationwide.
C-FEEET is what I have discovered is my acronym for running for public office. Citizens For Ethics, Equality, Efficiency and Transparency. I discovered that we may not know as citizens what the four words ethics, equality, efficiency and transparency mean. In my humble opinion we must get back to basics before we can really make lasting progress.
When it comes to ethics we have many in both State and National politics who themselves have major conflicts of interest and are the first to vote against ethics reform and/or recuse themselves when they personally or the industry they represent will benefit. Yet they are the first to call out others on their unethical behavior.
Equality in representative government should represent the “people,” not small, medium or large groups who form special interests in order to benefit them and the organization or cause they belong to. We as citizens for far too long have been electing those who will follow an ideology and party to the grave before they will treat others with dignity and respect. Worse yet those same elected officials and we as citizens believe that a particular party platform will be followed and do what is right for the citizens of a State or our Nation. When in reality the party one belongs to means more than holding our elected officials accountable to the very constitution we all hold dear. Representative government must work to protect and defend the weakest among us or there is no liberty.
Efficiency can be described in many ways, including great people who get involved with good intentions ending up doing exactly the opposite of what they said they would do when they first started running for office. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand it takes money to run and win these campaigns. My issue is when these people look you in the eye and tell you “I am different and I will not take money from special interest groups.” The fame, power or hunger for whatever politics brings takes over and many good people become victims of the system. Efficiency can never be achieved when one aligns themselves with special interests that want to control rather than represent the people as a whole.
Transparency in government is an interesting notion. When a candidate runs a campaign on particular issues and then once elected changes their promises and statements, are they really being transparent? When an elected official votes overwhelmingly in favor of special interest groups’ agendas, yet claims to represent their constituents, is that transparency?
Many in our political circles are the first to quote the first part of the Declaration of Independence, but are the last to subscribe to the last sentence, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
It is not enough to stand behind the preamble and use it when it benefits one’s political agenda and continue to ignore the founders’ warnings of two party ideological rule and political extremism that would destroy our constitution, but we must as a citizenry get back to electing those who will follow the sacred pledge to follow the constitution “so help them god” without regard to party. We must elect those who will do what is right, not what is popular. We must elect people of character and integrity that will have the fortitude to stand behind the constitution and not consider it an antiquated document that is no longer valid.
In my opinion there can be no “blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” without the "firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, and the pledge to each other of our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
Pamela's new Ebook, "Promises of the Constitution:" Go to:
http://smile.amazon.com/Promises-Constitution-Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow-ebook/dp/B00LEWCS4E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1410824095&sr=1-1&keywords=promises+of+the+constitution
http://smile.amazon.com/Promises-Constitution-Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow-ebook/dp/B00LEWCS4E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1410824095&sr=1-1&keywords=promises+of+the+constitution
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