Where are we really GOOOHing? (Get Out of Our House)
Circa 2010
The purpose of this essay is twofold: One part is a challenge and criticism directed at addressing the GOOOH statement of purpose, the other is testimonial. While criticism typically implies a negative connotation, that's not what I want those who read this to ultimately take away from it. I believe the GOOOH concept has great potential towards having a legitimate chance for bypassing the existing political road blocks that has kept real and honest people from attaining elected positions that are currently overridden with self-serving political hacks. It is my sincere hope that the genius and vision of the GOOOH founder set the course for a new paradigm shift in the election process. Without a doubt, the whole election process needs a complete overhaul. With that said, I leave the remainder of this essay to express my vision and concerns as we proceed forward.
First I'd like to address the statement of purpose for the GOOOH movement, specifically with regard to the implied notion that all will be good well if we just get rid of the outside financial influences, and send representatives who better promise to serve the will of people. At first glance this appears to be a noble effort, and to a significant extent it is a very good start; but absent qualifying the "will of the people" in terms of what this country has become, and is becoming at an ever alarming rate, is to potentially ignore a point of serious concern. One needs to realize that the "will of the people" itself must be brought into question in conjunction with addressing the issue of external influences, and in the light of how we fundamentally wish to define the legitimate scope and role of our government. If we choose to either overlook or ignore these facets in the context of their integrated totality, then we are missing a very fundamental problem, therefore there can be no real and lasting solution. I feel so strongly about this that I believe it needs to be fully addressed immediately before we proceed any further.
There are two points of evidence that indicate to me that this movement is not about addressing the fundamental big picture. The first comes from the; so and so will probably vote left of center, while over there they'll vote right of center, statement. Left of center, right of center, center of center, yadda, yadda, yadda. The fundamental problems facing this nation can no longer be reduced to appeasing the whims of left-right political ideologies. In fact, both are equally complicit in the contribution of subverting the principles, while it operated under the philosophy of limited government is better government, that set this nation apart from all the other nations in history, as the greatest model ever devised in the history of man. The fact that it has become both morally and economically bankrupt further reinforces this sad point. Both the "left" and the "right" want the government more empowered, to their advance their political objectives, completely counter to the wisdom and spirit upon which the constitution was structured. This must stop.
If so and so believes that their little sector of the world would be better served by left of center policies, then let them, exclusively within the confines of their locale, knock themselves out. It's time to understand the legitimate scope of both the federal and state governments. The federal government has no constitutionally legitimate authority, nor moral authority, to either provide or dictate anything, anything, other than those specifically enumerated powers, while on the other hand the individual states are free to pursue whatever they perceive to benefit their interests, and the interests of the people living within the state. In realization of this point, the whole left-right-center issue then completely evaporates from the national stage. It really comes down to the fact that we have a flawed belief system that believes that there's effectively only one government, the federal government, and that the state governments are trivial and inconsequential. In fact just the exact opposite is true. I can't emphasize this point strongly enough. And the fact that the majority of Americans are ignorant of this dynamic puts a real damper on what would otherwise excite me about the potential of this movement.
One last thought on the left-right-center theme. It's time to stop shooting for the left-right-center targets, it's time to set our target on a new axis, the vertical axis, as opposed to the old left-right-center horizontal axis. We must set our new target high above the old targets. I see this reflected in the proverb: it's better to aim your spear at the moon and strike an eagle, then to aim your spear at an eagle and hit only a rock. As a potential spear, I sincerely hope you share the mutual desire with me to aim for and hit the moon. If we do aim high for the moon and ultimately end up hitting an eagle, then I'll be merely disappointed; if we only aim for the eagle end up only hitting a rock, I'll be utterly devastated.
The other point of evidence is the candidate questionnaire. The questionnaire is presented to challenge those interested to honestly state their political stances on "the important" issues. With a few exceptions the "issues" presented failed to address the truly important issues. Not one question regarding how this system can be economically sustained, and nothing relating to the obscene levels of debt that threaten to collapse this whole economy. This oversight concerns me greatly. Again I must ask myself: is this movement merely a house cleaning exercise, or are we preparing to drastically change the course of this imminent shipwreck. It is my sincere hope that my voice expressed herein clearly sends this critical message that we really need to hear and ultimately address.
Please note that there are more issues of significant importance than what I've indentified in brief above, that I believe need to be addressed. I chose the economic issues as they are more visible to the average observer, than others that require a more thorough examination and explanation. The economic sustainability/dept issue demands immediate intervention, if there is to be any hope for this nation to remain viable.
The truth of the matter is that if the government was operating under the constitution, as it was intended by the founder's vision, then who's elected, and what they are doing would be a non-event. And that's how it should be. That's what I'm dedicating my efforts towards. Should I make it to the point of being elected, I'd like to think that I'm working to put myself out of a job, or at least out of a job that has become a coveted object of desire, to fulfill ones ambitions of power and control. If could go to my grave knowing that I have, to any degree, put that humble standard back into the system, then I'd die a happy man.
As an aside: if I should become elected, I will insist that I never be referred to the honorable while actively serving, I'll insist that I be addressed as honored, as in honored to serve. If at the end of my career as an elected representative, I have proven myself to be a man of my word, of holding to the highest standards of integrity and loyalty to the principles that I've pledged to abide by, it is then and only then, that I'll allow myself to be addressed as honorable. I'll do this is to make clear the all but totally forgotten relationship of those elected as subservient to the people: the people are the sovereigns, those elected are mere servants. This humble perspective is completely lacking in our present government, it needs to change.
While the corruption in politics due to special interests and lobbyist is a serious problem, it's only part of the problem. If the "will" of the people is such that it merely amounts to sending representatives to manage, sustain and promote the unconstitutional expansion of government, then we have a far, far, more serious and fundamental problem. Failure to address it for the primary causal factor, in fact the very factor that has lead us to the brink of total crisis, will amount to promoting the misallocation of human resources that will continue to obfuscate the real issue of paramount concern. It comes down to this: if this movement is merely about doing a little house cleaning, then it amounts to nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
We are at a serious crossroad here, an identity crisis; this is the time we need to look in the mirror and decide once and for all what kind of country do we wish to have. The choices are: continue to becoming a socialist nation, to the point of economic oblivion, or to return to a constitutionally constrained republic, where the opportunities provided by maximal individual liberty can pave the way to a flourishing economic future. So, my fellow citizens, what's it going to be? We need to decide right here, and right now.
If we fear, or are otherwise unwilling, for any reason, to forgo the trappings of the socialistic programs that we've come accustomed to and/or dependent upon, then this GOOOH movement is ultimately an exercise in futility. If we are hoping or pretending that if we send the "right" people, the ones who are not corrupted by outside special interests, or for the purposes of making things run more effectively and efficiently, without questioning whether these things should have existed at all, or further ignoring the more fundamental issue: that the mere existence of all these massive socialistic programs is the primary contributor towards making the representatives an extremely more target rich environment for those outside special interests to exert their corrupted influence and control in the first place, then we are ultimately condemned to fail, both as a movement and as a nation. It comes down to this: minimize the size and scope of government, and you minimize the attraction towards the power of corruption; a small government offers no payoff potential to the special interests. Problem solved. To remove the temptation, is to starve the devil.
It basically a fantasy to think that if we send good honest people to run an intrinsically corrupted system, that all will be well. What we really need are good and honest people to run a good and honest system. The only system that fits that bill is the constitutionally limited system that was envisioned by the founders of this country. Anything else is an inevitable recipe for disaster.
We need people who stand by the highest standards of honor and integrity; to be statesmen, not politicians. We need people who understand and appreciate the precious fiduciary powers entrusted in them. We need people who believe with all their being that returning to the constitutional principles upon which this nation was created offer the only chance we have survive as a viable nation. Finally we need people who can boldly and unequivocally state, with the deepest level of sincere conviction: "we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" towards attaining these ideals.
If you're looking for that person, if you're looking for someone who is all in, and I mean all in, you have just found him; if you're not, then let us not waste each other's time any further; let us then GOOOH our separate ways.
I leave this testimony with you,
William A. Watts