A Better Tomorrow

Robert, a commentor at Friends of Fred Thompson, recently posted this great draft speech written by a friend that puts “change” in context.  Perhaps Fred will utilize it in some way, shape or form on the campaign trail in South Carolina. 

A Better Tomorrow

As I travel the country I get a sense that folks feel that their voices are not heard and that the state of politics in our country is at an all time low. I have a dream that together we can change direction; that together we can resolve to expect more of our leaders in the way they conduct themselves on the playing field of public policy. The rancor and bantering has reached epic proportions and the ultimate victim is going to be our future unless we put our foot down and say enough is enough. We should elect people who value doing right more than they value being right; elected officials who want to represent us, not rule us. We need leadership that sets the tone for public discourse, leaders that call out those who tear us down because they can, and raise up those who build solutions because they must.

We need to all understand that freedom will not survive if we do not temper our own actions in light of the greater good. Most of our problems today are related to a culture that says to us that anything is okay regardless of consequences. This culture is based upon a belief that freedom should be selfish and that the only test for our conduct is whether we can do something. Freedom is not selfish; it is a wondrous way of life calling for us to peacefully co-exist and to work together with full knowledge that our individual freedom is wholly dependent upon the freedom of our neighbor. When we exercise our individual freedoms we must always ask ourselves what should I do to make my life and my community stronger, not simply what can I do to benefit myself at the cost of my neighbor. We must understand that our need to self-govern is a way of life and that government becomes less effective the further it operates from the individual. A better tomorrow will be a reality when we work together to pursue life, liberty, and happiness for all, not just for ourselves.

I reach out to my friends in the media to ask them to look into themselves as an industry to raise the bar and better self-police the ethics of their brethren, to value truth over sensation and titillation, and to value the greater good over the greater headline. Even lawyers understand that they must rid themselves of the lowest in their field to preserve the confidence in the profession as a whole.

Freedom of conscience is a necessity for a thriving marketplace of ideas. The marketplace of ideas is being bankrupted by heavy handed factions that seek to impose their will on us. Elected officials fear doing what is right for all because of the harsh consequences of doing what a vocal few think is wrong for them. James Madison was right when he wrote over 200 years ago that these factions result in “instability, injustice, and confusion…” and that factions are “…the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished…” The instability, injustice, and confusion we experience today are palpable because we have allowed it to happen. We have allowed ourselves to be ruled and have not insisted upon being represented. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people will certainly perish from this earth if we do not break these factions and reestablish honest discussion on issues and solutions without fear of retribution. It is not popular to say that it is our fault, but the desire to be popular at all cost is what got us here and the desire to stay that way will get us nowhere.

I am here to partner with you as a fellow American, a fellow parent, a fellow neighbor, and a fellow lover of freedom and the God-given right for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Let’s work together on the war on terror to bring life to the famous words of Abraham Lincoln:

“It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

I will close by invoking the famous words of John F. Kennedy that are needed more today than ever as we fight all over the world for the preservation of freedom over the harsh reality of 21st Century tyranny that relies upon a 7th Century mentality:

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.“