A preamble for every American political platform

This is a preamble to the political platform needed to unite our country and give everyone the opportunity to prosper:

We believe that America needs to be led by elected officials in Washington whose first goal is not to get re-elected, but instead to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and do what is in the best interest of We the People.

We believe partisan politics has gone on for too long, and that is time for a “country-first attitude” to spread across the United States rather than the “party-first attitude” that has been so prevalent in recent years. No one political party has a lock on all good ideas. We the People know it; it is time for politicians to accept it. We like some of the ideas from both sides of the aisle.

We believe President John F. Kennedy was right when he said, “Let us not seek the Republican answer, or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

We believe in a federal government that is fiscally responsible and socially accepting -– the government, we believe, our Founders envisioned, and the one we need in order to become a more unified nation.

We believe that our country cannot continue with uncontrolled spending and borrowing; running-up huge debt that will negatively impact future generations; leaving individuals and businesses in a climate of tax and regulatory uncertainty; subjecting our youth, particularly those in the inner cities, to an inferior education; and drifting away from our Founders principles toward the failed social democracies of Europe where they have promised their citizens more than they can afford.

We believe that all our citizens must become more accepting of others, no matter the color of their skin, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. It is time for everyone to get along, or at least be civil to one another. As President Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We need to heed his warning.

We believe that all U.S. citizens need a good understanding of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution and how the two are connected, so that We the People can monitor whether our elected officials are following the principles of the Declaration and the laws established in the Constitution to carry out the Declaration’s mission. With a good understanding, every citizen will be in a position to know what we should expect, and more importantly what we should not expect, from our federal government.

We believe the Constitution should be interpreted using the definitions of words used at the time of our founding. Definitions of words have a way of changing over the years, but our Founders – who were students of history, political science, and philosophy – were very specific in what they laid out for us.

We believe our Founders would have agreed with President Kennedy when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” We interpret that to mean that unless one is physically or mentally disabled, everyone needs to pitch-in in order to reap the rewards of living in the best country on earth.

We believe the Dean of the Harvard Business School, Nitan Nohria, was correct when he said, “The single most important form of dignity is to feel economically self-reliant.” Every American deserves the opportunity to create his or her own economic success, and we believe this is possible if one does the following:

1) Master the English language.
2) Get a good education, and develop the skills and behaviors necessary to be a productive member of society.
3) Develop a strong work ethic.
4) Provide children with a loving family atmosphere.
5) Follow the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

We believe that a better educated society will lead to less crime and racism, and more peace and prosperity for all. We must provide an equal opportunity for all youth, no matter where they live, to get a high quality education. In the 1830’s, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that “the time is fast approaching when freedom, public peace, and social order will not be able to exist without [a high-quality] education.” With the venom that is being spewed and the violence we see across our country, it is as if Tocqueville is speaking to us today, and we must listen.

We believe that our inner city youth are not getting the quality education that is necessary to develop the marketable skills needed to succeed – and this must end if we are to become a more prosperous, unified nation. Right now we have a “failed system” that makes it difficult for some, both black and white, to elevate themselves in this society…and this must change.

We believe President Kennedy summed it up nicely: “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”

We believe it is time for America to close our divide and become more unified. For that to happen, each and every one of us must do our part by being good citizens, and by electing government officials who put our country first; who tell We the People the truth, even when it means relaying some harsh facts; who have the courage to stand up to special interests that control campaign fundraising; and who have an approach that is more fiscally responsible and more socially accepting – the Centrist approach.

David Ellison of Milford is author of Politics Beyond Left and Right.