Opinion : Letter to the Editor: We need to remember our foundation

Dear Editor,

In the early months of 2014, I was very involved with the Benton County Republican Committee and was assigned to the platform committee. Frankly, the platform was a mess. There seemed to be little structure or cohesion to the document. It needed something to direct it, to guide it . . . it needed a FOUNDATION. I worked with a good friend - Tim Bush - and we wrote just that, a FOUNDATION for the Republican party. It was adopted by the state party, and it remains in our state's platform in the form of the document's preamble.

Our nation has forgotten its foundation and seems to be trying to be all things to all people.

In Matthew 7 verses 24-27 we hear about the wise and foolish builder . . . "24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

I believe that is where we are currently, our foundation of rock has been eroded by politicians who put personal power and gain above the nation and our Constitution - which has always been our rock.

Growing up and taking the social studies of the 50s and 60s America was seen as a "melting pot", a place where the freedoms allowed a person to live the "American Dream" - get an education, find a good job, have a family and home, and put their kids through college so they could live out their "American Dream". We've lost that, and it's not getting better. So let me offer our Foundation as a reminder of what we are as a nation.

1: Our nation is a Constitutional Republic.

We are a nation governed by people elected to public office that are sent to represent us, the citizens. Our Constitution provides limits to their power, explicitly details our fundamental rights and ensures that only the enumerated powers contained within the Constitution are executed by the federal government. All other functions of government are left to the state and local governments.

2: We are a Sovereign Nation.

We are a Sovereign Nation with defined borders, governed by a set of laws determined by our representatives, guided by our Constitution, and protected by a military strong enough to defend our borders and interests.

3: The Oath of Office of all civil servants - elected and employed - should guide their actions.

As citizens, we expect that our elected officials take their office and its duties and responsibilities to us, our country, and our Constitution seriously and act in accordance with their individual Oaths of Office.

4: Fiscal Responsibility is a fundamental function of any local, state, or federal entity.

All monies expended by all governments - local, state, and federal - come from the labor of the citizens of the country. It is a fundamental expectation that these government entities should act in a financially responsible manner.

5: Personal Responsibility is the primary duty of all citizens.

We are a nation of individuals held together by a common vision. We are not servants of the government; we are not dependent on the largess of society for our survival. Our possibilities are limitless; they should not be limited by our local, state, and federal government. We are individuals, we are citizens of our country and we - and we alone - are responsible for our successes and failures.

If we can find our way back to these principles, we will have a strong and prosperous nation to pass on to our children. If we do not, the American Dream will end and the world will be poorer for its loss.