We call it Public Service, and we call them Public Servants, but when it comes to politicians, those terms are oxymorons.   When I see millions spent seeking to be elected to a political office that pays little compared to what is being spent, I have to ask what the motive is. 

In today’s world, virtually any elective office is an incredibly costly perch to attain, and often, a significant portion of what is spent comes from the individual’s personal bank account.   The Texas Senate Race in 2024 between Ted Cruz and Collin Allred was the most expensive ever!   The salary in a six-year term will never reach that amount, so what motivates an individual to seek an office that is so personally costly financially?   Is it public service, the desire to be a public servant, political power, ego, or graft?

When this Republic was founded, virtually all the founding fathers viewed elected office as a public service.   They considered themselves public servants, not politicians.   The very idea of a professional political elite class was offensive to them.   When they sought office, it was out of a desire to serve the interests of the public, defend the Constitution, and perpetuate the Republic, not amass personal fortune and power.  They were diverse in their views, backgrounds, and personalities but held a common ideal that made them unique and admired.

Today, virtually every individual who goes to Washington, DC, leaves office with a dramatically increased personal financial bottom line.  They build networks of contacts that afford them access to enormous wealth.  This enables them to wield incredible power while in office and afterward.   

Most of them campaign on a platform of “service” and “defending the rights” of We the People, but upon arrival at the Capitol, they seem to forget those pledges and promises soon and serve their interests and those of the special interest groups and bundlers that filled their campaign war chests rather than those of the public they were elected to serve. 

Their ethics and principles seem as fluid as the water in a flowing river.  Their principles and ethics rise and fall like the stock market.  It depends upon the electoral cycle’s timeframe and the opportunities to become more established as a political power broker.    

Most have an agenda that is often kept well hidden during the campaign but surfaces in bits and pieces once elected to office.  Many, once in office, seek to remain in office as long as possible, and even if they sought office initially with the desire to perform “public service” rapidly, they evolve into “professional politicians.”

When electing people to public office, I believe it would serve us well to ask, “What did the founding fathers really want for America?”  Additionally, we should ask, “What do the current politicians want for America?”    

The Founding Fathers were an incredibly diverse group with a unified goal and objective: American Liberty! They believed that the citizens should have a say in their government and that government “only” derives its power from the consent of those governed.  That is in stark contrast to the view of politicians today, as we see by their actions, agendas, and policies, regardless of what they say with their words and campaign rhetoric.  One only has to read the opening words of the Declaration of Independence to understand their hearts.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

The founders understood that our rights were not governmentally granted but came from God Himself.  They understood that government should be limited and that the real power should be vested in the people, then the individual states, and then, in a limited scope, the central government. 

Today, we see the results of the slow erosion of that ideology into the massive Federal Government and are seeing it continually expanded.  Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and those of their ilk envision a Federal Government that is all-encompassing and powerful, with the people being “servants of the government” rather than the original design of the “government being a service to the people.”

We did not arrive at this juncture or condition overnight or in a decade or two and will not revert to the Constitutional Republic of the founders in a short span.  If it ever happens, it will take generations.  However, if we allow the Leftists to regain the White House and control of Congress, we relinquish all hope of restoration.

The Leftist’s agenda will be advanced with vigor, the Constitution abandoned, and the ideology of liberalism and progressivism will destroy us.  The will of the people will be ignored.   If the Left regains power, they will throw off all restraint and attempt to install their part as a permanent fixture in the White House and Congress.  

I believe that God worked to enable the founding fathers to frame the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights to establish a nation where people could freely pursue His purposes.  America has been a launching pad for incredible innovations, inspiration, and missionary efforts for a very long time.  Still, it is in grave danger of becoming a very dark place spiritually, morally, and economically. 

I will continue to make an impassioned plea for anyone and everyone to diligently and fervently cry out to God for guidance individually and for the nation.   I urge everyone to do due diligence in examining the records of all political candidates.   Do not just listen to what they say but examine how they say it and what they have done, are doing, and might do. 

If we want to keep a Free Republic, we must restore accountability to every elected office and limit the time any individual can hold those offices.  That alone will not stop all the graft and corruption, but it will go a long way to restoring the power to where the founders envisioned it, in the hands of the people, the legal citizens of the United States of America.

How we vote is our right and prerogative, but failure to vote allows unscrupulous people to manipulate and control the welfare and well-being of the nation.  If we all examine the candidates and their records and determine to hold them accountable, we will have hope of seeing America restored!  Therefore, I ask that you become involved in the political process and, at a minimum, vote in each political cycle!

May God bless you, and may God bless America!