☆ Starchild: “Just say no” to giving politicians more money and power
sürümüne kadar Get_It tarafından düzenlendi. Vectorization: Nethac DIU, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
For an ongoing series, we’re asking local leaders how this year’s election will shape the direction of governance. In an Opportunity Now exclusive commentary, SF Libertarian Party Chair Starchild warns that excessive power is a drug, and voters can help wean politicians off the supply:
If much of what this year’s crop of candidates and initiatives are saying sounds familiar to you, it should. That’s because the underlying questions in politics are always the same:
Who will have power, and how will it be exercised?
How much say will you have over your body, your resources, and how you choose to live your life?
How much control will government have over you?
Most people in high political positions are power addicts. They typically get there by pursuing power with the single-mindedness of an addict seeking her fix. Once elected, a politician's chief concern is almost always how to get reelected, or move up to higher office. Rarely do they leave the field by choice.
After American forces led by George Washington won the war for independence, British monarch King George III said that if Washington gave up his power voluntarily, he would be “the greatest man in the world”.
To Washington’s eternal credit, he did exactly that. And when grateful Americans subsequently chose him as the first president under their new Constitution, he set a precedent of serving only two terms in office. People called him “America’s Cincinnatus”, after the famous Roman general (and namesake of Cincinnati, Ohio) who became dictator, but after the crisis had passed, voluntarily relinquished the post and went back to farming.
Unfortunately, such willingness to resist the most dangerous drug is rare. This is why politicians need your help this November.
When they ask you to pass ballot measures giving them more money and power – as they always do – don’t enable their addictions. Just say no!
And unless a candidate’s character and positions show them to be one of the rare few who respects your freedom, you send them to Washington, Sacramento, or your local City Hall at your own peril.
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