Reform VS Change

In this election the word change is passed around more times than a bottle of whiskey at a high school drinking party. True change can be positive, but change isn’t always good. You can change a tire, change your clothes, change your mind and change your position. You can change who you are. You can’t change who you were or where you came from. You can’t change the past you can only learn from it.

Webster’s defines change as to make different, to alter, or transform, to switch or replace. In contrast reform is defined as change to an improved condition, to remove faults or abuses, or to abandon evil ways.

Anyone can change or be an agent of change, but it takes great men like our founding fathers, like Abraham Lincoln, or like Franklin D. Roosevelt to bring about reform. We owe this great country to reformers who changed our history and our futures. I believe that John McCain understands the elements needed to bring about reform which are, ideas, ingenuity, and ideals.

First lets talk about ideas. When I think about ideas I think about Thomas Edison who is the greatest American inventor. I think about our forefathers and our country. They had vision and courage to move forward. They knew that their ideas might not always be popular but that they were right for the country and would make a difference in peoples lives. Where would we be today without the light bulb. We would be in the dark. And without free government and democracy, we would still be under the control of a tyrant across the pond. It was America’s shining light, the great beacon of hope that our country is, that paved the way for democracy throughout the world. The American dream is based on the idea that all men are created equal and are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the freedom in free trade and the free market and the tradition of self government that makes America strong.

Next there is ingenuity and the men that come to mind are Art Collins and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Marconi and Gonset have always been consider the fathers of amateur radio. But any radio operator will tell you, that Art Collins was the man who perfected it. Art Collins was a man who in his basement with a clear vision, the idea that he could build a better radio. And he did just that, perfecting tube receivers and going on to found Collins Radio, a mainstay in communications that still exists today through its legacy Rockwell Collins. Like Collins, Franklin D. Roosevelt is the father of ingenuity in American politics. He didn’t invent reform, but the New Deal is considered on the greatest reforms in American history. Not only did the New Deal leave a lasting impression on politics, but it changed business and revolutionized the global economy.

Last but certainly not least there are ideals. One needs to look no further than Patrick Henry, whose cry for liberty or death is still heard today. And certainly Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery and held a nation together. Neither man would have been overly popular in their day. Henry was willing to give his life for freedom, namely the freedom to practice religion free from government control. Here are a few quotes from Patrick Henry that you won’t here in the mainstreams of America.

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and
interests”

“It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.”

To the American people, and especially those that plan to vote on November 4th let me be clear in no uncertain terms that John McCain is not merely an agent of change. John McCain is a reformer who demonstrates these principles. He is a man of ideas. The idea that our government should always be for the people and the president holds the responsibility to protect its people for oppression not only from foreign enemies, but from itself when oppressive legislation and taxes stand in the way of our futures.

John McCain is a man of ingenuity who understand that we must learn from our mistakes, as he has done in championing “The Surge” that has restored peace in Iraq, and also as a senator, restoring diplomacy with Vietnam by healing wounds, and reforming campaign finance, and fighting wasteful spending in Washington. He understand that tomorrow’s economy will not be based on natural resources, but through the harvesting and creation of clean and renewable energies. Energy will be the staple of a strong and prosperous global economy, and we cannot afford to be the country that finishes in second place in the race to fuel the earth.

And John McCain is a man of ideals. He is a man who is prepared to die for his country, while also making sure that each day he will live and fight for his country as he says until his last breath. He will not only ensure that our troops will return home, but ensure they return home with dignity and honor, and that there actions will create stable visions of democracy in the Middle East and Central Asia.

On November 4th, lets not elect change for the sake of change. Let’s do America a great dignity and elect true reform.