We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. ~Robert McCracken
Across the blue hills of the Applachian Mountains, nestled on the banks of the Potomoc River, our nations capital sits as an ever present reminder of our history. All across its halls and office buildings, there are quotes and bits of speeches that were uttered by the great and famous and by the least and common man. This nation has forgotton most of them. The elected officials we send off at every election cycle walk past them with indignance and boredom. These "servants of the people", make their way past every letter of every sentence inscribed there, in a daily mission to line their pockets. Never once stopping to peruse the truths of the start of this country. They, the elected, travel back and forth across the Beltway and hardly consider the cost. Not the cost of what they do, but the cost of what they take for granted and throw away like old clothes that don't fit anymore.
Here in America, where we enjoy the finest and most expensive of everything from hotdogs to houses, we continually elect scoundrals and golddiggers to office. It is a noble and high appointment to seek public office but the line between corruption and civic mindedness is almost invisible. It must be quite an alluring thing, this power that comes from elected position, I dare say that there has never been an elixir or brewed beverage that comes close to the intoxicating powers of being chosen by ones peers to lead.
This election year, if you have the opportunity to ask, approach a candidate and ask him or her what motivates them to get on the ballot. Not "Why are you running for this office?", but "WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO GET ON THE BALLOT AND SERVE?" Some may offer the standard lines we have heard a thousand times before. But some may look into their heart and actually consider the costs and lives and sacrifices of those who have gone on before.
We can only hope.
