What Can I Do?

hat can I, an average ordinary citizen, do to help restore our beloved country?

This country belongs to the average ordinary citizens, and the average ordinary citizens can restore this nation to the goodness and the greatness and the glory that once was ours by Getting Informed, Getting Involved, and Getting Vocal.

or the Christian voter, getting informed means first and foremost understanding the Word, and God’s plan for His people.

As Christians, we all know that we are called to be the salt and the light, and to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Unfortunately, there is a definite lack of understanding within the Christian community today as to how that relates to our involvement in our political system. In fact, many Christians don’t see any relationship whatsoever between our Christian duties and our role as citizens, and some even feel that Christians have no business being involved in politics.

This attitude is as wrong as wrong can be. It is unbiblical, unpatriotic, irresponsible, and dangerous. By choosing to not be involved in our political system, Christians are ignoring scripture and making a deliberate decision to accept being governed by ungodly men and women and subject to ungodly and anti-Christian legislation. The question of whether or not Christians—and the church—can and should be involved in the political realm, as well as all other facets of our society, is simply a question of whether or not we believe in the scriptures and the Constitution of the United States.
[ Reference: "Should The Church Be Politically Involved?" ]

etting informed also means learning about our form of government—which is defined in the Constitution--and our current political system, which has little to do with the Constitution.

Getting informed about our form of government—as created by our founding fathers--is a relatively easy process. The Constitution of the United States of America clearly defines the organization and the duties and limitations of our government, and it is easily read and easily understood. Further readings of early documents such as the Federalist Papers and other writings of our founding fathers help to understand the mindset of the founders, and the reason and intent of each and every article of the Constitution.

Although our government today is clearly not in compliance with the Constitution, it is imperative that we realize that the Constitution is still the law of the land, and that our elected officials are sworn to uphold the Constitution. It is just as imperative to realize that many of the problems facing our nation today are a direct result of our government ignoring the Constitution.
[ Links of Interest: America’s Heritage ]

etting informed about our current political system is not so easy. It requires first of all an understanding of our two-party system and the incestuous relationships between big money, special interest groups, the mainstream media, and the two major political parties.

These relationships have corrupted the two major parties and at the same time allowed them to develop a stranglehold on our government, strengthened by the total control that the two-party system has over the electoral process and the legislative process. Our original government of the people, by the people, and for the people has been transformed into a government of the self-serving two-party system, by the self-serving two-party system, and for the self-serving two-party system.

To make matters worse, in recent years the two-party system has all but merged into one centrist party of two branches with some slightly differing philosophies, but one uniting and unifying goal—the perpetuation of their stranglehold on our government.

The men and women in government that sincerely care about our nation and would like to make a difference are almost helpless against the absolute control that their party leadership and the corrupting influences have over the process. Unfortunately, the "system" is now firmly entrenched, and the longer we suffer it to exist, the harder it will be to dismantle. Working within the system to change the system has proven to be a lesson in frustration, because the system either corrupts or neutralizes the newly elected faster than we can elect them.

Our political system has become an empire of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, and that two-party empire is corrupt. I am not suggesting that all of the individual men and women of the two parties are corrupt or dishonest. What I am saying is that the system itself is corrupt, and that corruptness is so pervasive and self-perpetuating that it cannot be incrementally excised. Corruption controls the two-party system, and the two-party system controls the process that allows the corruption to continue. This control over the process can only be broken by the introduction of third party and independent legislators into the system to effectively dilute and neutralize the control of the two major parties.

As previously stated, getting informed about our current political system is no easy task. Our political system today is a tangled web of deceit, intrigue, and corruption--and misinformation is much more prevalent than information. Today’s professional politicians are masters of prevarication and obfuscation, and the words they speak are subject to much interpretation. To further complicate matters, our traditional news sources—the mainstream media—long ago abandoned any commitment to unbiased reporting, and most of the "news" they deliver is slanted one way or the other.

The emergence of the Internet, however, has shattered the monopoly that the mainstream media once had over the news, and eliminated their total control of disseminated information. This is not to say, however, that the mainstream media is no longer an effective purveyor of propaganda and misinformation, because they certainly are. This is also not to say that everything you read on the Internet is entirely factual, unbiased, and reliable--because many web sites are certainly none of the above. What the Internet does offer, however, is an almost inexhaustible source of different views and perspectives, and access to a wealth of reliable information resources that were not previously readily available to the public.

Project Vote Smart , the Voter Information Services site, the FEC Info site, and the Thomas Legislative Information site are all invaluable resources for voters seeking information about candidates, campaign contributions, and legislation. The Thomas site is particularly worthy, because it allows access to the Congressional Record where you can read for yourself exactly what transpired in the Congress on any given day, and access to the full text of all pending and passed legislation. Also available is a record of all roll call votes, which is the official record of what your representatives and senators did, as opposed, perhaps, to what they said.

There are, of course, thousands of other web sites offering information on candidates, elected officials, legislation, and issues, and anyone with Internet access certainly has no shortage of information.
[ Links of Interest: Christian Political Resources , EagleCross Links ]

etting informed also means researching the candidates, and learning as much information as you possibly can about who they are and what they stand for. Most of the states Election Divisions publish a list of all candidates, including contact information, or you can usually obtain a list from the League of Women Voters, or other organizations.

In the case of incumbents, you can examine their voting records to determine how they voted on various issues in the past. In the case of unknown or new candidates, an examination of their previous careers, community involvement, church affiliation and so on should provide some insight into their character and their values.

You should also personally question the candidates about their stand on issues that are important to you. You may or may not be able to personally speak with the candidate—depending upon how "important" he or she is—but you can almost always speak with one of the campaign staff, and follow that up with a list of carefully worded questions to determine where the candidate stands on the issues. If you have difficulty in getting someone to speak with you, simply leave a message that you might be interested in supporting the campaign, and you would like some information. The magic word is "support" and you will hear back.

The effort that you put into researching and evaluating the candidates will determine how well qualified you are to make an intelligent and informed decision. What you absolutely do NOT want to do is to cast your vote based upon the candidate’s campaign commercials or what your local newspaper or television reporters have to say.
[ Links of Interest: Federal/State Election Directory ]

Getting informed means simply that. The more you know about our Constitution, our history, our government, our current political system, the issues, the candidates, and--most of all--God’s will, the better equipped you are to fulfill your Christian and civic duties.

etting involved means much more than simply registering to vote and then voting. We all do that, don’t we? Hello?

The sad fact is that around 60-70% of the American people do not vote in mid-term elections, and 50% don’t even bother to vote in the presidential elections. The primary reason for this is that many feel that their vote won’t make a whole lot of difference in the overall scheme of things anyway. And they are absolutely correct--considering the fact that their choices are usually between one Republican candidate and one Democrat candidate, both of who are owned and operated—or soon to be—by the aforementioned corrupt two-party system.

Not bothering to vote, however, is not the solution to the problem. The solution to the problem is for we the people to wake up, get actively involved, break the stranglehold of the two-party system, and take back control of our government.

We the people need to seek out, support, and elect third party and independent candidates who will represent and defend the interests of we the people—as opposed to the interests of the two-party system. The first step in doing so is to absolutely and totally reject the sly mantra of the two major parties that warns you that "a third party or independent candidate can’t win, and voting for them will throw the election to the bad guy." This mantra has been highly effective in scaring people away from third parties and independents for years, and the end result has been that the bad guys—of one party or the other—win anyway. Heads they win—tails we lose.

Here’s the bottom line, folks. If we support an independent or third party candidate and they lose, then we will have lost that election. If we support one of the two major party candidates and they win, then we may have won the election—but to what end? Why are we voting in the first place? We are voting, presumably, to insure that our views, our values, our principles, and our vision of America are represented in our government. To vote for a candidate that we know is subservient to the corrupting influences of the two-party system--rather than to us—is nonsensical.

While it is a fact that third party and independent candidates are the only hope that average ordinary citizens have for representation, it is also a fact that the only chance they have of winning is an overwhelming show of support and assistance from the citizenry. Seek out and support these candidates. Volunteer to assist in their campaign. Help them collect signatures on their ballot access petitions. Assist them financially, if you are able. Help spread the word by going door to door in your neighborhood, or by phone calls, or email. Recruit your family, your friends and neighbors, your business associates and your church members to assist in the campaign.

Finally, consider running for office yourself, as an independent or third party candidate. While ballot access for third parties can be extremely challenging—thanks to election laws written by the two major parties—getting your name on the ballot as an independent candidate is surprisingly easy in most states. For example, in the state of Texas an independent candidate for U.S. Congress has only to pay a $2500 filing fee, or obtain a total of 500 signatures on a petition. A candidate for state representative has only to pay a $600 fee, or obtain 500 signatures.

Running for office or being actively involved in someone else’s campaign can be an interesting and rewarding experience, and it is the ultimate expression of your citizenship. You may or may not win the election, but in either case you will have helped to promote and advance the cause of third party or independent candidacies, and helped to pave the way for those who come after you.

Getting involved means doing anything and everything within your power to re-establish a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

t never ceases to amaze me just how apathetic and uninformed most Americans are about the true state of our union, and the very vulnerable and precarious condition that our nation is in.

Despite the creative and aggressive attempts of our government to convince us otherwise, our economy is hanging by a thread, and that thread could snap at any moment. Our military is all but in shambles and almost totally unprepared and unequipped to fight a major war—which is inevitable, or even imminent. Our freedom, our liberty, and even our very existence as a sovereign nation are under constant assault by the socialists and globalists in our government.

Worse yet, our society has lost its moral compass, and while it is certainly not the duty of government to enforce morality, it is also not the prerogative of our government to promote immorality—which they do.

Our government, manned and controlled by the two-party system and their owners, continues to grow and expand exponentially, and considering the fact that our government is responsible for most of the above problems, you would think that more folks might be more concerned.

Regrettably, most Americans are still fat, dumb and happy, and will remain so until their own little private world is shattered, or someone manages to get their attention.

Talk to your family, your friends, neighbors, and your acquaintances. Talk to the postman, the clerk at the corner grocery, and the waitress at the café. Convince them of the need for we the people to get involved, and encourage them to do so.

Create some sort of simple handout that you can use as a conversation starter. (My favorite is the Christian Voters Guide that I created which has "Read Exodus 18:21—Then Vote!" on one side, and the scripture itself on the other)

Send email to all your email friends. Compile a list of some informative web sites, and encourage people to visit them. Start your own web site.

Write letters to the editor of your newspaper, and call in to radio talk shows.

And don’t ignore your Congressman and your Senators. Write them often, and let them know your opinion. Some of them are not yet corrupted by the system, and you might even find an ally. If not, maybe you will at least make them nervous.

Last but not least, encourage your pastor and your church to get involved—but be prepared for a cool reception, or even downright rejection. If your church is one of the 99% of American churches that are 501(c)(3) corporations, you may find that they are absolutely opposed, or at best not willing to do much—lest they jeopardize their tax exemptions. My own opinion is that they should scrap their 501(c)(3) and make an all out effort to restore our heritage as One Nation Under God, but that’s just my opinion.

Getting vocal means spreading the word—by whatever means—about the urgent need for all of us to get informed and get involved, and encouraging others to do so. It can be a daunting task, and—trust me on this—it is often a thankless task, but if you and I don’t do it, who will?

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