HIGHLAND, UT | 30 June 2008 | In the 1980s, a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, Charley Reese, published a piece entitled, “The 545 People Responsible for all of America’s Woes.” In this article, Reese points out that politicians are the only people who cause problems and then campaign against them. He blames all problems America faced in the 80s on 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 Senators, 1 President, and 9 Supreme Court Justices. Over twenty years ago, Reese’s solution to the problem: “Replace Scoundrels.” Two decades later, this document has resurfaced in a number of places on the Web, and individuals have voiced their opinions even on this site, using this article as an attempt to reason for the same solution.

The political campaign of nearly every challenger in this year’s election process is screaming for change. “The incumbents have had their chance and they have failed; it’s time for someone else to give it a try,” they say. They claim to have all the answers to our country’s struggles and that if we just elect them they can get to work on those solutions. It was the same in the 1990s, 1970s and every decade prior to that. The mistake Reese made over 2 decades ago, and the mistake many are making in this campaign season, is that when it really comes down to it, it is not about whom we elect but rather how we’re living. It’s not the 545 in Washington; rather, it’s every single individual deciding to live principle.

Insanity

Those who use Reese’s article in hopes of proving their point say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different outcome. But if there is one thing that has remained the same in politics over the past 80+ years, it is the belief that ousting incumbents and replacing them with fresh faces will correct the problems of the previous politicians. This will not work! The politicians of the 80s are no longer in office, many are dead. We have replaced most of them with people we thought would make things all better for us. But we find there are more problems today than in the 80’s. It is insane to believe that replacing today’s incumbents will solve any problem.  

Politicians Are Not the Problem

If you think Washington is the problem, YOU are the problem. Two hundred twenty years ago our forefathers achieved a political revolution that effectively broke the American colonies from their mother country. They were able to establish a new form of government, something never tried before. The result of this government was to establish a system which kept the governing factions out of the every-day lives of individual citizens and allowed them to work out their own problems. Over the decades since, the citizen has allowed the politician to slowly creep into his life. This was a vigilance the common citizen was supposed to exercise. But he has allowed himself to go to sleep on these issues. He thought he could simply cast a vote and forget about it until the next election, just living out his unprincipled life hoping a body of elected officials would solve all the problems. If you think you are exercising your civic duty simply by voting, you are sadly mistaken.

Politicians Cannot Solve the Problem

The Constitution is so written to keep the power at the most local level as possible. More often than not that means in the hands of the individual where that one person may use his agency to act as “seemeth him good.” The system at the top is intentionally slow and laborious. The Founders believed the balance of power would be safer that way. The best political scenario would be one in which nothing got done, no bills were passed, no power was usurped from the states and the individual. However, all to often, the criticism is: “This or that politician hasn’t done a thing while in office.” Hallelujah! An inactive politician is one who does not usurp powers. The system is designed this way.

Now, some will get hung up on the fact that in our day those constitutional rights are being stripped away from us by the day, practically. Great! Have you done more to voice your concern than just put yard signs up and to show up on election day? Have you attempted to create a personal relationship with your elected officials? Further, what are you doing to fix your own life so you are living according to principle?

Politicians cannot solve your problems. Only you can solve your them. You want the freedoms this nation purports to protect? Start taking responsibility for your own life and quit looking to politicians for the answers.

Replace Scoundrels

The problem is not that we have the wrong politicians in Washington or state capitols or even at City Hall. The problem is that 300 million citizens of this great nation believe the right politicians in those venues can solve their problems. This is the great fallacy leading this nation steadily to its demise. The individual must descoundrelize himself before he can elect a non-scoundrel to these offices. The first step in personal descroundrelization is to wake up to the fact that the problem is not in Washington but in each individual’s home. When YOU begin to take responsibility of your own life, the world gets a little better.

Conclusion

This nation faces some great challenges in the days ahead. The economy is struggling; the dollar, with no golden foundation, is devaluing to near zero; real estate is dropping; food is in short supply; governmental regulation is too much in the individual citizen’s face. The list goes on and on and on. But none of these items are the true “problems” of this nation. The problem is that for far too long now individuals in this nation have left principle by the wayside in hopes that the government would solve their problems. Lifestyle without principle breeds destruction. It’s time the citizens of this nation returned to the principles that made it the greatest nation on earth.

Action Items

1. Take responsibility for your own life. If you believe it is about who is in Washington, or other elected officials, youare the problem. Take the advice of the FreeCapitalist on his radio show: do the world a favor and fix yourself.
2. Begin now to rediscover the ancient principles upon which this nation was founded. Master the 13 Principles of Prosperity with the understanding that there are more than that to discover.
3. Change your life even in the most subtle way to live according to those principles.
4. Share those principles with those closest to you.
5. Begin to associate with others who have begun to live according to principle.

MRFC Principles:  (3, 11)

Sources

Charley Reese, The 545 People Responsible for All of America’s Woes, Reposted at American Patriot Friends Network.