My Ethos

As the imperialistic United States crumbles in political, economic, and moral corruption, I dare you to dream of a brighter future. I challenge you to escape the endless barrage of fascist propaganda spreading fear, distrust, confusion, race mythology, culture war distractions, and Christian nationalism (anti-Christian ideology); escape the manipulation tactics used to divide you from your neighbors so that we never seek real progress for our country.

They use all of that noise to distract you while they rob our country’s potential to keep control, power, and wealth.

But what do I know, right?

Here is my ethos

Humility in Existence

At the end of the day, people are people. We just want to be free, to be happy, to be safe. And that's what I call humility: to be humble. To not desire control over others’ lives. It is simple.

We are people, and we are a part of a beautiful world, created in a way that is perfect and awe-inspiring. The magic of a colorful sunset, the healing nature of the sound of flowing water, the way our bodies can consume a delicious meal and somehow our bodies just know how to break down, digest, and transform that meal into you.

Humility in Existence is about living and leading through a humble lens. To be a servant for others, for the community. For your family. And to seek out those fundamental goals we all have. To be free, to be happy, and to be safe.

And to pursue those goals in a way that does not infringe on others. 

Fascism often uses safety as a primary goal to take power, but fascism seeks safety for the few while infringing on others. That is not safety for all, but danger for all. 

Today they target your neighbors; they call them illegal. Tomorrow, they will come for you. 

Public safety does not have to be in spite of personal freedom. 

Generational Purpose 

Generational purpose to me is about living not just for today, but also for tomorrows to come. To lead and live for the generations not born yet. It is a relationship with time.

How can we as a country invest in the land, the water, the air, the life, us, so that future generations can also thrive?

Unfortunately, our society has been led by greed. And Greed doesn’t care about its relationship with time and generational purpose.

Greed wants now. Greed wants the most it can get, now. Even if it is at the expense of a brighter future. Even if it is at the expense of deteriorating water quality, polluted air, land devoid of life, and our quality of life. 

And when you blend endless greed with an equally strong appetite for control, this is how you get the Epstein class and tech fascists trying their best to bend every single moral and ethical code our society has. 

These things are not disconnected. Greed and control are sisters that seek power and wealth over others.

Wanting financial success or the power to live a beautiful life is good, and I want that for all of us, but what I am talking about is an addiction that exists within the top of the top in our society. An addiction to so much wealth and power that has led to the subculture that birthed the Epstein class.

It is a lack of accountability.

Generational Purpose is about returning to a vision and purpose that does not bend to greed, but that pushes to a brighter future for everyone in a good faith manner.

There is no one right answer to how that happens, but there are key identifiers for measuring that pathway. Identifiers can be in water and air quality, biodiversity health, public infrastructure advancements, general health and wellbeing of the people, general public safety of the people, equity in the economy, and more. 

Right now, countries across the world are developing past the United States. We stopped investing in our country after Nixon, cutting social programs, halting public investments, and switching to privatization and subcontracting public programs.

Ever since Nixon, every single president on both the Democratic and Republican sides has opted for the undevelopment of our nation. Obama made some very modest shifts to reverse course during his second term, but ultimately one term and one president is not enough. 

Our country’s development has been neglected and sabotaged for four decades. In the wake of Buckley v Valeo and Citizens United, both parties have been inundated with corrupt money from special interest groups 

This is why the Republican Party drives home an endless barrage of culture war BS while the Democratic Party plays along, attacking any would-be challengers in their party who push for real public policy issues.

TV stations owned by the same corrupt special-interest groups fill your broadcasts with distractions and attacks on good-faith candidates who run unbought by bribes. While simultaneously bragging about how much one corrupt politician has fundraised in bribes they call campaign contributions.

Generational purpose is about seeing past the noise, fear, and confusion and envisioning a brighter future. 

Communal Actualization

People have read and heard about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a theory that speaks to a person's pathway to self-enlightenment that he calls self-actualization. 

His vision is a pyramid-style advancement of personal needs required for any person to grow as a person. Starting from the survival basics- food, water, shelter- advancing to general safety, and so forth. 

His idea was born after visiting the Indigenous Siksika nation (currently occupied by Canada), who also had an additional advancement beyond self-enlightenment to develop a community of self-actualized people.

Communal Actualization comes from this Siksika concept.  

I wish to work towards a society that is so healthy that, rather than simply managing trauma in a society that is wrecked by systemic problems, we have communities of healed people and healers who demonstrate positive and constructive qualities, according to their own image of what that looks like, creating a beautiful community of self-enlightened people. 

Someone might read this and think, what is a self-enlightened person? To me, this refers to someone who has all their needs met and who is healthy physically and emotionally. 

Someone might read this and think that sounds rather utopian. And I would say, of course, if we are truthfully trying to reach for a greater advancement in our country, wouldn’t you want to seek utopian qualities? 

Often, people tend to see the idea of utopia as an unobtainable goal, and thus, we should not even try. And to me, I say, why not. It is rather self-defeating to just give up. 

I would rather we try and get close, and to potentially succeed or fail, than never try and to only guarantee failure. And these are my ethics that are the binding principles that guide me and my goals in public service.