At our Capitol, we all saw what the violence looks like. We also saw that it solves nothing. It only creates more problems.

Let’s not forget the violence that was committed in our cities, over the past year, which went unanswered by many elected officials. The destruction of property, loss of life, and serious injury to our law enforcement officers were wrong. The cry for justice, law, and order was ignored. Last year’s violence also solved nothing and created more problems.

This is not the fault of Trump or Biden supporters: they are caught in the middle. It is the fault of a corrupt political system driven by self-serving politicians, biased media, political hacks, wealthy elites, and special interests.

We are too quick to blame each other when instead it is the collective fault of our political leaders on both sides of the aisle. We must join forces to work together and hold them accountable. We should not let them exploit us and pit Americans against Americans. They count on this to control us and keep themselves in power.

The 2020 presidential election, the COVID pandemic and the resulting economic crisis, violence in our cities, and the attack on the Capitol have created a perfect storm of concerned citizens. These citizens believe they are not being listened to on a multitude of issues including voter fraud, the economy, the pandemic, public debt, safety and security, healthcare, and education.

Now, due to frustrated citizens that have been ignored by their elected officials at all levels of government, we have more violence, death, and injury.

The 2020 election has become the catalyst for increased divisiveness in America. If we are being truthful, we know there was fraud by both parties. The question is how do we fix it so it does not happen again. I believe Tom Cotton and Tim Scott have proposed a good solution at the federal level. Now, it is up to us to get our state governments to do the same.

To preserve liberty, we must return to the real legacy of our founding fathers. We have had one revolution; we do not need another one. We have had one civil war; we do not need another. Nevertheless, we do need a political establishment revolution that replaces the politics of power, money, and self-service with the politics of character, integrity, and selfless service.

The legacy of our founding fathers put in place a political process where character and integrity matter. This was framed around the concept of “We the People.”

The process is one of agreement and disagreement, debate, redress, respect, and compromise. This has kept our republic and democracy vibrant for 244 years. The founding fathers’ process put the people first and was committed to a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. As Jefferson had warned, “the government will one day be corrupt and filled with liars, and the people will flock to the one that tells the truth.” Few serving now in Congress reflect these principles and values.

Currently, the real danger is that our elected federal representatives on both sides of the aisle will continue to follow their divisive, ineffective approach that has weakened our republic. The idea of governance that has emerged on both sides is characterized by name-calling, finger-pointing, mutual blaming, and a lack of accountability. This divisiveness continues as we see calls for impeachment, social media bans, a boycott of the inauguration, and the fence going up around the Capitol.

These must stop. Both parties are at fault for what happened at the Capitol and in our cities over the past year. It is time to move forward and bring the triad of the people, government, and our politicians closer together.

The Romans, under the concept of  Senātus Populusque Rōmānus, believed that all authority came from the people. People, in this sense, meant the whole government, and when this was not followed the Roman government failed. The further apart the people are from their government and elected officials the bigger problems.

Like many of you that follow SOFREP, I have experienced violence and behavior like this in many countries. We have risked our lives to stop it. To experience this in America is not good nor right. This is not the American way… we have to be better and come together as a nation.

To do better, I respectfully submit, that we must focus on promoting public service and a return to a government that exists for the common good. For the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people. Not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class.

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Our focus must be on the people and on a grassroots, bottom-up rallying of Americans that want elected officials to work for them. This must include being more inclusive, less divisive, and focused on real problems. We must talk to each other when we disagree, not avoid each other. We must develop unity by building trust, demonstrating understanding, and being respectful. Political parties, political hacks, biased media, and career politicians have got us into this very dangerous situation.

We live in a different time where corporation-owned media, misguided wealthy elites, career politicians, and special interests have corrupted the political system and process to the point where it no longer serves the best interests of the commonweal. We need leaders that are driven by their faith in God, a strong belief in Family, the importance of a stable community, and a commitment to a safe and secure Country.

We need change. We cannot continue to elect the same career politicians with the same ideas and approaches and expect a better outcome for our families, communities, and country.

Ronald Reagan, reminds us, “the greatest victories come when people dare to be great, when they summon their spirits to brave the unknown and go forward together to reach a greater good.”

This article was originally published on January 11, 2021.