The Bolduc Brief: What Do America and the World Need Now?

Introduction:

While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: this is the way; walk in it (Isaiah 30:21). This is God urging you on whenever you wander left or right; this is the right road; walk down this road.

You do not need to be told that America’s values and principles are being eroded from within. We are paying attention to the fact that we are deeply divided along political, social, geographic, and economic lines. As I wrote in an earlier post the abandonment of our values and principles of this great nation is a national security issue. The undermining of the vital principle of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has created a political system driven by political parties that operate at the expense of the people they claim to represent. The removal of God from the public square, the deterioration of the family and its significance to our culture, and the divisiveness now found in all our communities have weakened our great Country. Nothing is more important to this great nation’s success than a government that is run by the people supported by our belief in God, family, community, and Country.  

America is suffering a moral injury. America is in distress. A quote from The Walking Dead puts it in perspective, “We have a sh*t storm behind door A and a storm of sh*t behind door B.” Every measurable category indicates that American institutions suffer from a moral injury that debilitates our ability to live up to our values and principles. America’s moral compass is spinning and elected and appointed officials are the leading cause. As a result, America needs to be grounded, focused, and productive. As manifested in the behavior of our political leaders on both sides of the aisle, America’s behavior is incongruent

with the values in our founding documents. 

The betrayal of our values has created a new America incapable of maintaining unity. The idea of freedom and justice for all has been abandoned and replaced by misguided political parties and their quest for power, money, and entitlement. The enemy from within promotes “irrationality,” resulting in instability. This instability caused by career politicians through divisive political parties is causing all our problems. We no longer respond with care; we respond recklessly. We no longer use common sense, critical thinking, and truth; we use emotion, bias, and lies. We no longer value character and integrity; we default to power and money. To return to enacting our values and principles, we must become realists. We must be able to see things as they are and practically deal with them. We must have the courage and demand a return to the high standards of our values and principles. We must counter the narrative through awareness. We must develop an information operations plan that messages widely and consistently what is wrong and why it is wrong. Another quote from The Walking Dead puts things in perspective when we are involved in a crisis, “The pessimist looks down and hits his head. The optimist looks up and loses his footing. The realist looks forward and adjusts his path accordingly.” America has a history of only sometimes living up to the high standards of its values and principles. It also has a history of striving to meet them, taking bad and desperate situations, and making them suitable. How can we do this today to shape a better future for our children and grandchildren? Well, history gives us an example of this too.     

Recommendation:

The Civil War and the Gilded Age challenged America’s values and principles. Self-serving politicians and bureaucrats caused the nation’s problems then, and they are doing it now. More than at any other time in our Country’s history, we need a return to the values and principles of this great nation. We need our public servants to be dedicated to these values and principles.

Our Country must adopt a national narrative using the idea of “moral suasion” in public service. Most commonly used in economics, moral suasion is needed in public service. A widely accepted definition of being “moral” is conforming to a standard of what is right and good. Adding suasion to morals provides a complete action to urge people to do what is right and good.

I define moral suasion in public service as an appeal to morality to change or influence the behavior of public servants. The most common example is William Lloyd Garrison and his American Anti-Slavery Society to end slavery in the United States using moral suasion. The driving force behind moral suasion is the influence of people to ensure elected officials are accountable, responsible, transparent, and do the right thing.

America’s institutions are weaker than they have ever been. Economic prosperity continues

to get worse. Law and order are being undermined. Social issues are being used to create divisiveness and uncertainty in America. Out-of-control spending is threatening our nation’s existence. Our unsecured border is creating high crime, a drug crisis, a humanitarian crisis, and threatening the safety and security of America. Lying is more accepted than the truth. Accountability of our public servants is nonexistent. The responsibility of our public servants to uphold a sense of fairness, equality, justice, and duty has been replaced by a quest for power, money, and entitlement at the expense of those they are supposed to serve.

Today, More Americans believe their children and grandchildren will not have the same

opportunities they had. Americans are experiencing self-loathing perpetuating divisiveness, fear, and uncertainty empowering China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran to threaten our freedoms. We do not have the luxury of ignoring the loss of our moral compass. The idea of living our lives without paying attention to what the government is doing and allowing our elected officials to remain unaccountable for serving special interests, lobbyists, and the wealthy political elite at our expense must end. We can no longer accept the status quo. Either our elected officials change, or they must go. Re-electing them is not the answer. Sending the same people to Washington, DC, your State House, or the local government will not result in the needed change.    

Conclusion:

After 33 1/2 years of active-duty service in the military, I returned to my home state of New Hampshire only to witness the growing divides in this Country firsthand. After dedicating all that time to serving our nation under a solemn oath, I found that the “Live Free or Die” State drifted far from its foundational values and principles. Everywhere I went, there was divisiveness, fear, and uncertainty. It is not the same State I grew up in; the change is for the worse. Campaigning for the US Senate put things into perspective for me. I have had many conversations with Americans across the Country from all walks of life, and this sentiment is echoed everywhere.

Despite the precarious place we find our nation in now, I am hopeful that many on both sides of the political divide are waking up. If this is going to happen, we must dedicate ourselves to our nation’s values and principles in our founding documents. We must stop espousing our values and be committed to enacting them. We must be grounded, focused, and productive in fixing our moral compass. As stated earlier, we can no longer accept the status quo. Either our elected officials change, or they must go.

Donald C. Bolduc