Thursday, July 21, 2011

America First Pledge

I am envious of Grover Norquist. First he's named after a Sesame Street character, and how cool is that? Second he controls the votes of hundreds of legislators and through them has his fingers on the throat of America. And all because of a simple pledge he concocted in the 80’s.

The idea of tying politician’s hands by getting them to sign pledges is an appealing one, as the growing number of pledges attests. So I want to create my own pledge and get politicians to sign it as well. Here’s what I’m considering:

The America First Pledge

I,______________, pledge to my constituents and the American people that I will:

1. put the welfare of the United States and her citizens ahead of partisan bickering, political gerrymandering, and personal gain;

2. value empirically verifiable facts over political propaganda, rational discourse over politically expedient demagoguery, sound science over cultural bias, and well-documented facts over well-spun lies; and

3. uphold these two promises even at the cost of my status within my party, my party’s status within the nation, and my own reelection.

Signature: _________________________

Date: _________________________

Witness: _________________________

Witness: _________________________


If you like this pledge, let me know. If you want to tweak it to make it better (but not longer), post your suggestions in the comments section of this blog. And if you have any idea how to promote this pledge to make it as ubiquitous as Mr. Norquist’s, please share your wisdom.

5 comments:

Di said...

How can one possible improve on that? Perfection!

I think Congress should have to recite THAT pledge each morning instead of the Pledge of Allegiance (I mean what does that REALLY say anyway?)

Webmaster said...
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Webmaster said...

GREAT post and idea...However, we need a statement that reminds the politicians that EVERY citizen (not corporation) is important in every decision regardless of wealth or status. As it is written, "ALL men (and women) are created equal."

ShaneH said...

The problem comes with the statement about what is best for America and my constituients. It is a debateable and subjective topic.

Sandbur said...

I do not want my political representatives to be religious; I want them to be ethical.