I keep thinking about September 12, 2001.
In the days following the attacks of September 11, something remarkable happened across America. For a brief moment, many of the political, ideological, and cultural differences that normally divided us seemed to fade into the background. We stood together—not because we agreed on everything, but because we understood that we were Americans first.
I know we cannot simply recreate that moment, nor should we romanticize a time marked by tremendous loss and tragedy. But there was something important about what happened afterward: Americans remembered that we had more in common than we sometimes realized.
I believe we can find that common ground again.
Division Is Not New
Political disagreement is not a modern invention.
From the founding of our nation, Americans have disagreed—sometimes passionately—about government, economics, individual rights, federal power, foreign policy, and the direction of the country.
The founders themselves disagreed.
Federalists and Anti-Federalists argued fiercely over the Constitution. Political parties emerged almost immediately. Throughout our history, Americans have faced enormous disagreements over slavery, civil rights, economic policy, war, taxation, and the proper role of government.
Yet disagreement did not always mean permanent division.
Our differences can be part of the political process. The problem comes when political disagreement becomes hatred, when political opponents become enemies, and when winning becomes more important than governing.
Over the past several decades—and particularly during the last six or seven years—it seems that division has intensified. Political identity has increasingly become part of how people define themselves and how they view their fellow Americans.
We have allowed political labels to become walls.
We shouldn’t.
What Do We Actually Have in Common?
Before we are Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, libertarians, or anything else, we are Americans.
And as Americans, we share something fundamental: rights.
The rights protected by the Constitution do not belong only to people who vote a certain way. They do not belong only to those who agree with the president. They do not belong only to members of Congress, political parties, corporations, wealthy individuals, or political activists.
They belong to the people.
Our rights do not come from whoever happens to occupy the White House.
They do not come from Congress.
They do not come from a political party.
Government does not create the fundamental rights of the people. The Constitution establishes limits on government and protects individual liberties from government infringement.
That distinction matters.
If our rights depend upon who wins an election, then they are not truly rights. They become political privileges—something that can be granted, withdrawn, or manipulated by whoever happens to hold power.
That is not the America our Constitution established.
The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, religion, the press, assembly, and petition. The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms. The Fourth protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fifth protects due process and other fundamental protections. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection and due process.
These protections belong to Americans regardless of political affiliation.
If we truly understand that, perhaps we can begin rebuilding some of the common ground we have lost.
Elections Should Be About the People
Our elections have increasingly become personality contests and mud-slinging competitions.
Too often, campaigns seem more focused on defeating the other candidate than explaining what the candidate intends to accomplish.
We hear promises designed to win votes. We see attack advertisements designed to create fear or anger. We are encouraged to view the other side as the enemy.
But elections should be about something much more important:
The people.
As a candidate, I believe the voice of the people should carry far more weight than political strategy.
Representatives should listen to the people they seek to represent. They should understand the concerns of their communities and take those concerns with them to Washington.
That does not mean an elected official should blindly follow every opinion or poll.
Representative government requires judgment.
But there is a fundamental difference between exercising judgment on behalf of the people and believing that you know better than the people you were elected to serve.
Elected Officials Are Public Servants
There is another idea we need to recover: elected officials are servants of the people.
They are not royalty.
They are not rulers.
They are not supposed to be our masters.
They are public servants.
Unfortunately, we have increasingly been conditioned to think of elected officials as leaders who know best and therefore do not need our input.
That reverses the proper relationship between government and the governed.
The government exists to serve the people—not the other way around.
The Constitution begins with three words that should constantly remind those in government where their authority comes from:
“We the People.”
Not “We the Politicians.”
Not “We the Lobbyists.”
Not “We the Corporations.”
Not “We the Wealthy.”
We the People.
Every American.
The Backbone of America
I believe the backbone of this nation is the ordinary American.
It is the factory worker who gets up before sunrise.
It is the farmer who works the land.
It is the small-business owner who risks everything to build something.
It is the teacher educating the next generation.
It is the nurse caring for patients.
It is the police officer, firefighter, tradesman, truck driver, service member, waitress, mechanic, engineer, parent, student, retiree, and countless others who keep this country moving every day.
America does not belong to an elite class.
It does not belong to corporations.
It does not belong to politicians.
It belongs to the American people.
And that means government should be accountable to those people.
We Don’t Have to Agree on Everything
Unity does not mean uniformity.
We are never going to agree on everything—and we shouldn’t.
A free nation is supposed to contain disagreement.
The question is whether we can disagree without treating one another as enemies.
Can a conservative respect a liberal?
Can a liberal respect a conservative?
Can an independent disagree with both major parties without being treated as an enemy of either?
Can we debate issues without attacking the character of everyone who disagrees with us?
Can we defend the constitutional rights of people whose opinions we strongly dislike?
I believe we can.
In fact, I believe we must.
The strength of America has never been that we all think alike. Our strength comes from the ability of people with different beliefs, backgrounds, and perspectives to live under the same Constitution and peacefully work through our disagreements.
A Different Kind of Politics
As a candidate, I don’t want to run simply against another person.
I want to run for something.
For constitutional government.
For individual liberty.
For responsible government.
For the principle that elected officials work for the people.
For the idea that political power should never become more important than the rights of the people.
And ultimately, for an America where citizens once again understand that they have more in common than the political establishment often tells them they do.
I want to serve my fellow Americans because I believe the people—not the political class—should be at the center of our government.
That means all Americans.
Not just those who agree with me.
Not just those who vote for me.
Not just conservatives.
Not just independents.
Not just liberals.
All Americans.
We the People
Perhaps the most important thing we can do is remember who “we” are.
We are not two Americas.
We are not red America and blue America.
We are Americans.
We can argue.
We can debate.
We can disagree.
We can vote for different candidates.
We can hold radically different political philosophies.
And still recognize that the person standing across the political aisle is our fellow citizen—not our enemy.
The Constitution gives us a framework for doing exactly that.
It begins with “We the People.”
Those words are not merely an opening phrase.
They are a reminder.
Government derives its legitimacy from the people. Elected officials are entrusted with public power for the purpose of serving the public. And our fundamental liberties are not gifts handed down by those in power.
They are rights.
Our challenge is not to eliminate our differences.
Our challenge is to remember what binds us together despite them.
I believe America can do that again.
But it starts with each of us remembering that before we are members of a political party, before we are supporters of a candidate, and before we are participants in an ideological battle, we are Americans.
And our government should never forget the three words that tell it exactly who it serves:
We the People.