“One man of courage makes a majority.”- Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States
President Jackson, born in 1767, was a little young around the time of our American Revolution. Had he been older he may have used that quote to describe our 1st U.S. President, George Washington.
Thanks to General Washington and our history of brave U.S. soldiers, we actually have an Independence to celebrate. We are all Americans first. Today and on November 6th, we can all be “George Washingtons.”
George Washington, can be called many things:
- Father of our nation
- Our first Commander-in-Chief and President (in that order)
- Namesake of our U.S. Capital and most famous monument
Yes George Washington, father of our nation, was once an Independent from Virginia facing overwhelming odds. Courage, especially then, was required. Had Washington failed it would have meant certain death and perhaps more importantly, death of the ideals that made this land a country: love, liberty and leadership. 236 years later we are still a country founded upon those ideals but as he warned in his farewell address, we must restrain the powers of political party:
“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.
Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”
- George Washington, 1st President of the United States (1796, Farewell Address)
No one even speaks like that anymore. What Washington and others of that day fought for was not party, but purpose. Our generation also has that sense of purpose because the ideals of our country are always being challenged. Sometimes the challenge comes from across the ocean, sometimes on land from within our borders and sometimes from ourselves. Today our challenge must come from within. What will we do to support the purpose of our country?
WE’RE THE ONLY “AMERICA”
June 12th of this year was significant for our campaign. It was the day I dropped off over 1,800 signatures to qualify for Virginia’s ballot as an Independent. Later that evening I went to Sherwood Library in Alexandria to attend Citizenship 1o1: Becoming a U.S. Citizen. The event was sponsored by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Amongst the room full of immigrants who would choose to become American, were materials of all sorts to guide them along their paths. Flash cards, applications, practice tests and even flags; all set forth to help inspire and educate people willing to work for U.S. citizenship. That my citizenship was either fate or a fortunate accident of birth was clear that day. I did not have to take a test, prove my fluency in English or “..Show a willingness to defend the U.S. Constitution and the laws of the United States.” I just had to be born.
There are so many people, so willing, to go through great lengths to become a member of our citizen fellowship. We have proven for 236 years that our struggle for Independence was worth it. What we have left to prove is our willingness to continue that struggle.
RUNNING AS AN INDEPENDENT
As is often the case every four years, we are at crossroads in American history. Our country’s biggest challenge among many, is the slow growth of our economy. The source of that and other challenges is very clear: persistent, partisan, politics. We have trained our current and would be politicians to rely on the tribes and factions that George Washington warned us about. We now are the people that must give them courage to turn away from partisanship and follow their hearts back to citizenship.
On November 6th, you will have the opportunity to elect perhaps the only Independent into the U.S. House of Representatives. On that day, we will carve our initials into the wall of history. We will rally our country and her politicians to focus on the love, liberty and leadership of the United States. Through the courage and the conviction of the actions you take from today through that day, we will have become rightful heirs to the “independence” we are once again celebrating.
Happy 4th fellow “George Washingtons.” And God Bless the United States of America.
ABOUT JASON HOWELL
Jason Howell is an Independent candidate for Congress. He has lived in Northern Virginia for 25 years, worked in mostly accounting and finance for nearly 20 years and has spent 0 years as a politician. He is running to represent Virginia’s 8th Congressional district as a fiscally responsible and socially reasonable elected official. Virginia’s 8th District covers all of Arlington County, City of Alexandria, City of Falls Church, Fort Belvoir, Lorton and parts of Fairfax County. For more, and to contact Jason, see www.VoteJasonHowell.com