Did you know that EVERY important decision in America is made by 545 individuals?  There are 316 Million Americans and essentially every aspect of our lives is impacted and controlled by 545 individuals who have been given the power to set, interpret, and enforce the laws of our land?  There is one President, nine Supreme Court Justices, 100 Senators, and 435 Representatives.  They are directly responsible for the direction our country heads day by day, week by week, and year by year.  For me that is a scary thought that so few people have been entrusted with so much power to directly impact mine and my family’s lives.

With tomorrow being election day that reality is something I have thought about more and more.  I am a concerned citizen like so many others I know.  I see the decisions the politicians in Washington DC make and I shake my head in disbelief.  I am not trying to make a political statement and I am not going to endorse any candidates or proposed amendments.  Regardless of our political beliefs I am certain we could all agree that there are many concerning things going on in our country today.  We are losing constitutionally protected liberties one at a time, our national debt is mind boggling, and there are several societal problems as a result of the family unit being attacked.

I do not blame the republicans, democrats, or libertarians.  I blame myself and my fellow countrymen.  We have allowed our nation to get to this point.  I think one of the most important truths we must accept is we are responsible and we have control over the path our country continues to head down.  I encourage you

I am seeing more and more Americans arriving at the conclusion of, “It doesn’t really matter what I do.”  This is a very dangerous place for any of us to arrive.  That is a lie we have been fed for too long.

Every civilization throughout history has followed something known as the Tytler Cycle.  If we observe the Tytler cycle below we can see that apathy comes right before dependence and bondage.  We are not there yet, but we are dangerously close.

Did you know that every presidential election in the past 30 years has been decided by LESS THAN 10 million votes?  Did you also know that in each presidential election the past 30 years there have been at least 100 million Americans of voting age WHO DID NOT VOTE?  Every single election could have had a different outcome IF we as a collective people simply exercised our constitutional rights to vote.  At this moment in time we still have a say in how our government is run and we have a responsibility to use our voting power wisely.

Now I am not going to tell you who to vote for.  That is not my place, but I would like to encourage you to consider a standard you use to determine who you vote for.  We all have different political views and often times we seek out opinions and arguments that support our views.  I would like to suggest a different method to determine who we vote for going forward instead of just voting down party lines.

In Andy Andrews’s book, How Do You Kill 11 Million People?: Why the Truth Matters More Than You Think, Andy tells the story of HOW the holocaust was really allowed to happen.  I strongly encourage you to watch the six minute video below to gain a better understanding.  Essentially it was because the Nazi party had an established policy of lying and the German people allowed themselves to be ruled by liars.  With that understanding I would like to suggest the minimum standard we should hold ourselves to is to require our leaders to TELL THE TRUTH.

In 2014 it is very easy to look up and determine if a politician tells the truth or not.  With the help of Google we can research what an elected official has campaigned on and what his or her voting record is.  If what they say and what they do is not in alignment that should be a major cause for concern.  Lying is a habit.  We cannot expect a liar to make a wise decision in hard times.  My prayer for our nation is that we would once again become a people who demand integrity from ourselves AND our leaders.

Maybe you are thinking, “That sounds great, but what is true?”  That is a great question.  I again will not tell you what is and is not true.  I simply encourage you to set down the path of seeking truth and requiring truth from yourself as well as our elected officials.

If you seek truth you WILL find it.  This is not the answer, but it is the starting point.  I encourage you to join me on this journey.  We have the power to change our nation for the better.  Our decisions and our actions we take today will affect future generations.

Question: Have you ever voted for someone you knew had a history of lying?  If so, why did you do that?  Comment below