Hello again, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you again for tuning in to Freedom Screen. I am really appreciative of the fact that I'm able to do this podcast. And I know that I've said that on the first couple of episodes, but it is true, and I only wish that you could understand it from my perspective, and I think you would understand more deeply why I say it so often. In all actuality, I'm appreciative of the fact that I'm able to do this and that you are taking the time to listen. It means a lot to me, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to adequately express appreciation for what you were doing to make this possible. So thank you very much for that. Back in September of 2008, I had the thought that I should write a book. And so I mentioned it kind of in passing to my wife. And naturally, since she has always been so supportive of anything that I've ever wanted to do in terms of work, uh career, those kinds of things, it wasn't surprising then that she threw her wholehearted support uh behind this uh almost in passing comment by me that I wanted to write a book. So it was in the fall of 2008 that I began writing this book. I started with an outline and then went from there. Now, you might be wondering what credentials I had at the time to write this book. And unless you're a doctor or a dentist or some other profession where uh I'm going to be benefited by your expertise, I've not always been one that's really big on credentials. However, I decided that because I have an undergraduate degree in political science, that that would be a good place to start. And like other people, I am concerned about what happens in my country. I'm concerned about those that we elect who are supposed to represent us and the things that they do uh to earn that uh representation. And beyond that, it was just something that I wanted to do. I had always wanted to do it and didn't feel like the time was right, but at that time in the fall of 2008, the time uh seemed to be right uh for it. Please don't uh think that the reason I'm doing this now is for some plug to sell more copies of the book. That's not at all what I'm interested in at this point. I'm simply giving you a flavor for uh who I am and uh some of the things that I believe. Uh, because what I'm going to do today is I'm going to read several passages from the book. So begging your pardon, and I hope that you will uh indulge me at this point, because I guess the only other alternative is for you to stop the episode and go somewhere else, which obviously I don't want you to do that, so uh please uh stick around for a while. But I've taken several passages uh from the book, and it may seem random to you, and perhaps it is, but what I did do was take the time to take a look at what I was going to read from the book so that I could put it in some kind of flow so that it wouldn't just be a hodgepodge sort of mess, and so that it will be a little easier, hopefully, for each of you to follow what I'm saying, that there is some kind of a flow to it. The first one has to do with the qualifications to be president of the United States, and of course, this is taken from the Constitution, which says no person except a natural born citizen shall be eligible to the office of president, neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 35 years and been 14 years a resident within the United States. And this is what I say in the paragraph immediately following. Well, for starters, we're not accustomed to the kind of language that was used back in the 18th century when the Constitution was drafted. Notwithstanding, those who appreciate the Constitution realize that there are minimal qualifications required in order to be qualified to serve in either the legislative or executive branches of the government. This does not necessarily mean that just because you have a pulse and you meet the minimum standards prescribed, that serving in elected office is your destiny. As a nation, we need to be reasonably assured that those we elect have the determination to serve we the people. It's interesting to note that with each election cycle, we seem to have the same feelings, the same concerns, no matter who's uh on the ticket. In my next passage, I say this most Christians are familiar with the well-known phrase, wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. In other words, good seed will yield quality fruit, not a weed or a thistle. To me, this statement just uh simply refers to the fact that as citizens, we we want to be reasonably assured that the people that we elect to represent us have our best interest at heart. My next quote comes from the late Arlen Spector, who, insofar as I'm aware, spent most of his career in politics. He first started out as a Democrat and then in the mid-1960s became a Republican and then changed back to the Democrat Party back uh in 2009, I believe it was. Here's what I said Quote I do not want people like former Republican Senator Arlen Spector, whose defection to the Democrat Party resulted from a belief that his chances for reelection as a Republican, seemingly based on a poll, were extremely slim. As a matter of fact, Mr. Spector said, I am unwilling to have my twenty nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. Newsflash, Mr. Spector. That's how it's supposed to work. That's why we call it a representative republic. The people get to decide if you are doing the job they elected you to do. Isn't it interesting how that every election cycle we tend to hear the most laudatory points by candidates, and then after the election, whatever happened to all of those things that they promised they would either do or not do? I've been around to see quite a few elections, and nothing's really changed in the time that I started voting back in the early eighties. Though I will say, love him or hate him, Donald Trump definitely seemed to be more responsive to the promises that he had made, irrespective of his bluster and the other things that the media uh excoriated him on throughout his presidency. Next, I want to read a quote from a journalist named Maureen Dowd. Perhaps you have heard of her before, maybe you have not. In any event, this is something that she said uh just after the election of Barack Obama in 2008, and it's very clear to me how she gushes over that event. Quote, I saw a white-haired woman down the block from me running out to strike up a conversation with a black UPS delivery guy, asking him how he felt and what this meant to him. I was starting to feel guilty. Every time I passed a black patron at a downtown restaurant or a movie or the Kennedy Center, would perfect strangers want me to ask how they were feeling? Or was that condescending and were they sick to death of it? How would I know if I didn't ask them? I heard my cute black mailman talking in an excited voice outside my house Friday, so I decided to ask him how he was feeling about everything. The absolute amazement of the first black president. I eagerly swung my front door open and joined the mailman's conversation. Are you talking about the election? I said brightly. How do you feel? He shot me a look of bemused disdain as he walked away. I suddenly realized with embarrassment that he was on his Bluetooth, deep in a personal conversation that had nothing to do with Barack Obama. There's so much that was wrong with that statement by Maureen Dowd. It was dripping with condescension, it was patently stereotypical, and she felt the need to identify people based upon their outward appearance. At the time, to me, it was a clear example of how you shouldn't do something. And in many ways, unfortunately, there have not been a lot of things that have changed from that time back in 2008. Sad to say. Clarence Thomas wrote a book entitled My Grandfather's Son. I would like to read a passage from my book that's a quotation from Clarence Thomas's book, My Grandfather's Son. He said, In the years following Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, affirmative action, though it wasn't yet called that, had become a fact of life at American colleges and universities. And before long I realized that those blacks who benefited from it were being judged by a double standard. As much as it stung to be told that I'd done well in the seminary, despite my race, it was far worse to feel that I was now at Yale because of it. I sought to vanquish the perception that I was somehow inferior to my white classmates by obtaining special permission to carry more than the maximum number of credit hours by taking a rigorous curriculum of courses. How could anyone dare to doubt my abilities if I excelled in such demanding classes? But it was futile for me to suppose that I could escape the stigmatizing effects of racial preference, and I began to fear that I would be used forever after to discount my achievements. I don't care who we are, we all should do everything within our power to make sure that people aren't treated like Clarence Thomas during his time at Yale. It's just unacceptable in 21st century America. And please understand here that Clarence Thomas was infuriated not because he was at a prestigious university as a black man, but that he felt the need to have to take a more rigorous schedule than what was required by his white peers, as if getting into Yale wasn't enough? Well, this is what I had to say about it. Quote, we may never live in a society where greater harmony will prevail over disunity, but it does not mean that we stop working toward it. It is possible to move beyond a perpetual discussion about all the differences that exists among us and look instead for what we have in common. Doesn't it seem reasonable that that's how we should live? Being kind and treating others respectfully doesn't take a degree in rocket science or a degree from an Ivy League school. It just takes genuine effort. Here's another passage from my book. The outcome of our opportunities depends on what we do. That is the only thing we control. We often hear people talk about getting the brakes and being lucky when it comes to success, but the bottom line in life is that we cannot rely on the breaks or being lucky to succeed. One thing is certain, however, failure is the only guarantee anyone can be certain of, but there is no rule that says that is where you have to remain. Everyone has their own definition of the meaning of success, and I can almost guarantee that the overwhelming majority of people in America do not set their goals for success based on what they are told by a politician. I tend to say frequently that opportunities abound in America. If you're not where you want to be, stop making excuses and plan to move forward and overcome just like everybody else does. And if there's some reason why you're not being as successful as you'd like to be, and you feel as though you're not making excuses, then it might be time to go back and reevaluate the direction that you're going. It's sort of the process of life. The most important thing and the most important aspect about that is that we just don't give up. Never. And to sum up this section of the podcast, I had this to say in the book. Indeed, there is plenty of it to go around. End of quote. Plain and simple, our economic system is not a zero sum game. The vast majority of Americans really don't need politicians that much. What we need is for them to step aside and not be involved in the day-to-day actions of our lives, and all of us would do a whole lot better for sure. And on that note, quote, it is no secret that politicians today will say whatever they need to say to get elected. Politicians today talk about the sanctity of public service and about how noble it is to be involved in such an endeavor. But do you ever notice how they seem to be the only people who talk about public service in such noble terms? I do not doubt that public service is truly noble, but it would seem that if it were so noble, more of the rest of us would talk about it in equally glowing terminology. Close quote. The bottom line is that we all need to educate ourselves when it comes to not only politicians, but everything we do in our lives, whether that's the formal education that we receive and seek out or the things that we do on our own in an informal way to educate ourselves. And on that note, let me just say this quote: Our formal education is ultimately outweighed by the education that we get through a lifetime of investigation, inquiry, reading, pondering, and studying. In other words, applying ourselves. However, I cannot stress the importance of receiving formal education beyond high school in order to enhance the employment opportunities afterward. Personally, I did not realize the value of my own formal education until well into adulthood. And the reason for that rests squarely with me. I know many professionals in a variety of fields, and they may never know the profound respect I have for them because they understood the importance of committing to their personal formal education. They had a vision of where they wanted to be and they worked tirelessly to get to that point. And you'll notice when I talk about formal education, I don't necessarily mean the traditional route of four years at a university to obtain an undergraduate degree. That formal education can include a multitude of various things from a trade to anything that's outside of the traditional college degree. And that's actually the perfect segue to the next couple of paragraphs that I want to quote to you from the book. Quote, I want to re-emphasize some of the things that tend to destabilize our economy and lead to certain failure. One, unreasonably high tax rates, which lead to a lack of incentive to be productive. Two, government efforts to redistribute wealth that leads to less wealth creation. Three, too much governmental regulation and involvement, and four, unethical behavior at all levels of business and government. I have to believe that most Americans who work for a living recognize the principles that engender economic prosperity within their own families and that they know the way to get ahead is to live within their means. Saving and investing money for retirement, having some cash on hand for emergencies, being ethical while earning a living and transacting legitimate business with others are just a few easy ways to get and stay ahead. I do not think it is too much to ask that our government do the same thing that every individual and family in America is expected to do. Well, I've touched on some different topics today, that's for sure. But I hope you've found it interesting and somewhat entertaining. I want to conclude this episode with a quote from Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers number twenty three, which I include in the epilogue of the book. Every view we may take of the subject as candid inquirers after truth will serve to convince us that it is both unwise and dangerous to deny the federal government an unconfined authority as to all those objects which are entrusted to its management. It will indeed deserve the most vigilant and careful attention of the people to see that it be molded in such a manner as to admit of its being safely vested with the requisite powers. If any plan which has been or may be offered to our consideration, should not, upon a dispassionate inspection, be found to answer this description, it ought to be rejected. A government, the constitution of which renders it unfit to be trusted with all the powers which a free people ought to delegate to any government, would be an unsafe and improper depositary of the national interests. And not that I would speak for Alexander Hamilton, but in essence, what he's saying is we need to have trust in the people who have the power over our lives. And that's a very sobering thought to take in. And with that, we've come to the end of another episode, and I'm so glad and hope that you enjoyed this episode. And again, I took the time to read a lot from my book, but the reason I did this was so that you could get more of a glimpse into who I am and really what laid the foundations for this podcast. So here's my positive thought, which comes from none other than you guessed it, my book. And just as a little aside, you'll probably never, or maybe not never, but you'll most likely not hear me read another quote from my book in any podcast episode. Now, please don't be too harsh and hold me to that, but it will be my intent going forward. So here's the quote Freedom in a republic such as ours carries with it the necessity for personal responsibility and accountability. Reckless and irresponsible behavior must not continue to be rewarded in our form of government. Politicians must ever be vigilant to remember from whom they received their power to act. And the people must be equally vigilant in demanding that all politicians remain accountable for that power. And with that, if you can think it, you can plan it. If you can plan it, you can do it.