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Keepers of the Flame
Mark A. Goldman                                                                    Dated:  7/24/08

The Constitution of the United States is America’s founding document. The principles embodied in it, conceived by our Founders, are the heart and soul of our republic. The Constitution is our eternal flame which each of us has pledged to keep alive. Should the flame die, so do we as a people… for what binds us together is our commitment to our principles and our love for one another. That love is expressed by our willingness even to die if necessary so that our neighbors, friends and family might continue to live in freedom under a just rule of law.

Every few years, we choose among ourselves (which is to say, 300,000,000 of us), only 537 representatives who we deem worthy to be primary keepers of the flame: a President, a Vice- President, 435 Members of the House of Representatives, and 100 Senators. We don’t fill every position every election cycle, but eventually all must stand before the larger community in order that the People might decide who will have the honor and burden of fulfilling a sacred duty.

During an election year, citizens who feel that they are able and willing to honorably execute the responsibilities of public office… announce their candidacy. It is common for candidates to make promises and outline their views on a broad range of topics so that the electorate might get a sense of who they are, how they think, and how competent they might be to meet the challenges they are likely to face if elected to office. Finally the electorate chooses which of the available candidates they think will best represent them.

Despite promises any candidate might make, the Constitution itself asks that citizens consider one qualification to be supreme among all others: that he or she must first and foremost be capable of keeping his or her word… to faithfully preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States against degradation or attack from any source, foreign or domestic. That’s why no elected official is allowed to serve without first taking an oath that they will faithfully preserve and protect the Constitution.

We are a government of, by, and for the People. We elect representatives, which is to say we delegate authority to them, to carry out a sacred trust— keeping our treasured document secure. If representatives refuse or falter in carrying out that duty, it is our obligation to take back that authority, and to once again secure the nation’s treasure for ourselves and our posterity as we see fit.

I say to you now… our representatives have refused… they have faltered… they have failed … to honor the oath of which I speak. But we must not fail. We are the People—the last line of defense—the true keepers of the Flame. We must stand up once again to secure our nation’s treasure. It is up to us to do it, for there is no one else left to do it but us.

My name is Mark A. Goldman. My web site is www.gpln.com.  I am a candidate for Congress, seeking to represent the people in the 7th District of Washington State in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Vote for me, so together we might keep the flame alive. 

 

 

 

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