The world needs more men who do not have a price at which they can be bought; who do not borrow from integrity to pay for expediency; who have their priorities straight and in proper order; whose handshake is an ironclad contract; who are not afraid of taking risks to advance what is right; and who are honest in small matters as they are in large ones.
The world needs more men whose ambitions are big enough to include others; who know how to win with grace and lose with dignity; who do not believe that shrewdness and cunning and ruthlessness are the three keys to success; who still have friends they made twenty years ago; who put principle and consistency above politics or personal advancement; and who are not afraid to go against the grain of popular opinion.
The world needs more men who do not forsake what is right just to get consensus because it makes them look good; who know how important it is to lead by example, not by barking orders; who would not have you do something they would not do themselves; who work to turn even the most adverse circumstances into opportunities to learn and improve; and who love even those who have done some injustice or unfairness to them.
Political leaders in Washington and most state capitals do not measure up to these common sense standards. Mr. Overton knew this and wrote about it in March 2002.
Mr. Smith IS in Washington
by Joseph P. Overton,
March 2002
I was invited to the White House last year to discuss how state-based research institutes like the Mackinac Center for Public Policy could work with Bush administration officials to advance meaningful reform. I was reminded of the encounter in recent weeks as President Bush called for tariffs on imported steel, signed the largest federal intervention in education in U.S. history, prepared to direct more federal subsidies to religious institutions, and released plans to take $100 million from hard-working American families and spend it on federal marriage instruction programs.
Now this may sound like a prelude to criticism of our president. After all, these measures are certainly contrary to the principles espoused by the Mackinac Center, and several even exceed the authority granted to Congress by the U.S. Constitution. But that would miss the point.
The problem is the good people Bush hired. This is the first time I have had so many personal friends and freedom-movement colleagues appointed to key positions within a presidential administration. And in the months since I sat in the Old Executive Office Building last year listening to them, I have been struck by the contrast. One day they were emphasizing that education is a state or local issue, the next day they were federally mandating the testing of every public school child in America. One day they were bemoaning $5 trillion worth of failed Great Society programs, the next day they were in the newspapers defending federal marriage instruction.
Too many people today continue to invest their lives and their money in the fanciful hope-call it the Frank Capra Theory-that someday Mr. Smith will go to Washington, end the corruption, and restore our liberties. I am here to say that I know Mr. Smith, he went to Washington, and he lost his soul. As thoughtful and well intentioned as he is, he was sucked into the vortex of political pragmatism and transformed into a welfare state apologist. He is now mocking those who believe in principled, limited government and helping perpetuate the debilitating modern myth that it is wise and right to take resources from our communities and send them to Washington.
I have turned down several opportunities to go to Washington for one simple reason: This is a bottom-up revolution. Working at the state and local levels, the Mackinac Center does the tough work of building a constituency of informed leaders who will one day change their communities, then their states, and ultimately their nation. If you are reading this and still dreaming about a Washington revolution, pull out the membership envelope and join us. Fighting for freedom closer to home may not be as glamorous, but it's real.
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