America needs to say what it means and mean what it says...

Second in a series: What America REALLY needs.

Americans need to say what they mean and mean what they say.A person is only as good as their word. We need to realize not only the truth, but the gravity of that statement. If people cannot depend on what you say as being true or what you promise coming to fruition, then everything else you do is of little consequence. This concept begins, as all things grassroots begin, with the individual, with me. In the past, I have broken promises which in turn broke my heart. I have very painfully learned the importance of not only keeping my word, but of being less free with giving my word.

There are two types of broken promises: promises you never intended to keep and promises you were probably never able to keep. The former is obviously the more diabolical and more pertinent within the scope of government and politics, as well as many areas of the private sector, but a genuine danger lies in the latter, too. It is important that we never underestimate the damage done by making a promise we cannot keep.

The dictionary defines integrity as “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” A collection of very adult words, but a concept that even children understand, or at least used to understand. We used another phrase in my childhood. “Shake on it”, we would say, and that handshake, in and of itself, created a contract. On occasion someone would go back on their word - usually the same kid who would welsh on a bet – but in most cases the contract was sealed with that simple gesture. In the same era, however, I would sit in front of the TV with my father and watch handshakes at Camp David and on Capitol Hill that amounted to nothing more than photo ops.

Fast forward thirty years and you find a society where it is acceptable if not encouraged to break your contracts, to modify if not walk away from your mortgage and other debt obligations. After all, “times are tough.” It is not surprising that this behavior is being perpetuated by the government, which has been making and breaking promises for as long as we can remember. America has become an “easy way is the only way” nation, and it is far easier to see the short-term economic benefits than it is to see the long-term detrimental effect on our moral fiber.

Motive is a major consideration, whether looking at acts of good or acts of evil. A complete evaluation of an action taken by a person or entity must include the motive driving the act. In the case of broken promises, however, motive loses relevance. Whether or not you intended to fulfill the terms of your mortage, once you walk away or short sell or even modify, your word is no longer good to anyone, as is reflected in your credit report.

There are many naïve Americans who assume that someday they will receive Social Security, Medicare and perhaps Medicaid benefits. Even though they don’t fully comprehend these programs, they are depending on them and frankly, a portion of them will simply not receive them. Whether or not the persons involved in setting government policy over the past decades really, really wanted to keep these promises or never intended to keep them will not be a concern to those people. Even a noble promise broken is still broken.

The social welfare programs of the federal government are a massive collection of broken or soon to be broken promises. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid - unfunded liabilities exceeding $110 trillion dollars. Add to that number the projected cost of Obamacare (if it withstands challenges in the courts) and the number is… well, irrelevant. You see, it isn’t really about the numbers, it’s about the principle. If the current promises cannot be kept, the situation can’t make it better by replacing them with new, more grandiose promises, especially when each of these promises requires the “buy in” of each citizen. The person on the other end of the handshake is not of consequence, either. Whether it’s George W. Bush, who with known Medicare funding issues added prescription coverage with the introduction of Part D, or whether it’s Barack Obama staring at a $100 trillion plus funding shortfall for current government promises and offering free health care for everyone. Different mouths, same lies. More promises we cannot keep, more false sense of security for the naïve. Again, it is important that we never underestimate the damage done by making a promise we cannot keep.

America and Americans need fewer promises, promises we know we can keep and are committed to keep. We need fewer social contracts, fewer treaties. Instead of promising, let’s simply try. If it is genuinely our best effort, then let that be our handshake. At the same time, let us have the humility to say that we cannot predict the future, we cannot remedy every economic or environmental situation, we cannot (and probably should not) arbitrate or even mediate every global dispute. We are the greatest nation on Earth, but at the end of the day that greatest nation is just a group of people making the best of whatever situation arises. We will remain great to the extent that individuals are willing, able and most importantly allowed to address their local and even individual challenges. We will remain great as long as individuals, incentivized to succeed and obstructed by the strangling layers of government bureaucracy, are able to flourish and through their success and prosperity, provide for a stronger, richer society. We don’t need promises that things will work out. We need the freedom to make them work out, and we need to revert back to being people of our word, to the handshake as an ironclad contract.