What would happen if you removed politics from legislation? 

What if policy could be discussed without mention of party?

What would our cities, states, and country look like if we worked together on creating laws instead of using laws and public policy as verbal ammunition in a war to win our votes?

This is Freelance Legislator, and I’m your host, Nick Galieti.

The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.“ 

How do these words resonate with the current state of our country or the actions of our various levels of government? Do you feel that the government’s power comes from a consent of the governed? Or do you feel that the government, more often than not, acts upon its citizens, and treats your freedom as some to control rather than protect?

America was first established by the people, for the people, and of the people. As was stated by Ezra Taft Benson who was secretary of agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “This means, then, that the proper function of government is limited only to those spheres of activity within which the individual citizen has the right to act. By deriving its just powers from the governed, government becomes primarily a mechanism for defense against bodily harm, theft and involuntary servitude. It cannot claim the power to redistribute the wealth or force reluctant citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Government is created by man. No man possesses such power to delegate. The creature cannot exceed the creator.”

In a day where government is seen as a transactional service provider for everything from Food, to funding subsidies for billion dollar industries, would it seem that crazy to assert that American Citizens have an unhealthy relationship with their government? Could it be that as citizens, we have become addicted to government?

An old fable reads:

The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe. For the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was wood he was one of them.

The 2020 Presidential Election was scary, exciting, and contentious. But it also provided a microscope by which we are able to expose the many different infections in our collective thinking--infections that are slowly killing the ideals upon which this great country was founded. I, like many of you, have wondered what a private citizen can to do reduce if not eliminate the bickering, the blame game, the sheer volume of political punditry that pollutes our media and therefore the minds of so many into voting for this “axe” or that “axe.” I want to be involved beyond commenting on social media or yelling at the news about how dumb “the other” party’s politicians are.

“Why don’t you run for office?” Some may say. I have thought about it, and was even ready to hit “send” on my official paperwork to declare candidacy. But, in some ways, running for office is playing the political game. You have to play the game even if you want to change the game. It’s hard to run for office and not get the mud of the system all ov...