Preface
This book came out of my two year run for the U.S. Senate seat for
the state of Iowa. Instead of losing all that I discovered in that
process by just closing that chapter of my life, I have instead
decided to morph all of the information and experiences into this book.
This book really starts 35 years ago in the rice paddies and
mountains of Vietnam where, while taking part in life’s most serious
endeavor as a combat Marine, I was forced to reconsider all that I
had been brought up to believe. Whether it was mythology, morals,
ethics, mores, who we are as a species, as a culture, as a society,
or as a member of our community, nothing was left unchallenged by
engaging in a life and death struggle with other human beings on a daily basis.
Politics, whether we like it or not, is the realm in which we as a
nation make our collective choices as to who we will be and what our
relation to others will be like.
There are three things we as humans must do to survive, both on an
individual and a national level. We must eat; therefore we must have
a national agricultural model. We must stay warm; ergo an energy
policy. And, we must get along with others; bringing about a need for
a national foreign policy.
The programs and policies laid out in this book are my attempt to
inform you of ways and means to think about these necessities from
perspectives that you might not be familiar with. I hope that what is
presented in this book will be of value to you in opening up new
avenues of thought for you to pursue in your participation in
creating and continuing our democracy.