Our founder saw today ... we must pay heed

September 25, 2022

Boundary County voters have a wonderful opportunity to heed our first president’s advice. George Washington warned us of political parties gaining too much power. He believed that political parties would divide and destroy the United States. He expressed his concerns in his 1796 Farewell Address. With the November 8 election just weeks away, this is an appropriate time to reflect on our first president’s words of warning.

After the part of his address that was a “retirement speech,” Washington goes on to stress the importance of people being united. He uses the phrase, “slight shades of difference” and combines this with “same”, “common”, “together”, and “joint efforts”.

He stresses that when all parts are combined, we have greater strength, greater resource, and greater security. As we reflect on our country’s history, we learned how acting as “united” states we have benefited from the geographical diversity and diversity of resources our country has been blessed with. For added emphasis, Washington identifies the connection between union and liberty. Being united supports liberty and love of liberty enables us to be united.

With that foundation, Washington goes on to address what he considers two of the greatest threats to the United States: foreign influence and political parties. He is not subtle when he describes the dangers of political parties which he refers to as “…a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community.”

After reading the central piece of his address, I wondered if President Washington had a vision of the politics in Idaho’s District 1. The following quotes were especially relevant to me:
  • “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.”
  •“… they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust domination.”
  • “It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”

George Washington warns us that it is up to us to exert control over political parties. He says, “…the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”

On November 8, voters have that opportunity to exert control. We can vote independent of party labels. We can cast aside the misleading messages and hateful labels.

We can exercise our independence and separate from those who are more concerned with “me” than with “we.”

We can vote for the independent candidates who are genuinely concerned about the issues “we the people” face and who support our north Idaho values.