We are facing four major crises in our nation: 1) a Heart Crisis; 2) a Leadership Crisis: 3) an Identity Crisis; and 4) a Responsibility Crisis. We must experience a massive cultural transformation of heart ("heartquake") in order to have any real political change in America.

Heart Crisis

Our current political dialogue offers surface solutions without addressing Real Issues. Our Real Issues are the root problems behind our visible political "issues," and these root problems are essentially "matters of the heart"... things like arrogance, fear, greed, apathy, judgment, etc.

Most of our so-called political "issues" are actually only symptoms of our real issues (i.e., current mortgage crisis is actually the result of greed in financial markets and lending practices ... current political system dysfunction is prolonged and maintained by apathy and cynicism in much of the voting citizenry ... excessive cultural divisiveness is perpetuated by strong, personal judgments of others oftentimes held with hypocritical fervor ... health care crisis exacerbated by the strategic promotion of fears of potential illness and death, and by the greed of certain individuals in the health care industry who have a vested financial interest in maintaining our sicknesses and our dependence upon pharmaceutical drugs and certain types of expensive health care).

One of our greatest crises of heart is our national arrogance. This prevents us from acknowledging how dysfunctional we really are, forces us to continue living in denial of the seriousness of our problems, and blinds us to the solutions that are present all around us in the world.

Until we address matters of the heart effectively, we will never have any real political change in America, only a change of faces. Many will say it is naïve to think that we can ever address "matters of the heart," but our campaign will demonstrate how feasible and realistic it really is with proper leadership.

There is a pervasive form of moralism that has divided our nation by elevating morality (what and who is right and wrong) above love and concern for our fellow Americans. There is nothing inherently wrong with asking moral questions or in attempting to maintain a moral rather than immoral social order, but we have made idols out of social and political morals to the point that we have destroyed national compassion and unity.

Leadership Crisis

We are in a crucial "Moment of Destiny" right now in America, and therefore we will be navigating in very turbulent, uncharted waters where we have never been before. Great change is happening at a rapid rate all around us, and any attempts to preserve the existing political status quo are not only futile but also dangerously counterproductive. America is being forced to make very conscious and strategic decisions that will shape our destiny as a nation for generations to come.

"Moments of Destiny" require "Leaders of Destiny" (like our Founding Fathers) who are visionaries that have not been inoculated or indoctrinated by current systems of thinking. These emerging leaders are cultural "seers" who catapult society beyond the hopelessness and entrenchment and of the political status quo to forge a fresh, practical paradigm for living in a new world.

Our current bipartisan political system creates savvy career politicians and political managers who control the functions of government, rather than true statesmen who inspire, lead, and empower The People.

Identity Crisis

Many Americans no longer possess the knowledge and appreciation of the historical foundations of our nation, and therefore we have lost a collective sense of our unique national origins and "where we came from."

Due to an onslaught of political correctness over the last few decades, we have become so preoccupied with accommodating everyone's beliefs, traditions and national origins that we have forgotten "who we are" as a nation, and are lost in a national identity crisis.

National political parties have dominated the political stage and controlled political debate in America by promoting their own narrow political agendas and by engaging in strategic political warfare. The People's needs have been largely ignored and lost in this political fray, and as a result there is no inspiring, believable vision to take us into the future.

Responsibility Crisis

We need to restore and nurture a culture of Personal Responsibility again in our nation. In recent years Americans have been taught to demand and scream about their "rights" without any recognition or acknowledgement of their associated responsibilities. As a result, we have created an entitlement culture where many have been taught to believe that the government "owes them" a good life. This "you owe me" mentality is a social cancer that prevents people from taking personal responsibility for their lives, from actively co-participating with government to solve problems, and from nurturing a thankful spirit for governmental assistance when it is provided.

Only when we develop a culture with a strong sense of personal responsibility (like that of early America) will we be able as a nation to find the appropriate and effective synergy between personal responsibility and collective (governmental) responsibility.

It is the personal responsibility of every American, not just our elected officials, to take an active part in the transformation and reformation of our social and political systems. It is easy to blame the politicians and lobbyists in Washington, but the truth is that We The People have allowed them to usurp our collective power and control our nation. As we all reassert our personal responsibility for the collective good of the nation, much of the existing political abuse and dysfunction will disappear.

We need to specially focus upon helping the poor, needy, and underprivileged in meaningful, new ways in our nation. The federal government currently offers them financial assistance and a lifetime of dependence, but no real hope for rising above their current circumstances to achieve and unlock their hopes and dreams. We must find innovative ways to personally encourage and practically assist them in taking personal responsibility for improving their lives so that they can rise above all the obstacles that hinder them and hold them back.

HeartQuake '08

We need a massive cultural "heartquake" of significant magnitude to break through the entrenchment, dysfunction, and superficiality of our culture in order to address our real issues effectively.

Only if we have a major cultural heartquake is there any real hope for America. If we experience a significant national heartquake, then we can begin to make true political and social change and progress, and the practical solutions and policy details will follow. As Albert Einstein so aptly put it, "I want to know God's thoughts; the rest is details."

Heartquake '08 will become one of the most refreshing and profound political transformations in America since the historic days of our Founding Fathers.

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