The PARTY of PRINCIPLE

Greetings,

            First I’d like to thank you for your interest and time involved with learning about my positions and motivations. My name is John William Faulkner the 4th, I’ve been a computer technician with Pass Christian School District, the #1 ranked district in Mississippi, five years and in that time I have made a reputation as young man that my forefathers would be proud of. When I started there my campus was drastically backed up with helpdesk requests but with hard work and determination as well as a friendly demeanor I was able to not only resolve all the issues but apply a level of interest with our faculty and students to apply technological concepts according to their educational perspectives while at the same time performing preventative maintenance to ensure our systems and resources are functioning properly in the long run. I do not believe in no-win scenarios, or saying “I can’t.” Anything is possible with the appropriate team just look at our district seizing the reigns and catapulting to the top of academia. We have also garnered national praise for essentially taking what little we had and making the most out of it which in my opinion is a key characteristic to my profession as a technological mediator, resourcefulness.

      After being with my district five years, seeing the portions of the internal mechanisms of our funding process first hand, and watching the news and behavior of our state legislature I believe we need new leadership at the highest ranks of our state government to repair the damaged system and lead Mississippi into a new golden age. Our minds and our hearts are currently under siege by those who hide under color of divinity I’ve nicknamed “Big Bible” after “Big Tobacco”, a group conspiring to brainwash youth into thinking and doing as they see fit through conformity regardless of the risks. Our governor has made abundantly clear once his mind is made up he will not deviate from his plan, this includes supporting charter schools which can potentially be backed by religious denominations with funds much needed for our public schools. I am not against religion, on the contrary I believe it’s a wonderful thing capable of helping those who’ve lost their path but its once the taint of greed and hatred from man spoils it it’s hard to separate the good aspects from the rotten.

      I’m an avid reader of news and all other information, I don’t believe any one source can properly and unbiasedly give all the facts required for creating an informed opinion which is why I read all available information and correlate my views according to the information that cannot be refuted by any other party without substantiated claims. I have followed the goings of our state legislature for quite some time, the mudslinging, the corruption at the heart of our judicial and executive branch of state government, and in Mississippi there is great strife currently as we consistently rank among the top 3 “Most corrupt states in America” as well as lowest “Quality of life” in the united states due to the “good ol’ boy” system rewarding loyalty to specific political parties instead of to the citizens of this wonderful state. Our state history while not pristine, is a testament to what is possible in this world. There are many of the youth ready to step up and take action but with no unifying force to rally their voices and thoughts we are an ensemble of conductors dreaming for the same venue to collaborate and perform upon… but alas those doors have remained closed to us for far too long.

    My goal is to help create a Mississippi all Mississippians regardless of personal choices or uncontrollable predispositions will take pride in. To refresh the attitude and atmosphere of authentic southern hospitality and personal liberty that is under constant attack by those who are so hopelessly disconnected from the citizens who elected them, they focus on their own agenda’s rather than the people plights. From an overview my concerns are:

• Animal Cruelty. Mississippi is the only state out of all 50 where animal cruelty is still a misdemeanor. I believe all of god’s creatures are special and should be taken care of so they can do what they were intended to from dogs that give us companion ship and protection to farm animals that are raised to provide for and nourish us. No person or animal should be subjected to needless torture or harm.

“The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.” – Mark Twain

• Clearly define the separation between church and state. This great country was built on religious freedom as our founding fathers initially left England because of the British crown’s overreaching grasp on the common man that was being reinforced by the church which was being influenced by the monarchy it was protecting. Faith is personal issue it varies from person to person, as such “organized religion” is in my opinion an oxymoron, a title that defeats the content and invariably has no place in creating policies that dictate freedom or liberty.

“Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person’s life, freedom of religion affects every individual. State churches that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make the clergy unresponsive to the people and leads to corruption within religion. Erecting the “wall of separation between church and state,” therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society. We have solved … the great and interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to the laws. And we have experienced the quiet as well as the comfort which results from leaving everyone to profess freely and openly those principles of religion which are the inductions of his own reason and the serious convictions of his own inquiries.”
- Thomas Jefferson

• Marriage is indisputably between 2 PEOPLE, gender is irrelevant. Traditions may have at one point dictated certain criteria but traditions are not bound just to a physical area they are bound to an era, a period of time where the masses all saw in the same fashion but now that time has passed and the mass has dwindled in comparison to the collection of voices raised in unity against discord and those who promote intolerance and hate under a guise of authority, divinity, or most despicably compassion. They hold us and the rest of the world back while we as a people struggle to move forward and away from those courting tyranny through subverted actions citing scriptures with a twisted perspective.

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world would do this, it would change the earth.”     – William Faulkner

 

• Educational funding is key. Mississippi has drastically underfunded education 3.5 Billion since the Mississippi Adequate Education Program was passed which obligated the state to fully fund education. The citizens have filed an initiative, #42, to force the state to clear the loopholes making them fund education but then the state legislators created 2 other competing revisions with cloudy language in an attempt to “pull one over” on the citizens while claiming initiative 42 was for pro common core, a blatant lie.

• Common core at its root concept is making sure a student going to college anywhere is ready for the task at hand, be it in Mississippi, New York, or anywhere else in the United States.  My district has been nationally accredited for their outstanding work, “dispelling the myth” that in a poverty stricken area a good education is impossible. For Jackson to tell the rest of the world Mississippi needs to lower our standards is their opinion alone and a horrible one at that, this coming from people who insure common sense is an uncommon commodity. I believe all school districts should be entitled to teach their prospective methods free of political or religious interference and FULLY funded. I don’t agree with certain portions of the act such as mandatory data collection on all students, but on students with issues performing, collecting and aggregating data can be a useful tool so long as it’s not needlessly imposed.

"What still haunts me is the huge unmet need in place after place, places like Mississippi, where they've (in reference to state legislators) never done anything before." – U.S. Education Secretary Arnie Duncan on fulfilling educational standards.

• Cannabis. Through research many states have determined that Cannabis has broad legitimate medicinal applications. State senator Deborah Dawkins has for the past 4 years tried to give Mississippians a choice in the matter of what medicine they want to use, an all-natural herbal remedy with no adverse reactions or substances that are man-made with complications or side effects often times worse than the symptoms. Each year Senator Dawkins’ bill is never voted on or brought before the committee it dies in each year all because of a single politician who sits as the committee chairman for years, never brings it forward for a vote or discussion, at what can only be fathomed as the directive of a superior despite the fact citizens are trying desperately to legalize it at the state level with Ballot Initiative 48 bypassing the existing legality of medicinal use because the people are tired of waiting for individuals corrupted by a group or interest to redevelop their sense of self. I agree with legalization but I would like to make it medicinally available first so everyone understands this is a medicine that helps people, but as all medicine it must be used properly under correct circumstances. Once people are adjusted to not stigmatizing the use they can decide if broad legalization is the path they wish to take.

“Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see.” – Thomas Jefferson

• 2nd Amendment grants us law abiding citizens the inalienable right to bear arms. A gun is a tool that with a skilled hand can put food on the table, keep shelter over our heads, and insure freedom from oppressors. In an amateurs hand or used improperly the risk of injury is significant. We must be encouraged to not only own our guns but regularly familiarize ourselves with them to prevent such instances.

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety and in the end loose both.” – Benjamin Franklin

            In closing I believe we are all capable of working together towards amazing goals, the only thing limiting us is ourselves. I apologize if I’ve been difficult to follow at times but it was my intention to educate. As someone with an understanding of history and literacy through various perspectives I feel a calling in my veins for speaking on behalf of those unable to compose or rationalize their concerns for others and those never given a chance to voice said concerns.

 

         William Faulkner and Earnest Hemmingway were bitter rivals, with Faulkner saying, “Hemmingway was never known to use a word that would send his reader to the dictionary.” To which Hemmingway responded, “Poor Faulkner, thinks big words invoke big emotions.” Hemmingway never factored the importance of words when given perspective such as contrasting what is morally right to a religious organization, and what is legally right to an individual. Alan Moore wrote, “Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.” We can succeed in working together to make sure Mississippi takes its spot among the top of the greatest places to live once more by addressing the needs of all our citizens and giving them the tools and encouragement to help make a positive mark on the world. Then when we say Mississippi is a great place to live for anybody of any race, religion, or preference it is not merely our opinion it is the truth.