Five Things

John Eagleton | The Truth Party

You know, I’ve been doing something pretty interesting over the past several months.

I’ve been talking to strangers.

Hundreds of them.

Young people. Old people. Rich people. Poor people. Black people. White people. Republicans. Democrats. Independents.

People from all walks of life.

And I’ve been asking questions.

Not telling them what I think.

Not trying to convince them of anything.

Just listening.

And you know what?

I’ve come to a pretty remarkable conclusion.

Everybody wants basically the same five things out of life.

Five!

That’s it!

And they’re not complicated.

Number one.

People want a place to live.

Not a mansion.

Not a vacation home in the Bahamas.

Just a decent, safe, affordable place to call home.

Somewhere they can close the door at night and feel comfortable.

Somewhere they can raise their children.

Somewhere they can build a life.

Is that really too much to ask?

Number two.

People want to feel safe.

They want to walk down the street without being afraid.

They want their children to play outside.

They want to go downtown, visit a park, or walk to a restaurant without worrying about their safety.

They want safe neighborhoods.

Safe schools.

Safe communities.

That’s not a Republican idea.

That’s not a Democratic idea.

That’s a HUMAN idea.

Number three.

People want an education.

They want their children to have opportunities.

They want schools that actually teach.

They want teachers who are respected and supported.

And they want education to be available throughout their lives.

Because learning shouldn’t stop when you graduate from high school or college.

I’m 69 years old, and I’m still learning something new every single day!

Hell, I’m probably learning more now than I did when I was 25!

And that’s the beauty of being alive.

Number four.

People want healthcare.

Think about that.

Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “You know what? I think I’d like to get cancer today!”

Nobody chooses to have a heart attack.

Nobody chooses to have a child born with a serious illness.

But these things happen.

They’re part of being human.

And when they happen, people want to know they can get medical care.

Without losing their homes.

Without bankrupting their families.

Without having to choose between getting treatment and paying the electric bill.

I’ve been through cancer myself.

I know how important good medical care is.

And I know that when you’re fighting for your life, the last thing you need is another financial crisis.

And finally, number five.

People want to provide for their families.

They want to work.

They want to earn a decent living.

They want to put food on the table.

They want to buy their kids a birthday present.

They want to take a vacation once in a while.

Maybe save a little money.

Maybe retire someday.

They don’t necessarily want to be millionaires.

They just want a fair opportunity to build a decent life.

That’s it.

Five things.

Housing.

Safety.

Education.

Healthcare.

And economic security.

NOW TELL ME SOMETHING.

Why in the hell have we made this so complicated?

Seriously!

We’ve got Republicans.

We’ve got Democrats.

We’ve got conservatives.

We’ve got liberals.

We’ve got socialists.

We’ve got capitalists.

We’ve got people arguing about the left, the right, the center, and everything in between.

And while everybody’s arguing about political philosophy, millions of Americans are trying to figure out how to pay their rent!

Something about that doesn’t make sense to me.

Now, I understand that solving these problems isn’t easy.

Housing costs money.

Schools cost money.

Healthcare costs money.

Public safety costs money.

And we’ve got to figure out how to pay for all of it.

I get that.

But shouldn’t we at least agree on what we’re trying to accomplish?

Shouldn’t we start there?

Because here’s what I’ve discovered talking to strangers.

When you get past the labels, people aren’t nearly as different as we think they are.

I’ve talked to people whose politics are completely different from mine.

People whose backgrounds are different.

People whose experiences are different.

And when you start peeling back those layers, something fascinating happens.

You discover a human being.

A person with hopes.

A person with fears.

A person with dreams.

A person who wants their children to have a better life.

And suddenly, all those labels don’t seem nearly as important.

That’s the magic of talking to strangers.

You stop seeing categories.

You start seeing people.

And that brings me to something I’ve been thinking about.

What if we approached government differently?

What if, instead of starting with political ideology, we started with those five basic human needs?

Imagine sitting down with your city council.

Or your state legislature.

Or Congress.

And saying:

“Okay, folks. We’ve got five things we’re trying to accomplish.”

We want people to have affordable housing.

We want safe communities.

We want excellent education.

We want accessible healthcare.

And we want an economy where people can support their families.

Now, how do we get there?

What works?

What doesn’t?

What can we afford?

What needs to change?

And most importantly…

HOW DO WE MEASURE WHETHER WE’RE SUCCEEDING?

Because that’s something else that bothers me.

We spend billions of dollars on programs.

We create departments.

We hire consultants.

We hold meetings.

We commission studies.

And then we hold more meetings to discuss the studies!

Good Lord!

At some point, shouldn’t somebody ask whether people’s lives are actually getting better?

Are more people able to afford homes?

Are neighborhoods becoming safer?

Are children learning?

Are people getting the medical care they need?

Are working families getting ahead?

Those are measurable questions.

And those are the questions I want government answering.

Now, I’m not suggesting everybody is going to agree on how to accomplish these things.

Of course not.

We’re human beings!

We can’t even agree on what toppings belong on a pizza!

But we ought to be able to agree on the destination, even if we disagree about which road to take.

And I think that’s where we’ve gone wrong.

We’ve become so obsessed with winning political arguments that we’ve forgotten what the arguments are supposed to be about.

People.

Real people.

With real lives.

Real problems.

And real dreams.

You know, at 69 years old, I’ve come to appreciate something.

Life is actually pretty simple.

We humans are the ones who make it complicated.

We create these elaborate systems.

We build institutions.

We invent political labels.

We divide ourselves into competing tribes.

And somewhere along the way, we forget that the person standing across from us wants pretty much the same things we do.

A home.

Safety.

An education.

Healthcare.

And the ability to provide for the people they love.

That’s not some radical political philosophy.

That’s everyday life.

And here’s what I want to leave you with.

The next time you’re talking to somebody whose politics you disagree with, try something different.

Don’t ask them who they voted for.

Don’t ask them whether they’re liberal or conservative.

Ask them what they want for their family.

Ask them what they’re worried about.

Ask them what would make their life better.

And then listen.

Really listen.

Because you might discover something.

You’ve got a whole lot more in common than you ever imagined.

Five things.

Seven words.

Housing. Safety. Education. Healthcare. Economic security.

Maybe it’s time we stopped making everything so damn complicated.

And started figuring out how to make those five things work for everybody.

I’m John Eagleton.

This is the Truth Party.

And we’re just getting started.