Banner No. 2 — Integrity is the American way

An ethos for civically minded, morally courageous, and politically brave Americans.

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To the People of the United States of America:

Our Union finds itself at an impasse where we have lost touch with the principles and values which birthed our Nation — ideals which lit the fires of Freedom, Liberty, and Justice for All. We find ourselves with a Government that is no longer of the People, by the People, or for the People — instead, once again we find ourselves under a tyrannical ruler. Yet we are not a people of cowards, we are a people of Bravery and Courage. The foundations of Banner & Backbone are built upon those ideals and are aimed at Restoring Integrity, Service, and Ethics (RISE) into the ethos for everyday Americans. Using our Founding documents — the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Federalist Papers, and others — we re-establish the origins of this great Nation, where integrity is a cornerstone in maintaining our Union. Now is the time to raise new banners for us to rally behind. Beginning the necessary work of forging a new backbone as civically minded, morally courageous, and politically brave citizens — reigniting the American spirit for a modern, global society.

Declaring our Integrity

To begin, we proudly and loudly declare that Integrity is the American Way — and one of the most important characteristics for a public servant to maintain. It is a foundational principle baked into our National heritage. Our Founders wrote and spoke often about the characteristics that define integrity. Using the Declaration of Independence as a starting point we begin our discussion,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Although the language is outdated and does not fully include a more complete view of humanity — the meaning remains intact. I would posit the following as a more holistic view and one that includes ideals of the living generations.

We hold these truths to be forever and self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by the sanctity of their own Life with certain undeniable Rights and Freedoms — that among these are Bodily Sanctity, Reproductive Autonomy, Data Privacy, Environmental Stewardship, Education, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

We must add a new depth of understanding to our core definitions surrounding basic Human Rights and the Dignity we strive to afford each other. Distilling this even further down, we look at the previous statement and break it into its two main parts.

First, “we hold these truths to be forever and self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by the sanctity of their own Life with certain undeniable Rights and Freedoms…” Just as our Founders stated, and as we as know, the understanding of “we hold these truths to be forever and self-evident…” is more than accepting a simple fact — it represents a core concept of civic integrity. It represents that there are boundaries to what we consider acceptable, as citizens, within a democratic republic — that they are fundamental to maintaining a government which adequately represents the people.

Within the second section “…that among these are Bodily Sanctity, Reproductive Autonomy, Data Privacy, Environmental Stewardship, Education, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” — these are the ideals which define the boundaries of a society based on the principles of integrity. These ideals are the stopping block and the glue which bind our society into a single Union — one where ALL PEOPLE share a common understanding of basic human Rights and Dignity. A Dignity which extends not just to one’s physical and spiritual, but also to one’s digital Rights and Freedoms.

These two sections together build out that basic understanding of civic integrity — it is built on principles of trust and mutual understanding. Those principles of integrity, and that value of trust, are further expanded upon in The Federalist Papers — specifically Federalist No. 10 by James Madison, Federalist No. 71 by Alexander Hamilton and Federalist No. 78 by Alexander Hamilton — where two of our Founders further expand upon the need for these ideals of trust and mutual understanding to be a key feature of our Democratic Republic. Within Federalist No. 10, James Madison speaks specifically to the People of New York, staunchly defending the Union of our States and the need for a Republic — built on systems founded in integrity. In Madison’s own words, he writes:

No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgement, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time; yet what are many of the most important acts of legistaltion, but so many judicial determinations, not indeed concerning the rights of single persons, but concerning the rights of large bodies of citizens? … The apportionment of taxes on the various descriptions of property is an act which seems to require the most exact impartiality; yet there is, perhaps, no legislative act in which greater opportunity and temptation are given to a predominant party to trample on the rules of justice. Every shilling with which they overburden the inferior number, is a shilling saved to their own pockets.

To Madison’s words I say, we must further encase integrity into the system itself—for we have seen the continued degradation of the public’s Trust in their representatives. I would dare say we have passed back into a system of taxation without representation. That the ruling party—the Robber Barons, Theocrats, and Technofascists—have given in completely to the temptation to trample the rules of Justice. That the ruling party has forsaken their Oaths of Office—they have broken the sacred trust place upon them.

The ruling party have Legislated away our Freedoms and Rights—handing over our hard earned future and trading in our American Dreams—all to appease the unappeasable. The ruling party have discarded Truth for convenience, Liberty for subjugation, and Justice for irony—I dissent.

So now, we must RISE as Americans. We must take the first steps to begin restoring integrity into our civil services—truth cannot be subjective to what the ruling party tells you it is—basic rights and bodily sovereignty cannot be subjective, they are truths we hold to be self-evident—government is a service of the people, by the people, and for the people—and above all a commitment to truth, without fear or favor, which is necessary for a free peoples to exist.

With great love for our Nation,

~ Nick Paro, VALERIUS

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Commentary

Nick Paro — we fully acknowledge that Founders of the United States have known issues which cannot be overlooked. We also understand that their writings are deeply important to our national identity and must be used when discussing and reforming a civic understanding. Without them, we would lose too much context and meaning into where we came from.

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Banner & Backbone Authors’ Notes

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The America we strive for — it is one where we willingly remember the teachings of our past, humbly learn from our failings, proudly celebrate our successes, and boldly lead the way into a future for all people.

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