UNKNOWN

It's time. For the past several administrations the most strident and loudest voices have driven our culture and politics. The result has been the marketing of 'divide and conquer' politics and a distortion of our Founding Values. It's time to begin the task of 'rebalancing' the Nation's priorities through political compromise and the reinvigoration of an engaged public. It's time to demand that the loudest voices sit down.

It's time for Americans to stand up and demand leadership from those who hold the public trust - our political representatives.

- Return to the real Contract with America - the Constitution.

- Read the Preamble and understand the co-equal importance of its objectives.

- Take personal responsibility for the actions of your government. (Vote, attend a town meeting, participate in public policy decisions impacting your life.)

- Demand transparency in the actions of those who you have placed in positions of the public trust - our political representatives. And be insulted by the mass media's presentation of our politics via "political theater" absent objective investigative reporting.

- Refuse to be placed in a "box" - think critically - be wary of those who divide us rather than bring us together.

- Applaud our rich diversity as a people - be tolerant.

- Demand political compromise through the balancing process established by the Founders.

- Think of your children's future - Do we want gated communities with armed guards or a society which offers hope for a secure future regardless of social class, race, religion.

Steven O. Ludd is a Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University. Dr. Ludd, a professor of Political Science, taught undergraduate and graduate students in classes of Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and the Judicial Process. He is the recipient of numerous university honors for teaching and service including the Master Teacher award. With the collaboration of student organizations, he designed BGSU's Student Legal Services - the first pre-paid legal service program for students in Ohio. The co-editor of Outlook On Ohio: Prospects and Priorities, he has published numerous professional and academic articles on the constitutional right to privacy and the use of administrative discretion in public administrative agencies. As a member of the Ohio bar and Federal District Court, he was selected by the Court to be an Alternative Dispute Resolution Mediator and a Federal Court Monitor. He has worked with a variety of non-for-profit and local government entities on issues of dispute resolution. He received his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and his Ph.D. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.