People ask me every single day about the issues that matter to me most. It’s not climate change or gun control or education. It’s not healthcare or terrorism or taxes or inequality. It’s not racism or mandates.
The issue that matters, the only issue that truly matters any more, is trust. We don’t trust our leaders, we don’t trust our institutions, and we barely trust each other.
Without trust, nothing is possible. It is the essential foundation of a functioning economy, a civil society, an actual democracy. We need to be able to trust. We have to trust the expiration date on the milk, that the pharmacist gave us the right prescription, that the plumber is honest and competent.
We have to trust that our vote will be counted, and that the people who we elect will be honest and faithful.
Because if there is trust, there can be respect. With trust we can do anything. We can debate and discuss and negotiate and compromise on any issue. We can find a path forward if and only if we can trust each other. Trust enough to have real dialogue and make progress together.
But this crisis is dire. Our collective distrust is unprecedented. And the great experiment that is this country is what is at stake. We can all feel democracy crumbling around us. We all know that America itself hangs in the balance.
The only way out is through. And that’s why I’m running for Congress, not as a career politician or a partisan hack, but as a regular person who believes in the American people. It’s why I’m running without accepting donations, because trust must be earned, not bought. It’s why, I hope, you’re reading these words. Why you’re still reading them. Because you want to trust someone again: trust them to listen, to be honest, and to serve others.
Trust is the only way we can save our country. And right now, as the person taking in these words, that power is in your hands. If you think I might be someone you’re able to trust, then pass this along.
My name is Robby Slaughter. I am running for Congress. This is my message.
