Politics Has Failed: America Will Not

    NEW YORK, NY, October 15, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Scott Rasmussen--the president of Rasmussen Media Group, founder of Rasmussen Reports, co-founder of ESPN, syndicated columnist, and public speaker--has been named a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at The King's College.

On Monday, October 3, President Gregory Alan Thornbury announced the new appointment at a lunchtime lecture Rasmussen delivered to students of The King's College titled, "Politics Has Failed: America Will Not."

In his remarks, Rasmussen said that while he has lost faith in the political process, he believes that "America's best days are still to come." He presented community problem solving as the way forward for Americans feeling frustrated by today's political climate but wanting to make their country better.

Rasmussen said that by 2009, he had seen enough of the political system to recognize that it was "designed to keep people out." A year later, his family experienced a personal tragedy that helped him realize that community problem solving could help. In March 2010, Rasmussen and his wife heard a knock on their door. It was a policeman, who told them that the hotel adjacent to their home in a small beach community on Jersey Shore was on fire and that they would need to evacuate. Within 45 minutes, said Rasmussen, everything they had was gone. In the weeks following the fire, he was surprised by how much support he and his wife received from their local community.

"All of a sudden," he said, "instead of looking at the world as 'We're divided; we're polarized; and this group doesn't like this group,' I actually began to look and see that in America, there is something that unifies us." Rasmussen said that while one of Americans' core beliefs is that "we should be able to decide what to do with our own life, so long as we don't interfere with the rights of others to do the same," most Americas are not rugged individualists and want to use their freedom to live together in community. He cited the 65 million Americans who do volunteer work and the 22 million Americans who work as entrepreneurs, helping improve people's lives, as evidence.

Rasmussen also mentioned that two college dropouts, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, did more to change the world than the last seven consecutive presidents. "In the real world," said Rasmussen, "the culture leads, and the politicians lag behind." He said that America has had a long history of "pragmatic community problem solving," which has addressed issues like slavery, education, and poverty. "Whenever there was a problem," said Rasmussen, "people got together and did something about it." He continued:

And that's what we need to do. Everyone has different passions, different skills, different gifts, different talents. We have different things that motivate us. If you see a problem, solve it. If something touches your heart and you have the ability to do something about it, do it."

"If you are loving your neighbor and you are serving people and you are being creative and you are looking for ways to get things done," Rasmussen said, "you will change one corner of the world."

In addition to being a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at The King's College, Rasmussen will also be developing an Institute for Community Driven Solutions, which will be housed at the College. About his new association with The King's College, Rasmussen says:

"I am thrilled to join the vibrant academic community at The King's College and work on developing the Institute for Community Driven Solutions. The Institute will guide a more hopeful and constructive national dialogue while helping to launch a massive campaign of community problem solving.

"Playing even a small role in that larger campaign is the opportunity of a lifetime...When we use our freedom to work together in community, nothing is impossible.

"The power of community problem solving explains how I can be so pessimistic about our political system but so optimistic about our nation's future. And why I am so confident that America's best days are still to come."

The King's College President Gregory Thornbury explained, "In an era filled with disappointment and outrage with the national political climate, Scott Rasmussen offers a better way for the nation to redirect its energies - away from Washington, and towards the communities that give our families, and our culture, strength."

Rasmussen's book Politics Has Failed: America Will Not will be published in early 2017 by the Sutherland Institute. In the meantime, visit his website PoliticsHasFailed.com for more information on how you can be part of building a better America.

For more than 75 years, The King's College has educated young leaders to integrate their faith, ethics, and morality seamlessly into their lives and careers. The only traditional Christian liberal arts college or university located in the heart of New York City, King's prepares students for principled leadership around the world. Visit tkc.edu for more information or request a personalized visit by calling 888-969-7200.

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