Jeff Bell Blog

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."  – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (August 28, 1963) Fifty-seven years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the March on Washington D.C., where 250,000 people gathered in one of the largest political rallies in U.S. history. The March is credited with helping pass the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. While Dr. King’s speech is rightfully immortalized, fewer remember that the March’s organizers at the time also had very concrete political demands that were as much about economic justice as racial equality. On the recent anniversary of the March, I began to wonder whether or not the March’s “10 Demands” for freedom, education and equality have been realized – and, more importantly, what we still need to do as a nat...

          In September 1999, Harland C. Stonecipher gave a speech that opened with a passage from Isaiah Chapter 8, verse 6, " Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”             He did so because he was preparing for a call to action. Today the words and spirit of Harland Stonecipher, the founder of LegalShield, will ring through my voice today.           Anyone that knows me knows that I love the United States of America. This country offers more freedom, more opportunity than any other country in the world!   This is a country that promises to offer each of us the ability to succeed and achieve as much as our desire and abilities will allow us.   The promise is for everyone. It is the United States Constitution.   The only limits in America ...

In my lifetime I have witnessed incredible progress for humanity.   The facts show a significant decrease in poverty and disease, with corresponding improvements in education, healthcare, human and civil rights.   But I’ve also seen us repeating the same mistakes over and over again. I remember Rodney King and the protests and riots that followed his beating by police.   I remember Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a policeman and the subsequent protests and riots. We now mourn George Floyd and we are in the middle of peaceful protests and riots. I’ve seen this play out on large and small stages: Anger, violence, some platitudes from “woke” CEOs and the same dribble from the same voices of the left and right. Here’s a question: How do we NOT return to ‘normal’? How do we NOT allow complacency to set in? In my life, I have done stupid things. I’ve crossed the line of proper judgement and of the law. I’ve been caught speeding and been caught by police. Every time I’...

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has presented unprecedented challenges: medical, scientific, political, economic, social and moral.   The medical or healthcare industry feared that hospitals would be overrun, that the lack of masks, gloves and ventilators were in such short supply that people would die who otherwise would have survived the virus.   Science does not have answers to origin nor cure.   Politicians have taken the unprecedented approach of “pausing” economic and social life as the only response to address the fears articulated by the medical and scientific communities. This is a complicated issue with many times conflicting and contradicting information from governments and the media.   The use of fear has been a powerful motivator.   CNN keeps a “leader board” of cases and deaths running 24/7. Every news organization publishes headlines meant to promote hysteria (and viewership for their business model). Every citizen was told to “save grandp...