My core values, officially adopted on September 3, 2018, are not values that I do not always embody, but they are values to which I aspire. They are values that I reflect upon in both simple choices and difficult decisions.
Perseverance & Spirit
This first core value is a 2-for-1. Perseverance is about sticking with a mission even when the odds are incredibly low and hope may be in short supply. Spirit is about encouraging others through a positive attitude despite a difficult situation.
Perseverance & spirit is borrowed directly from a letter written by General George Washington to Major General Philip Schuyler on August 20, 1775. Things were not looking so great for the Continental Army and to offer inspiration Washington wrote:
Perseverance and Spirit have done Wonders in all ages.
Compassion
I keep compassion as a core value as a reminder to be gentle and kind with others—and with myself. There is much pain and suffering on this Earth, but I believe that an abundance of compassion can bring relief to all beings.
Faith
Fostering the value of faith helps me relax in that knowledge that all is well. While I do not think that faith guarantees miracles in any way, I do believe that faith gives room for miracles to happen.
creed
Instituted on January 27, '021, this creed is the first thing I say aloud to myself every morning. It exists to remind myself of who I am, what I'm doing, and why I'm doing what I'm doing.
I am Stephen James Kranz. My life's task is to bring eternal peace to planet Earth for all munkind. To that end, I live my dream: to Walk for Vice President of the United States of America. I will share love and joy with all beings I encounter. I have full faith that I, like all others, am complete and of divine origin. I do not fear death, nor failure, nor poverty. I will never quit. I know who I am. I am Stephen James Kranz.
mottos
My motto is inspired by a dear and late friend of mine, John Vericella. While waxing philosophical, John would often express this fundamental truth: that all of us here on Earth are essentially born out of the dirt and eventually in our deaths we will all return to the dirt. So on May 4, 2021—the third anniversary of his death—I adopted a new motto in John's honor:
From dirt, to dirt
This motto replaces my older motto which had been in service since before November of 2019:
Not in title, but in character
The meaning of this older motto refers to the spirit that inspired me to initially run for president of the United States of America. I was striving not to hold the title of president, but rather I wanted to develop the character of a president.
prayers
This is a collection of prayers I say regularly. They serve as a reminder to give thanks and to appreciate the wonders of the world.
Breakfast prayer
Thank you for this morning meal. May it make me magnificent, magnanimous and merry. Amen.
Lunch prayer
Thank you for this mid-day meal. Thank you for the nutrition and comfort of this food and space. Amen.
Dinner prayer
Thank you for this food to eat. Thank you for the farmer who grew it, the worker who picked it, the grocer who sold it, the shopper who bought it, the chef who cooked it, the server who served it, the family who shares it, and the self who eats it. Let us remember that we are like our food. From the dirt we come, and to the dirt we go. Amen.
The emblem is often worn as a cap badge on my hat. It is a symbol of peaceful coexistence of all beings on planet Earth. The emblem was officially adopted on October 27, 2020.
Star
The eight pointed star is representative of the Noble Eight-fold Path of Buddhism.
Cross
The star is in the shape of a cross as an allusion to my Christian upbringing.
Circle
The circle on the outside of the emblem represents the truth in all religions.
Inner star
The star in the center represents the divine, which resides inside us all.
flags
Flags are important symbols for uniting and rallying people.
These flags are designed to be symbols of peace and love.
Archie was not who I was looking for, but Archie was who I found.
the search for Gene
In late 2017, I was trying to find a relative of mine, Gene. Gene was my father’s father’s cousin—which made us first cousins twice removed. He had served in a leadership position for years and I wanted to tell him that I was running for president of the United States of America.
Grand Uncle Jack
In the process of trying to track down Gene, I connected with my father’s father’s brother: my Grand Uncle Jack. I hadn’t communicated with Uncle Jack in many years, but on 28 January 2018, I gave him a phone call. I was hoping he could connect me with Gene—he couldn’t—but the call turned out to be far from a dead end.
Our first phone call lasted three hours. My Uncle Jack—then 88 years old—had lived a simple yet interesting life. For 13 years he was a Trappist monk, before leaving the monastery to live the rest of his life as a layperson. When he had moved back to his hometown of Toledo to take care of his aging parents, he took out a personal ad in the Sunday edition of the Toledo Blade—this was in 1986—looking for a female partner. In the ad he wrote: “Isaac seeks Rebecca having a great love for the lord Jesus Christ and his Word.”
enter Archie
Jack received 15 responses to his ad and he replied to 9 of them. None of those 9 wrote back. It seemed to be the end of that until one day about a month later, an inmate—Archie I. Floyd, Jr.—in a prison 200 miles south in Chillicothe, Ohio wrote back. Archie had been on the way from the bathroom, pulled a newspaper out of the trash, found Jack's ad, and thinking if the author “was really a Christian” then he would be Archie’s friend no matter what.
So Archie wrote back pleading, “do you care?” and Jack replied, “of course I care.” This exchange started their friendship that lasted 20 years until Archie’s death in 2006. From early on Jack supported Archie financially and offered advice. Archie soon began to call Jack “Dad.”
