John Washington III Asks Who Gave Anyone the Right to Speak for Him and His Family Without Consent

John Washington III, a 2028 presidential candidate, is asking who gave anyone the right to speak for him and his family without his consent. In his post, John Washington III wrote that he has serious questions for the United States government and every state government in America, and he pointed to the Declaration of Independence, which he noted says governments get their just powers from the consent of the governed. "So when did I give my consent?" John Washington III wrote. "When did my family give theirs?"

John Washington III argued that an agreement a group makes for itself speaks for that group, not for everyone else. He compared the claim to mafia families and their own codes, asking whether one family can walk into another home and declare that everyone there belongs to them, and he answered his own question: "No." Being born under a government, John Washington III wrote, does not mean he personally agreed to every decision it makes, and he wrote that he and his children have constitutional rights.

John Washington III wrote that government must not confuse legal authority with unlimited control. If officials claim to speak for him, he wrote, they should show where he agreed, show how they are representing the people, and answer to the people whose lives their decisions affect. "That's the ground I'm standing on," John Washington III wrote.