By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
On May 19, Alabamians will be given an opportunity to elect someone to the U.S. Senate who is experienced on multiple unusual fronts — including commanding not one but two nuclear submarines. Seth Burton spent 30 years in the U.S. Navy, has been in the Strait of Hormuz, dealt with the Chinese and Muammar Gaddafi, and has served in Washington, D.C., as an expert in all things submarine.
He married his wife Danete when they were both just 19 years old, and they have three sons and two grandchildren. When we chatted, the Burtons let me know that at least nine years of Seth’s 30-year career were spent with Danete raising the boys while Seth was on mission. This family knows, understands, and has lived a life of sacrifice for us, our values, and our safety, and is ready to serve in a whole new capacity.
Anyone in the military has to take an apolitical posture during the entire time they are serving. They can freely vote their conscience at the polls, but at the end of the day, they serve at the pleasure of the Commander in Chief. What this does is certainly forge values under pressure, and it simultaneously teaches service members to serve and be a part of something greater than themselves.
In Alabama, whether or not it is a local, state, or federal race, it is entirely common to hear from candidates that they have felt led by God to put their hat in the ring and run for election. Then, the “best do their best to do their best and be their best” irrespective of the outcome. In other words, it is the act of obedience to spend the time, energy and money to give people a true choice that energizes faith-driven contenders, and Seth Burton is one of them.
Seth Burton brings some interesting perspectives and goals to the race, things I certainly had never considered. He wants to see North Alabama be “home” to a U.S. Senator, which has not happened in decades. I had never really thought about representation for North Alabama being important on a Federal level, nor had I ever encountered anyone who sought to complement the skills and experiences of their fellow US Senator. Seth highlights that his roots, culture and knowledge of North Alabama along with his extensive national security experience perfectly match the background in law and political experience of his potential fellow Senator. The idea of “serving in silence,” with respect to his experience in war and peace, and then parlaying that experience into a robust role in the Senate is described as follows:
It is about the nation and her citizens…not me! I just exited three decades serving 330 million fellow citizens…knowing almost no one would know my name or the associated sacrifice of my family!
Seth Burton has a solid handle on the Constitution, framed as intended, as well as U.S. History. He refers to what he calls “Guiding Principles,” or “timeless truths for a free and prosperous society,” and of them he says:
Our constitutional republic depends on citizens who understand and defend their God-given rights. The government’s role is to protect, not to “grant” those rights. Washington needs leaders who recognize they work for the citizen…the citizen does not work for them! The Constitution was written to restrain government, not the citizen. The citizen is to be restrained by morality and natural law.
Seth Burton is tired of Alabama being looked upon as backward, and knows that we have an opportunity in this Golden Age to shine, especially with so many developments in North Alabama—Space Command, the FBI, the ongoing role of Alabama in the space program, the responsibility of Redstone Arsenal to be a bastion of security for Alabama and surrounding areas, and the judicious development and use of AI. In the course of our conversation, we spent a good chunk of our time discussing two controversial topics: nuclear power and artificial intelligence (AI). We’ll go with nuclear power first. I daresay that Seth Burton understands the ins and outs, the pros and cons of nuclear power more than just about anyone, and he explained things to me in such a way that I understood for the first time.
Having grown up in the Cold War as well as the shadow of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, I frankly didn’t have much use for nuclear power. What I learned is that nuclear power when managed well is actually safe, and its ability to produce and provide power is something that is scalable. This is important when we realize that other options can’t begin to compete. “It is good energy,” said Seth, and also states on his website:
Alabama’s business-friendly culture, environmental stewardship, and technical competence make it ideal to host the booming nuclear energy opportunity! Abundant energy creates the backdrop for innovation and economic development. A booming economy requires boundless, reliable energy! Nuclear power is the key to energy independence and economic prosperity.
With respect to the fact that AI is here and our job is to learn how to utilize it equitably, Seth pointed out that this is an uncommon opportunity for community, business, and citizen involvement in the process every step of the way. “If a community is considering having something like an AI center, on a philosophical note, there has to be complete transparency and open debate. It cannot be decided behind closed doors. Free and open debate must occur that addresses all the impacts an AI data center can have — good and bad, economically and environmentally — in a community. And with regards to AI itself, government’s role is to ensure proper boundaries are established to promote safety and freedom. Just like when you go to a public place, you assume a level of safety and protection, the world of AI must have similar standards and guardrails to promote public confidence,” he said.
Though he has not yet held public office, he has spent some serious time in Washington, D.C., briefing the powers that be with regard to what he calls “the China Challenge,” nuclear and hi-tech needs, budgets, what works, what doesn’t, what is strong, what needs shoring up, and when called upon, conceptual solutions that can be applied at any level.
Seth has what he calls a MEGA vision for Alabama. MEGA stands for “Make Everything Great for Alabama.” It is a ten-point plan and can be viewed in more detail at https://sethburtonforsenate.com/priorities, and is briefly described below:
- MEGA Security–AN UNMATCHED DEFENSE AND SECURE BORDERS
- MEGA Sovereignty– CENTRALIZE POWER & AUTHORITY ONLY WHEN NECESSARY
- MEGA Freedom–INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM & RESPONSIBILITY
- MEGA Families & Affordability–STRONG HEALTHY FAMILIES
- MEGA Culture–FREE & CIVIL SOCIETY
- MEGA Education–EDUCATED CITIZENRY PROMOTING CRITICAL THINKING & INNOVATION
- MEGA Accountability–A GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE TO ITS CITIZENS
- MEGA Nuclear–A GOLDEN ERA OF ECONOMIC BOOM THROUGH A NEW & ABUNDANT ENERGY GRID
- MEGA Infrastructure–THE BACKBONE OF A DYNAMIC, VIBRANT SOCIETY
- MEGA Manufacturing–BUILD REAL STUFF!
If you go on his website, you will encounter fascinating quotes from Washington, Jefferson, Adams Lincoln, and others with which you may not be familiar, and which serve to frame his entire platform. One of my favorites is interestingly from the mid-19th century:
When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty—to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy. — Abraham Lincoln
Clearly Seth Burton is an outsider, and if you believe he is an outsider whose time is come for the State of Alabama, then send him to the United States Senate when you vote on May 19.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
