Top Three Takeaways – January 8th, 2021
- Two wrongs don’t make a right. It’s one of the earliest lessons most of us learn in life. The concept is also biblical as in turn the other cheek. And yet here we are mired in plenty of examples where finger pointing wins the day. I’ll start first by speaking to the incessant effort by those who want to continue to blame President Trump for the chaos at the Capitol. The reporting, the irrational emotions of those who’ve long loathed him have culminated in the loss of any rational thought. Which is all the more ironic as most on the left and specifically in news media feel as though they’re the enlightened ones. What specifically am I referring to? I’ll refer you to another common childhood lesson. If all of your friends jumped off a cliff would you too? The point is this and let me be clear. So clear that even the enlightened ones in news media can understand. Donald Trump didn’t make them do it. And there are multiple reasons that’s the case starting with the fact that he didn’t call for anyone to break the law or to do anything other than exercise their first amendment rights but more important and basic than that reality is this little thing called...
- Personal responsibility. Back to our cliff jumping example for a moment. If you did jump off the cliff because your friends did whose fault is that? Now, this is where the conversation cuts in more than one direction. Just as irrational as it is to blame Donald Trump for anarchists breaking into the Capitol, it’s just as wrong to attempt to dismiss the bad behavior as all Antifa’s fault or another like anarchist group. While many suspects are still being ID’d by the FBI, many have already been identified and guess what, they’re not Antifa members. That’s not to say they Antifa wasn’t there, but we know those who have been ID’d weren’t Antifa. Take “horns guy”. He’s a well-known QAnon movement leader from Arizona who has been an ardent Trump supporter. Or the selfie guy at Nancy Pelosi’s desk. He's a 2nd Amendment activist from Arkansas. And most tragic of all...the woman shot and killed at the Capitol. That woman was about as far removed from Antifa as they come. Ashli Babbitt was a senior airman with the Air Force and a veteran of the Air National Guard. She was an American patriot and long-established Trump supporter before she went off the rails at the Capitol. There are also several Floridians, including a firefighter and the guy with the lectern, who just appear to be Trump supporters who lost their minds and engaged in criminal behavior. Every person is responsible for their own behavior. Trump nor Antifa made anyone do want they did.
- Perspective. Yesterday I asked that we try to be the best versions of ourselves because adding to the negativity out there isn’t constructive. Especially right now. Yesterday I had an appearance on BBC World News based on my top three takeaways (from yesterday). After the show I received this note from a village leader in Nairobi. What has happened in the US has shocked every village across the globe. Hope is the last thing to die. Let's keep it alive. Words of wisdom from Nairobi, Kenya to you. And also, how about let’s not make excuses for behavior so bad it shocks villages in Africa.