Top Three Takeaways – January 7th, 2021
- This is what it’s come to? At first, I considered we, but this really isn’t a we thing. It’s a they thing. They as an anarchists. Everything that’s happened with the most radicalized elements in our society since the onset of the pandemic was leading towards ever greater calamity. That was on full display yesterday. Ironically it was just yesterday that I pulled out these two quotes to describe my concerns going forward, first from Reagan: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. And from Lincoln: America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Those quotes seem even more relevant today. There are lots of ways our undoing can happen. The key about now is to not play into the hands of those who literally are trying to destroy us from the inside as was on full display inside the Capitol yesterday. Opportunism abounds and it’s been building since the first violence in cities was tolerated last summer. Anarchy and violence tolerated in the name of racial injustice set the stage for radical factions of all kinds. Yesterday we saw it manifest in the most un-American display we witnessed as a society since Vietnam war vets were spat on upon returning home.
- Be the best version of yourself. There’s the saying about what you put out there is what you’ll receive in return. That’s especially true right now, at least as far as putting anything negative out there. Don't contribute to it. No matter how frustrated and upset you are. Nothing good will come of it. Especially right now.
- Think local. For most on the right this is a challenging time and with good reason. I share your concerns. Perhaps pollster Frank Luntz put it best when he predicted Tuesday morning that the next 48 hours would be among the hardest ever for Republicans. Frank was way off in 2016, however this time he was right in spades. Obviously, some of the most volatile just plain lost it yesterday. I’m not going to sugar coat my concerns. I shared them in my top takeaways yesterday. Every world superpower has fallen and we’re naïve if think the United States is immune. We need honest and transparent elections which means having other states clean up their processes just as we’ve done in Florida. If many of the most radical proposals advanced in Congress soon become reality, all bets are off. But it’s not a given that they will pass. There are two possible catalysts which have the potential to thwart some of the most progressive policies from passing. First, West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin who’s stated he won’t support packing the courts or the end of the legislative filibuster and the reality that at least as many members of Congress are as motivated by winning their next elections as they are concerned about enacting policy. If there isn’t broad public support for radical change (and I say if, because I’m not assuming anything after this cycle). Making your opinions known to your elected representatives and advocating for policy which reflects your views is the best path forward and a way you can constructively contribute to the greater good.
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