Perhaps by the time you read this essay, my daughter in Portland, Oregon will be bringing her second daughter into the world. And what a landscape awaits my fifth grandchild. Antifa blocks city streets in Portland and accosts citizens. Becky and I thought seriously about postponing our visit to celebrate the arrival of our new grandchild. Hillary Clinton, the titular head of the Democrat Party, says Republicans no longer should be treated with civility, as former Attorney General, Eric Holder, incites violence, stating that you should “kick” Republicans. Senate Democrats even say that the presumption of innocence must be discarded (!) as leftist mobs storm the Supreme Court building screaming and pounding on the doors as Justice Kavanaugh is sworn in. If you think there is comparable culpability on both sides, contrast the people at a Trump rally with violent leftist mobs and Democrat rhetoric.
“These are the times that try men’s souls,” wrote Thomas Paine from Valley Forge December 23, 1776, after the Continental army had suffered a disastrous defeat by the British. Continuing, Paine wrote, “The summertime soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.” America has faced tribulation before. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the World Wars of the 20th century and the Depression are prime examples. We’ve come through dark days, and I pray that people will step up and exercise their civic duty of voting to oppose this new crisis of the left’s hatred and despicable Democrat tactics.
As I look across the landscape of America I have several questions: Why aren’t Democrats decrying revolutionary mobs running through the streets threatening citizens? Are Democrats scared of their base? They should be. During the French Revolution Robespierre was the darling of the mob, until the mob turned on him and cut off his head. Why is intolerance of ideas now the accepted policy of political correctness on college campuses? Perhaps academia no longer believes in freedom of thought and speech. Or are they afraid of what they’ve created and just want to keep the tuition dollars flowing in to support their paycheck?
I have answered one of my many questions. Schumer, Pelosi and their Democrat wannabes are driven by the Siren’s Song of power, privilege and prestige. Democrats think they can use and control the mob. They are mistaken. They are ignoring history and turning a blind eye to “Campus chaos [which came] to Congress” during the Kavanaugh hearings.
I have said that Trump was not my first, second or even third choice for President. He is an imperfect man just like the rest of us, but I am now convinced he is the right person at the right time for America. I once voted for Democrats, but actually Democrats have morphed into something completely different than FDR or John Kennedy. Don’t be fooled by what they still call themselves. They march under the Democrat ensign, but their true colors were revealed by the utterly despicable Democrats of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And given what I have learned from the Hillary Clinton investigations, the revelations of intelligence agencies corrupted by Brenner, McCabe and Comey, the soft coup engineered by the Washington swamp, the exposure of the now totally dishonest media, and the hatred emanating from anti-American leftist mobs, I can no longer even consider voting for a Democrat candidate at any level. I hope that someday this changes when the Democrat party returns to policy and renounces insanity.
The prophet Ezekiel quoted God who sought someone, “…who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it…” Trump defied the polls, the media, the swamp, the Democrats, academia, Hollywood, the never-Trumpers and was elected President. In the last two years Trump has kept his campaign promises – a rarity for elected officials. His Tax Cut revitalized the economy, his policies have driven unemployment to a fifty year low, he cancelled the terrible Iran nuclear deal, he replaced job-killing NAFTA with USMCA (United States Mexico Canada Agreement), he entered negotiations with North Korea for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, he’s put two justices on the Supreme Court and has stood up for the rule of law and against the mob. If we lived in a sane world, Trump’s Republicans would hand the Democrats a historic defeat in the November 2018 election, in repudiation of their despicable behavior and their socialist/leftist class warfare. Trump is de facto “standing in the gap.”
I fear for my country, my children and my grandchildren. Unfortunately, too few understand the pernicious nature of the Left. Let me pause and reiterate. There is a big difference between liberalism and the modern left. On some issues, many would find me quite liberal. If you missed my essay explaining the difference between the liberalism of John Kennedy Democrats and leftists today read my essay Learning Philosophies which ran the week of September 17, 2018 at knoxfocus.com.
I learned long ago that there are three options when confronting a bully or a wrong. You can fight injustice. (My crooked nose attests to my pugnacious nature.) You can compromise and change your principles. In other words, go along to get along. Or you can run away, ignoring what is right and essentially turn a blind eye to something not affecting you … yet.
My time is about over, so if the mob comes for me I can say it’s been a good run; I’ve lived a good life. However, in the meantime I will not “go gentle into that good night,” as Dylan Thomas wrote. And I will not “shut up” as Democrat Senator Mazie Hirono demands.
My wife Becky has adopted the motto, “Get informed, get inspired and get involved.” I have. I listen to my wife who encourages me. It is my time to “stand in the gap.” You can do so as well. Don’t be a “summertime soldier.” Get informed and do what’s right. VOTE your conscience!
