Be Faithful

Dance with Who Brung Ya

It sets my teeth on edge every time I read or hear a sentiment or opinion along the line of “what we are doing is not working.” This statement seems to lead inevitably to the conclusion that “we…need to reevaluate how we do everything—our message, our strategy, our policy agenda, and our leadership.”

WTF?

How long does one have to inhabit the Holy Silo of Poor Loser to believe and disseminate such a corrosive notion?

Taking this trash in the order given:

Our Message

We the People are the motor of our political system. It is of, for, and by us. We have the power of our voice and our vote—until or unless we voluntarily surrender these assets and privileges.

Our Strategy

We need to have ears. And use them. As Dutch Meyer, the famously successful football coach for Texas Christian University, once counseled me in the family living room— “You learn nothing when you’re talking. Learn to listen to succeed.”

Credit. iStock

Our Policy Agenda

Agenda? Agenda? Where does anyone get the idea that core principles are subject to a roundtable discussion?

We the People who lost Election 2024 really need to get a grip. Do not throw the baby out with the dirty bath water. And, in the famous words of Darrell Royal, who never suffered a losing football season when he was head coach, have the good sense to “dance with who brung ya” to a place of competitive possibility.

Our Leadership

Persons currently putting themselves forward as guides to a better option than MAGA are mostly a group of self-serving, short-sighted, and strategically challenged old farts. Posing as Wise Persons and Effective Leaders. Dump them. Let your pocketbook be your feet. Exit to and financially support better voices. Right now, I like Jen Rubin and Norm Eisen at The Contrarian as commentators with the perspective and reach to identify new leadership options.

Be Faithful

Okay, so today at noon, when Donald John Trump becomes the 47^th president of the United States of America, we are officially entering the greatest period of inequity since the Gilded Age. Persons of good will and common sense hope the guy and his cronies manage to avoid killing the goose in search of more golden eggs. Hold tight to faith. We can mend whatever the Billionaire Boys Club breaks. And broken bones heal stronger at the break if reset correctly.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

— J. R. R. Tolkien, "The Riddle of Strider", The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Be Resolute

With every breath, focus on righting our badly listing ship of state.

· Like and respect your fellow country persons

· Believe in and practice decent conduct

· Live your best and strongest principles

Do not just survive Project 2025.

Prevail.