IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
# 308
January 2, 2025
“A Question of Honor and Patriotism”
As we begin this new year and anxiously anticipate the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, we need to assess the strengths of working together and the prospect of honoring the wise values put forth to us by our Founding Fathers.
Working from the fact that God is the source of both wisdom and power held in the hands of man, we must take a moment to reflect on what has – and will — show the world what a truly good civilization can achieve.
Consider for a moment the kitchen table conversations and restaurant, café and bistro gatherings expound and embrace. Beginning with a sports premise. Everyone has his or her favorite team and loyalty is key. Nothing angers a fan more than poor coaching. Given this thought process, what we face now is the aftermath of not poor coaching — but abysmal coaching. The past nearly four years of a glaring absence of national leadership has left the United States weaker, less respected and more vulnerable than in any time in her history. As a former history teacher, I am well aware of former predicaments in moments of extreme risk; but, in retrospect, they pale in the wake of the Biden-Harris (?) administration.
Why the question mark? I, along with many others aware of how the government works, are not convinced that the two aforementioned persons had anything substantive to the workings within The White House. Need I make the comparison to the camel as the prime example of an animal made by committee?
If you want to kill a snake, the best way is to cut off the head. With no one really functioning as the President of the United States, the risk is absurd, and scandalous.
Going back to the sports model, if a sports team has a great shortcoming at any position, the prospect of winning dies. Alas, with no coach and key players propelled by ideology instead of expertise, the result was completely predictable.
Now to the Congress. For all its shortfalls — and they are too many to enumerate – the Democrats do stick together like glue. It’s not as if I believe that, to a person, they all espouse every modicum of the legislation and positions put forward by the party leaders, yet they do vote in lockstep. The Republicans, on the other hand, often hold to individual ideals and do not vote with their cohorts. The pattern, while understandable, is highlighted here – not because of its reflection of individual independence — but because the lack of holding the deference to the GOP position sought more important that the end objective. It’s the stilted motivation that lacks a good result.
If a coach or quarterback set a play and the defenders and the receivers did not follow through resulting in a loss, the fans would erupt in boos and the backlash would be terrific.
Job losses would follow.
Can we demand nothing less of our U. S Senators and Representatives who should be reflecting the landslide victory coupled with the popular vote?
As individuals, we need to take stock of what lies before us. At the heart of this nation is faith and hope. We need both and in good measure. Not only do the border and economic issues loom over us, but the debt is at a crushing level. For anyone who has ever been under the pressure of a daunting debt load, the sole solution is the patience and determination required to pick away at the debt a bit at a time, not unlike the old beaver and the tree. One bite at a time and persistence work.
Do we have the mettle to tackle this and accept less government money in order to ease the crunch in the budget? Time will tell.
In the meantime, take a moment to thank God for the glance to the chart in Butler, Pennsylvania. Modern miracle? Divine Intercession? Why would a person so focused on looking directly at a crowd suddenly look away? Decide on your own. Personally, I feel as if God had a purpose for Donald J. Trump. It was not his time to die.
Preparing for the Presidential Inauguration of our 47th President Donald J. Trump, take time to realize what is at stake. It is time for the United States to regain its position on the world stage. It is time for America’s enemies to think twice before attacking us or our allies. It is time for citizens to demand results and not empty promises. More than all of this, it is time for America to turn back to God. If God be for us, who can be against us?
Think about it. Pray.