“If we don’t get it right in November, this Fourth of July will be the last time we get to celebrate our freedom.”
That’s the text of a meme I’ve seen on Facebook a couple of times. The funny thing is, the two people I remember posting it are on opposing political teams. If I were a betting man I’d be willing to put money that these friends have different ideas of what “getting it right in November” really means.
This is political fatalism and hyperbole, and I reject it, for a few reasons.
First, I don’t need the permission of the state to celebrate my freedom, or to claim or embrace it. Even as more and more laws infringe on our freedoms, I will always find ways to push back.
My freedom doesn’t come from the state, it comes from my Creator. I will celebrate it no matter how much governments try to take it away. Even during the last Presidential cycle, when Peachtree City cancelled Independence Day celebrations due to COVID, I got up on a stage at Drake Field and spoke about the inalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence, and how they come from our innate being.
The second reason I reject this fatalism is this: We have already survived one term each of Trump and Biden. We can survive one more of either. It won’t be fun, but we can. I don’t look forward to surviving one more of either.
Each of them has a record of authoritarian policy. I know that each party already has plans to make future challenges to their power more difficult if they should win. But they’ve been doing that for years anyway, especially against third parties, and the pendulum always swings. Third parties are still sticking it out against the odds. This meme is designed to inspire fear.
And why inspire that fear? That leads me to my third point of rejection. The purpose of this meme is to manipulate the reader into a feeling of helplessness, of feeling trapped in one of two choices. The meme leaves it up to the reader to decide which of the choices is the right one, though the unspoken implication is, we all know what the right choice is, right?
And this is how we’ve gotten to the point where the two most favored choices for the “top job in America” are two men well past retirement age, one prone to chronic senior moments and the other a chronic liar.
And we all know it. The lesser of two evils leads to the evil of two lessers. When the only real requirement to win is to be able to paint the other side as slightly more undesirable, the bar gets lower, and lower, and lower.
I reject voting out of fear. The vote that is cast out of fear is the truly wasted vote. Our vote is supposed to express what we believe in, not what we fear less.
I’m voting for Chase Oliver (https ://votechaseoliver.com) this year. I believe in his statement that if you aren’t committing force, fraud, violence, or theft, then your life is your life, your body is your body, your business is your business, and your property is your property.
I believe that the best solutions to our social issues don’t come from giving government the power to flog our perceived enemies. I believe that America is great not because of government but because of Americans.
Your vote is your own. I won’t try to threaten you or scare you into voting my way. But I hope that however you vote, you aren’t voting out of fear.
Danny Dolan
Tyrone, Ga.
Danny – I would like to see some examples of the authoritarian policies – sincerely.
I agree with Mr. Mr. Dolan that neither the old man nor the con man is fit to be president, and, 10 years ago, I never would have dreamed that these sorts of candidates would even be offered by the two major parties. I agree that we survived these two depressing administrations and hope America can survive the next one. I wish a 3rd party candidate had a chance to oust both of them, but the last time a 3rd party candidate won was 1860.
Yes, definitely don’t want to return to the dark days under the con man:
$2 gas
1% inflation
3% mortgages
energy independence
filling the strategic petroleum reserve rather than emptying it
millions of fewer illegals per year
hundreds of thousands of fewer fentanyl deaths
the lowest black unemployment rate in U.S. history
ditto for Hispanics
no war with Russia
no war in the Middle East
dark days indeed
Est – I think of “con” in many different ways. Of course 45 is a CONvicted felon. And then there are those 30,500 CONfirmed lies he told while holding the highest office. And who can forget how he CONvinced his minions to disrupt Congress, hang the VP, and overturn the election results.
A Constitutional government with the peaceful transfer of power is priceless to me, but we all have our priorities, don’t we?
You forgot to type it as “CONstitutional” – that would’ve clinched the sale. Darn, you were so close.
Yep that con man convict inherited a decent economy I recall and somehow couldn’t do jack with anything despite his lofty pledges, promises and guarantees. The economy will grow by 4%, 5%, 6% on “huge tax cuts that will be rocket fuel for our economy.” And this from a con guy that hit the bankruptcy courts multiple times with his own businesses. And people believed it. By the numbers …
Gas prior to him: $2.28 DJT: $2.47
Inflation prior to: 2.0%
Mortgage prior to: <4.0% DJT: =4.0%
GDP economy prior to: 2.3% DJT: 1.17%
The simple fact here that because of his failure as an overall leader (approval rating below the Mendoza line), during and after a national emergency, he got fired for his disastrous results that took years to get out of.
Considering that the GDP took a wee bit of a hit due to the pandemic and especially to the lockdowns, let’s put that aside for the moment. Based on your numbers (not mine) things were pretty much just as great under President Trump as President Obama (PBUH). Under Biden/Harris, not so much. Since, unfortunately, we can’t elect Obama a 3rd time, perhaps we should return to the other recent President with a glorious economic record?
“Each of them has a record of authoritarian policy” – can you provide an example or two? Thanks