Now what?
Everyone eventually reaches a point in their life where they wonder about the next step. It happens to all of us, from the highest of the high elite establishmentarians in Washington to the ordinary Joe or Josephine in your hometown. Be it a college graduation or being aged-out of a youth athletic league or reaching the highest level you can go at your current job or completing the sale of your first-ever home -- and moving to a place you’ve always wanted to live -- there comes a time where you wonder what to do afterwards.
Political officeholders certainly feel the urge (or is it a constant ache?) to do something more. If you’re a state legislator you’ve probably got it in the back of your mind to either run for governor or try for federal office. If you’re a congressman, you’ve likely got your sights set on your state’s next available U.S. senate seat. And if you’re already a member of the upper chamber, there are invariably going to be people tugging at you to run for president.
Of course there are the career politicians, like our current president, who planted himself in the senate for over three and a half decades before moving on to Barack Obama’s executive branch, but that’s another story.
Donald Trump is the only one in memory who aimed for the top spot without bothering with any of the build-up steps in political experience. But Trump was essentially a once-in-a-lifetime type talent, not only with a stellar resume to support his candidacy but also owning the media savvy to not only convince people to back him, he also possessed the wherewithal to take on the best of the political elites and show them how it’s really done.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about concerned citizens getting involved with -- or even running for -- local school boards. I’d venture to say school board meetings have gotten more local and national TV coverage in recent times than they ever have before. Decades of decline in public schools and shocking “woke” concentration on causes like transgender “rights” and the evils of Critical Race Theory draw people off the sidelines and put them right smack into the heart of the game.
Simply put, there is no benefit to sitting back any longer. Today’s threats to religious freedom and free speech rights are too grave to ignore, serious enough to question whether Americans will even enjoy basic liberties in the years to come. After all, if the tech barons can yank a sitting president of the United States’ social media accounts, they can do anything they want to anyone regardless of identity.
So speak up. Get with the program, then start making your own plans. If you’re at one of those crossroads where you’re wondering what to do next, there are a number of deserving causes waiting out there. Your time and energy will not be wasted.
Where to start? Joy Pullmann of The Federalist wrote about it last week. In a piece titled, “85 Things You Can Do To Help The United States Shake Wide Awake,” Pullmann wrote:
“Our country was built on small communities formed in the church, the square, the schoolhouse, and the tavern. From those meeting houses, we resisted first the petty tyrants on our docks and in the royal governors’ mansions, then took on the greatest army in the world.
“We did that with what John Adams estimated was only one-third of our countrymen in full support, one-third fully against, and as many preferring to stay on the sidelines. Of that one-third in support, less than 10 percent fought in the Continental Army. We don’t need a majority. Revolutions never have. We need a minority of Wide Awakes to coalesce, to see, judge, and act.
“Be a part of that band of small-time heroes, in whatever way you can. Keep your faith up. None of us truly knows the future. We can only act as nobly as we can in the time we have.”
Well said. Far too often we politics watchers become so engulfed in the he said/she said back-and-forth of daily news headlines that we forget there’s more to life -- much more -- than what is going on someplace hundreds or thousands of miles distant. It’s not that politics doesn’t matter -- the events of the past century prove that policy could mean the difference between life and death -- but there’s a lot that can be done on the personal level to make each individual’s life better.
As suggested by the title of her column, Pullmann offers 85 actions that every person could do if he or she were so inclined. Some favorites are, “60. Smile at people while you’re not wearing a mask,” or, “70. Move your investments out of institutions and companies that hate America,” or, “77. Start a men’s club of any manly variety — cigar smoking, shooting, running, drinking, self-improvement, business coaching, etc.”
Smiling or moving your investment portfolio or starting a men’s (drinking?) club are all fairly easily accomplished and would instantaneously make someone else’s existence a little improved. Now that the dreaded masks are returning (I’d say about 60 percent of the people in the supermarket were wearing them yesterday, and it’s not yet mandated in my place of domicile), a smile is a rare commodity again.
Pullmann’s is a fairly exhaustive list of things you can do; I’d like to add something that you can realize by doing virtually nothing, and that’s to take Senator Rand Paul’s advice and resist the tyranny of the current regime and refrain from complying with their dictates. Paul put it succinctly by saying “They can’t arrest us all.” Why not work with a local group of civic and like-minded people and dare the Kens and Karens of the world to carry through with their liberty-snatching threats?
It probably wouldn’t work on an airplane -- those flight attendants will call the federal marshals on you lickety-split -- but it might have more impact at a place like Home Depot if the corporate giant once again follows the Fauci junta and demands face diapers or else. You can even name your group, such as “Mostly fully vaccinated humans against tyrannical political sadists.” Anytime a member of the enforcement gestapo approaches you with their orders, simply shout “I can’t breathe!” and ignore him.
This may or may not work, and it’s not intended to be funny. But if we’re ever to break out of this vicious cycle of elitist dictators issuing unconstitutional edicts, we need to get active.
Far too many of us feel powerless to do anything when there’s nothing but negativity on the news. Pullmann suggests liberation could be as simple as getting to know your neighbors or volunteering to help someone who obviously needs it. These are things we grew up with in church but seem to have forgotten under mandatory lockdowns from COVID obsessed decision-makers. Whenever liberties are mentioned, the controllers jump all over the speaker with accusations of not caring about your fellow man (and woman).
The next step might come easy or us. It might not. Political operations gather your information and mine it over and over and over again until they get a response. I worked hard to reelect President Trump but I’m not sure why I continue to get several texts a day asking whether I still support him. Somehow it seems the best way forward is to commit to doing something new and uncomfortable and think hard on what positive attributes stem from it.
Making somebody’s day is a good start. Schools often require parents to volunteer x number of hours every year, but many of us didn’t need to be told to do it.
Conservatives cannot reasonably expect national movements to materialize if we’re unwilling to personally do more to foster them at home. It might come from running for office, or it could be just as meaningful to serve as your local Republican party’s precinct captain. Or get to know your children’s or grandchildren’s friends. Ask questions. Talk about important issues in your community with your neighbors and friends.
Pullmann was correct in saying that Revolutions aren’t started by majorities. They’re initiated at the most organic level and grow from there, fueled by courageous people who aren’t scared to take a chance and put themselves on the record. If you’re at a point where you’re searching for what comes next in your life, you probably just need to ask the person in the mirror.
And then don’t take “I can’t” for an answer.
School board meetings
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Revolutions
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grassroots organizing
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