Confidence in Darkness

Growing up in rural Maine, baseball, scouts, running, and time in the woods put us home late – nights dark with no moon. Even as kids – confident American kids – we had no fear. We got home and knew our way – sure as Shakespeare. National politics today are like those dark nights, no moon.

And yet, we should have no fear. We are “grown-up” American kids who know right from wrong – and our way home. Remember that – when the political left hoots from trees, riots, and makes a ruckus. We know our way while they are profoundly lost.

Looking at 2022, what does the Democrat Party stand for? So much less than in the past.

They stand for nothing except an unquenchable thirst for power and the willingness to run against the Bill of Rights, fiscal responsibility, parents, girls, limited government, national security, border sanctity, law enforcement, life, individual liberty, and free markets. 

They oppose free speech, the exercise of religion, the “right to keep and bear arms,” local control over education, local police, Title 9, the right of all to a stable currency, affordable energy, the American Dream, and a pension that does not erode.

Yes, the moral, fiscal, and security environment is dark. It is also reversible, based on how clearly “We, The People” – who not long ago spoke freely, professed faith, knew firearms, respected laws – navigate this darkness.

How do we do that? By trusting ourselves. You will ask, where is the precedent, from what do we draw that power, where is that confidence – to keep our bearing in this darkness? History, heart, faith – the deep understanding that all conservatives have, knowing good from the bad.

Think earnestly about history, those who went before, wrestled hot wars, personal losses, economic depression, leadership deficits, societal violence, aggressive adversaries, cultural detractors, deniers of truth, and even the Bill of Rights.

Think about mountains they climbed in darkness. Nearly 7,000 dead in the Revolutionary War, entire cities destroyed; 15,000 Americans dead in 1812; 620,000 dead in the Civil War; 116,000 dead in WWI, 300,000 in WWII, 58,000 in Vietnam, and 7,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan. The nation survived.

Think epidemics, half the population of Boston getting smallpox before the Revolution, waves of cholera before 1866 killing ten percent of our cities, waves of scarlet fever, typhoid, Spanish flu (can we say that?), diphtheria, and polio – which alone maimed tens of thousands.

Think dark days that were “heart punches,” Pearl Harbor, 9-11, loss of space shuttle Challenger in 1986, Columbia in 2003, Fort Washington abandoned in 1776, Washington DC burned in 1814, assassinations of Lincoln, Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King, Galveston hurricane in 1900 (killing 12,000), stock market “crash” of 1929 (vanishing life savings for millions), Great Depression (25 percent unemployed), how our nation reeled, rallied, rectified it all.

Think too about attacks from the outside – and inside – on our culture, anti-democratic time after the Civil War, Democrats pushing racism until the 1960s, counter-culture of the 1960s, and antipathy for American traditions, order, and law. 

Think of the pro-communist era of “fellow travelers” in the 1930s, communism infiltrating Hollywood in the 1950s, and repeat shocks by the Soviets until they were erased by Reagan.

These were dark times, consumed society, swept our gunnels, threatened to swamp our faith, and covered the moon for a while – making us doubt. Then our bow came up; waves receded, and confidence in the future prevailed, turning back the storm. We knew our way home.

We are here again – challenged, pushed to concede our national confidence to … darkness. We are told canceling political opponents is okay, packing the Supreme Court fine, redefining boys as girls permissible, violence for non-violence logical, criminals with guns and police defunded, no border, spending as if inflation were unimportant. We kill our energy sector as China pushes emissions at twice ours, unrepentant, laughing.

Yes, the world is upside down, darkness pervasive, but we have endured far worse, corrected course – and will again.  It is already happening, on its way, coming with a vengeance. So, keep your compass, confidence, and what you knew as a kid – because it remains true.

One other thing. When we get home we will celebrate our faith – in each other, our nation, and a merciful God. We always have. So will those who follow us, as we do those who came before.

On reflection, we always have a light. Thoughts drift to Shakespeare, Henry V’s famous speech, light in the darkness, referencing Saint Crispian. Before that epic victory, odds longer than the longest night, his speech sounded: “This day is called the feast of Crispian. He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, will stand a tiptoe when the day is named and rouse him at the name of Crispian.”

Every era has battles to join, fights to win, and freedom’s watch to keep. This is ours. We do know our way home, sure as we did when kids. Darkness should inspire confidence, not fear. When it does, darkness has no power.