Resolutions – Onward with 2022!

Think about resolutions – we all make them at this time of year, something we want to see, or see happen, improve, quit, start, correct, or perfect. Now slightly think bigger, think the Nation. This year, Americans have a chance – starting right now – to kick Socialism to the curb, down the drain, and we can resolve to make that happen. Here is how.

First, affirm that you will not shy from dialogue with people. Know what you know, be ready to catch a few spears, listen to people, even those who know just hooey, hokum, and gobbledygook.

When you listen patiently to political gobbledygook, stay calm, and engage. This is the fighter pilot in you, defender of the Alamo, strength. Keep your eyes on the prize, conveying truth that might just stick, if not now at some point. Keep your sights aligned, powder dry.

Those unsure of what they think, or sure of things that are wrong, often waver, falter, and fall to truth expressed in a cogent, logical, respectful – maybe even humorous – way. You have the upper hand if you know your facts, keep your cool, and with attitude, enter the duel.

So, resolve not to shy from personal engagements, but to have the dialogue, so comfortable with the truth it becomes unsettling for those who splutter, talk but say little, repeat but do not understand. Political dialogue can be risky but take the risk.

Second, think anew about people of a different sort. What does that mean? It means engage the stranger without as much fear as we have been taught harbor. Here is why.

A silent, unheralded consensus is emerging from the First and Second Amendments to parents telling schools who is in charge, from foreign policy to inflation and energy costs. People know that beneath the surface, notwithstanding crazy words in the media and politicians.

Know what? You would be surprised. Americans do not want to be shut down anywhere – in their communities, at a school board meeting, on social media. They do not want cancelling.

Gun ownership is rocketing, including first-time buyers, women, minorities in crime-ridden cities. That is big, as it means a huge new constituency for gun training, carry, and ownership.

Parents are rising – on multiple fronts, at school board meetings, against government overreach, against redefining biology, math, and women’s sports. They want their kids to succeed.

On things that once seemed far away, the same is happening. Democrat mismanagement is breathtaking and of big things. Afghanistan withdrawal to China, and Americans know it. Appeasement does not work; it never has.

So, a consensus is building everywhere. Start assuming they may feel as you do, on at least some of the big issues of our time – because they do. They hate inflation, government mandates and power grabs, insecurity, and double-talk – as much as you do.

Third, take time to read, learn, master one policy area, restore your confidence in what you know, so you can help be part of the solution. In practical terms, that means put aside the blizzard of political, “he said-she said,” and think bigger. Get informed because it empowers.

Knowledge also gives you the edge in unpredictable ways on those who might otherwise lower your day. Yes, Francis Bacon said, “knowledge is power.”  History proves it. Our Founders had the courage to break the mold, steer mankind on a different course, reset the sails for new wind.

It worked. Thomas Jefferson, rightly revered, wrote hundreds of wonderful letters. To a friend in 1817:  Stop to “perceive the important truths … that knowledge is power, that knowledge is safety, and that knowledge is happiness.”  So, do not take it from me, but from him.

Fourth, if recent years have been frustrating – for us all – our engines ready and nowhere to go, a sense of the world slipping from the grip, reach out and take hold, make this year a fast grip, no-slip.

On the practical side, if political discontent roils you, get involved. Local politics are fine, a good way to start making a difference. Just go to a school board meeting if you are a parent or drop by a police precinct with doughnuts and say, “thank you,” or maybe go bigger.

Key: The future is unwritten. Nothing about it is set yet, nothing. It is what we make it. We can oust failed parts of what burdens us, turn out leaders who fail us, and lock onto what works, and go with it.

This year can be the end of discouragement, no more backsteps, remorse, and regret. It can be filled with the chance to start getting things right, and that will be double in November. The future of this great nation – in many ways – is right here, in our hands.

Finally, remember we each have a voice, just one, but it can turn the wheel, change anything. If you want to make your voice stronger, read history, pick a couple of books, and just do it.

Much seems out of our control, but time is in our control, how we use it. We can shift what ails us with engagement and knowledge, bring the boom around, and really sail. That could be local or bigger, letters to the editor or something else, but we all have a voice – and good to use it.

Make no mistake; these are times of consequence. We are being tapped on the shoulder and reminded – do whatever you can, because on you lies the whole outcome. Together, we can make 2022 an inflection point, with personal resolutions and a nation that needs us—lifting a glass onward with 2022!