Notes from: A Political Epistolary for 2024
Contributed by Dan Magone
I have been running a family business in remote western Alaska for 45 years now, but I started out as a hippy type, anti-Viet Nam war, liberal from California before moving to Dutch Harbor in 1979. I was aligned more with the Democrat Party since they were all about giving everyone an equal opportunity which is what I assumed everyone needed to succeed in life. After becoming an employer by the age of 25 it did not take me too many years to realize that it was not opportunities that people lacked but motivation and the ability to make good choices in their lives. I learned that no amount of investment in time, money or training did any good unless the employee was motivated to succeed. As my company and personal responsibilities grew, I found a biblical lifestyle and world view better met my needs for personal growth with my political perspective evolving to that of a Conservative.
Since the French revolution of 1789 the political left has fought for their vision of a socialist utopia free of religion and moral laws, where citizens living together in equity are submitted to a state that directs their lives and provides for their needs. The left feels this is perfectly possible, believing a humanistic idea that mankind is by nature inherently good. Their assumption is unfettered by the Judeo/Christian belief that mankind in our fallen state is inclined to self-centeredness, pride, self-pity, and cruelty. The fact that every socialist experiment big and small has ended in failure, including some 100 million dead to communism in the 20th century does not deter each generation from trying to reinvent it. The signers of our constitution were aware and pitted against this philosophy and the political right has kept it in check until my generation. Unnoticed over passed decades our universities gradually transformed into bastions of the left that for thirty plus years have produced mostly graduates with left-wing world views. For this reason, we now see a generation of left-wing professionals that have taken positions as corporate leaders, lawyers, judges, mayors, governors, representatives, and senators. We all must honestly look at the fruit this has produced in our society these last few years.
Corruption of our political leaders both Democrate and Republican has rendered many of our representatives, senators, and even the presidency impotent. I mean really, they let a Chinese spy balloon fly across the entire country and then shoot it down when it finally went out to sea! Judging by the issues that occupy much of our social discourse, many of us do not recognize our weakness and the real dangers we face. Yes, we face foreign threats to be sure but the greatest threats we face are within our own government institutions. For example, look at our national debt.
To avoid the direct impact and political fallout from massive federal budget deficits our past and present presidential administrations have, to greater or lesser extent pressured the FED to use every kind of Central Bank manipulation to get us to the next election. This market interference has led to the bubble/recession cycle over the years and this corruption of our economic model coupled with the debt raises the risk of a very serious recession if not economic collapse. The national debt in round numbers as of August was 36 trillion and we are borrowing a trillion dollars every 90 days. The last time our nation’s GDP to debt ratio was this bad was in 1945 just after all the spending to fight WW II. Instead of just finishing a world war our foreign policy seems to be drawing us inextricably to the beginning of one. We now find ourselves in an era not unlike the 1930’s when world war was just an incident or two away, but our present U.S. economy looks more like we just fought one. Not a strong position to be in.
I pray that as Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, or Independents we can come together this year to honor the sacrifices that have been made to obtain and maintain the freedoms that many have taken for granted. To fulfill our duty as citizens by pursuing the truth, discussing the issues, and voting for the candidates that best represent our values. The United States of America is at stake, as well as the future we leave for our children’s children.
You can find my entire 18,000-word essay at portofrefuge.com