Demonstrations and Elections and Things

January 8, 2021

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

On Wednesday we witnessed a truly regrettable event – one that blew up in the faces of those who called it into being.  Disappointed Trump voters were invited to our nation’s capital to demonstrate their disappointment, and for many, their disillusionment, with last November’s election.  Despite what the mainstream media and Democrat spokespersons (same thing?) say, there is plenty of evidence of widescale fraud and cheating in that election.  On top of the actual cheating, the media deliberately slanted their coverage and often excluded information unfavorable to the Democrat side, while emphasizing trivialities on the Republican side.  Examples are rife – the Hunter Biden laptop was (and still is) a genuine bombshell.  Daddy and son Biden took big money from the Chinese Communists in exchange for ….?   TBD (but we may, to our dismay, soon find out).  But, according to our media ‘betters … “Nothing to see here, folks.  Kindly move on…”

Half the nation feels disenfranchised and cheated, to one extent or another, and some among them responded to a call from outgoing President Trump to come to Washington to peacefully demonstrate their displeasure on January 6.  It was very unfortunate that Trump didn’t foresee that in doing this, he was setting a trap for himself.  In every group, there are some extremists, and too often, some on the other side of the fence might “join” in the event just to disrupt and bring disrepute to it.  So, in the end, the worst things that could go wrong did go wrong.  And rather than demonstrating solidarity and the need to tighten up (clean up) our election process, some in the demonstration became a mob that broke windows and frightened many and totally embarrassed all the rest.  Worse still, it brought disgrace to Trump and, most likely, destroyed any hope of his ever regaining the presidency.  Some die-hards may continue to rally for him, but the majority of the electorate has probably had enough.

Now, for the election itself:  

The people have spoken and chosen.  They were free to do so.  That’s what living in a democratic republic is all about.  The answer to whether the “people” were fully informed and had chosen wisely will play out over the coming year. 

During the run-up to the election, we heard a lot about socialism and that many among us, especially among the younger voters, seemed to be OK with it if that’s what a majority might vote for.  The new president-to-be has been in government for 47 years and his mental acuity, which many doubted had ever been especially sharp, has declined markedly over the past half-decade.  He is someone who has, on occasion, spoken almost eloquently about America and the freedoms and bounty that Freedom’s God has bestowed upon us.  But there is a good deal of pull and tug and push within the party that he leads, and much of that varied thrusting is leftward; to Biden’s left are the young know-nothings who were captivated by lies they were exposed to while dallying in the “Liberal Arts” in college.  One of the loudest among them, in fact, proclaims to have completed college courses in “economics” and tells us that socialism is not only peachy-keen, but will be “fairer” and level the playing field among all those subject to it. 

One rues that this stalwart admirer of socialism (AKA communism-light) never took some real history courses as well.  History is a great teacher, and studying it helps one understand and avoid the tragic missteps of unfortunates who came before.  Universities are staffed by lots of folks who spent a decade or more getting advanced degrees and who wish to “share their enlightenment” with young-adult college students.  Teaching college pays OK but hardly ever makes those who teach wealthy.  And those same “teachers” are agitated by the old saw, “If you’re so smart, how come you ain’t rich?”  So, here is Old Frank’s theory:  Those who teach that socialism is a realistic alternative to free market societies feel that if socialism were implemented, they, the enlightened, leftist PhDs among us, would be in charge and would “run things.”  Sorry, but that’s not how it ever worked out. 

The intellectuals who helped bring about the Russian Revolution of 1917 were almost all purged and subsequently entered the Gulags of simply “disappeared.”  As they say, “You can look it up.”  It was the same in Eastern Europe, Cuba, Southeast Asia and more recently in Venezuela.  Rather than the enlightened “thinkers,” the thugs took over and ruled with iron fists.  People soon learned that to speak out meant big trouble, loss of livelihood, “re-education,” imprisonment, or even disappearance. These experiences were waved away by the new “bosses” with a new “old saw”: “You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.”

One hopes that Old Uncle Joe Biden has the fortitude to withstand the pressure from the omelet-makers on his left.  But, I for one, am not holding my breath.  We may be in for a tough ride.  And Old Uncle Joe is going to need our collective prayers to keep him from temptation.  He cannot simply “go along to get along.”  The stakes for our experiment as a beacon to the world are much too high.  Join me in praying that he is up to the task.

Old Frank