The sound was mournful; “I am giving up.” The young man I overheard talking on an elevator caught my attention because he was talking loudly, wanting all within hearing distance to know of his decision to quit. I could not help but engage him in conversation about his decision to quit by throwing in the towel and giving up. As I spoke with him, I heard what has become familiar speech from other people with whom I have spoken. This young person was talking about the never ending cycle of disappointment regarding the political issues we are facing in our country now. “They are all lazy, stubborn, and wrong,” this young man went on expressing his opinion to me about what he observed on the national level in the political world. As I talked more with this young man, I asked him about his level of involvement. To which he answered, “I never vote.” “I don’t understand politics,” he said. To which I then asked, “Let me get this right, you are throwing in what towel?” I am amazed at the number of people with whom I speak who have bucket loads of opinions about the political process and what needs to be done (usually they are sharing what they have heard on their favorite talk radio show or other media source), yet with little or no knowledge of what is really taking place in the political world. There are people with one agenda; it could be immigration, the economy, entitlements, rich people needing to pay more tax, or a list of other issues that seem to ignite feelings of emotion of passion with little real evidence to support their stated position.
I understand the frustration being expressed as we continue to hear about the cuts occurring as a result of sequestration. There is a sense of hopelessness that has invaded the lives of many people today. Unemployment or under employment has caused a funk to set in and is leading many people into a deep depression about our country and the future.
This is not the time, however, to give up. If anything, we need more people engaged and involved now than ever. We must not let the current trends continue and give up to those who continue to harp about the dismal future of our country. Our country is strong and our people are hard working folks equal to and greater than the task before us. Giving up is not an option. If we give up now, we are certain to fail. Staying in the game, keeping up the fight, continuing to be truly informed about what is happening in the political world should not discourage us, but should ignite us to try harder and do even more to keep the freedoms that have been fought for and won in the our history. To give up the fight for liberty now would be to insult the past generations of Americans who were willing to risk everything they had to stay the course and come out with victory. Just because certain elections have not gone the way many would like is no reason to give up. Just because there seems to be a level of ineptness and incompetence stinking up the political landscape is not reason to quit. The opposite is true. As we begin to move close to the next election cycle, now is the time to begin to become informed about the positions of elected officials and determine we are going to get in the game trying to find others who will run for office that will carry the banner of freedom and liberty.
My plan is to double down on what I already know and be more involved than ever standing for freedom and a higher level of moral ethic in the political world. Do I believe we will win every race? No, but I will be in there working to find the people who hold to my positions on the issues and to see them go into office. The thought of giving up is foreign to anything I can imagine as we go forward. It is simply because I see the challenge before us that I refuse to quit. I will not give up. I will speed up and go forward, trumpeting the call for all to join us in the fight for change in the direction of our country.
Ray Newman
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