As we sit here in red Texas, we observe blue states and cities acting in ways we simply do not understand. This condition embraces many things which add up to the fact that that blue and red states no longer live the same lives, believe the the same things, or have the same attitudes, even about the core values upon which the old "United States" was founded.
Here in Texas we love our cops. In many northern states, cops are hated. In red states, we enjoy achieving from school to sports to careers. Blue states seem to focus on "participation awards", turning sports events into political events, and happily staying home collecting government checks rather than getting a job. In red America we honor our heroes. In blue America, statues honoring heroes are torn down. In red America we respect success and see achievers as role models. We try to emulate them. In blue states, achievers are viewed as exploiters and heartless, privileged elitists. Blue states see achievers as the enemy.
I grew up in New York City in a time when American heroes, living and dead were honored. We watched movies about Lincoln, Grant, MacArthur, Elliott Ness, Edison, and Bull Halsey. We learned about military victories like Midway and the Battle of the Bulge. We swelled with pride learning about American achievements from Belleau Wood to the moon. We constantly improved ourselves as education opportunities expanded and we learned to judge one another not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character.
In my own life, I learned a lot from experience. I had a roommate in the barracks as a young Enlisted Soldier named Lloyd Austin. I never dreamed he'd be the Secretary of Defense someday, but I knew he had as good a shot at it as anyone else. I had the opportunity to meet Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall who taught me how to evaluate the performance of Soldiers. Somehow, race never entered into the conversation. I had hero mentors like a retired Special Forces Colonel who taught me always to have a positive attitude, another retired Officer who taught me how to avoid the minutiae, and a wife that taught me how to make someone besides myself happy.
Before I get labelled as "some old white guy of privilege", let me explain that both my grandfathers arrived in America penniless and pushed carts in New York City selling sundries. Striving and overcoming, one became the Fire Chief of Newark. The other became a tech for Thomas Edison. They lived the American dream without taking a handout from anyone.
Lots of the country still embraces these ideals of self reliance and positive achievement. Unfortunately, there are many who would rather disrupt and destroy the ideals that built America. The smoldering ruins of cities they have all but eradicated mark our landscape from the west coast to the east. The leaders of these malcontents continue to train Americans to obey using tools like OBEDIENCE MASKS, Executive Orders, and outrageous legislation.
Red and Blue in modern America are as divided as Blue and Gray were in the days preceding the Civil War.
God help us.
