TR 379 - America is on a Collision Course

Here goes nothing.

The idiom “here goes nothing” is generally meant in one of three ways:

1. I’m not sure I’ll succeed, but I’ll give it my best.

2. I’m going to crush this, but I don’t want to be over confident.

3. I’m giving it everything I’ve got, because I have nothing to lose.

If it’s possible to wrap all three sentiments into a single morning report, that is what I’m attempting to do here. Our country is on a collision course. We have a date with destiny. The chickens are coming home to roost. We’re about to reap what we’ve sown, and there really isn’t much we can do about it—except prepare accordingly.

I attended a Lincoln Dinner event over the weekend and had the opportunity to hear the vision of three different gubernatorial candidates for Washington state. It was a refreshingly patriotic event, with Americans of a all stripes and colors celebrating their shared love of life, liberty, American culture, and traditional family values.

For those unfamiliar with Lincoln Dinner events, they are annual Republican fundraisers put on at the local party level, named, obviously, in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican to be elected President. The irony that Republicans are lambasted by the Left as racist, right-wing extremists should be easily eviscerated by this historical fact—that Republicans are the ones who abolished slavery—but there is an astonishing degree of ignorance that generally conceals this fact.

The three candidates who were vying for support, hoping to be elected to the highest political position in the state, represented everything good about our country.

First up was a black man who was born without civil rights, born into poverty with a single mother and many siblings, who enlisted to serve his country twice (first as a Marine, second as an Army Special Forces Intelligence Operations post 9/11 Green Beret), who survived multiple combat tours, and went on to become a successful businessman. In his own words, he is living proof that the American Dream is very much alive and well. He was an eloquent and inspiring speaker. His name is Semi Bird.

Second up was a woman entrepreneur who had the courage and tenacity to stand up to the state during the covid chaos, only to have her business repeatedly fined and her license revoked, before ultimately losing her life’s work due to the suffocating oppression of aggressive authoritarian state agencies. Here was a woman who was brave, bold, and willing to fight back, who is tossing her hat into the race to prove that she cannot be intimidated into retreat. Her message was one of unity, that we must pull together to slay the beast of bureaucracy. Her name is Laurel Wheat Khan.

The third candidate who spoke was a Cuban refugee, born under the terror of communism, who came to the United States as a young man who couldn’t speak English, but fought and clawed his way to a top notch education—earning his B.A. in Microbiology from the University of Miami and his medical degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. This refugee has since channeled his passion for medicine into founding two medical schools, serving as an ER physician, as well as being the Medical Director of two hospitals. His name is Dr. Raul Garcia.

So, we had a Cuban refugee who overcame all odds to become a doctor, a female entrepreneur who stood defiant in the face of state discrimination, and a “person of color”—born without civil rights—who nonetheless has dedicated his life to fighting for the country that he loves. How’s THAT for an All American line up!

Toward the end of the event, I was invited up to rally the crowd to pledge support for the organization—the local GOP, the Republican party—who was supporting these three very diverse and highly impressive candidates. Standing on the stage, taking in the colorful tapestry of people of all ages, colors, and creeds, I remarked:

“I’ve never been so proud to be in the company of so many racist right-wing extremists, Christian insurrectionists, and radical domestic terrorists!”

The crowd gave out a roar. I was in good company. We were all proud to be Americans.

Now let’s pivot.

I support the local Republican party 100% — despite the nationally corrupt Republican establishment. These are the politically active people in the local communities who are fighting to make a difference. Rather than just sitting around bitching about how messed up everything is, these are the people who are actually trying to do something about it. They’re seeking out and drumming up support for liberty loving candidates and they’re working hard to get out the vote, and I am grateful for their efforts.

We all should be. Their action is the opposite of apathy.

That’s the positive side of things, and I’ve shared it first to set the stage for how I really feel. If you’ve been with me for awhile, you’d know that I don’t really identify as a “Republican” per se—in fact, if pressed into a corner, I would flatly reject the national party platform. I don’t stand for everything that the label “Republican” has come to stand for. Instead, as stated on the about page, I often quip:

“I am a fiscally conservative, socially conscious, politically independent thinker with a libertarian bent – an Army veteran turned political pundit who presents intelligent counter-narrative perspectives via my daily podcast and Substack articles.”

In other words, I am a very opinionated peasant. I believe that if we only look at issues from the Left and Right, we’re missing the other 358 degrees of perspective. In my mind, it is absolutely ridiculous to think we can get 330 million Americans to agree on everything. Therefore, we must agree to disagree about certain things, in order to work together for the good of our communities, our states, and our countries.

And I don’t mean that in some B.S. kumbaya “let’s all get along” sort of way.

I mean that in a tactical, practical, strategic sort of way.

In order save our country, we absolutely MUST break free of groupthink and overcome the tendency to demonize anyone who disagrees on any point.

Do you remember the most popular podcast from last year? It was TR 180 - Friends in the Fight for Freedom, which is still climbing the ranks in the search results:

“Take heart my friends, you need not go to church or profess faith to see this all through the lens of logic. In your heart, you know you were born to be free. If you are willing to fight for freedom, then you are a force for good—you are on the right side of history, an ally, and you will always be a friend of mine!”

The point is, I don’t care if you go to church, or don’t go to church, whether you’re a free spirited pot smoking hippie or a hard working American redneck, whether you’re atheist, agnostic, pentecostal, baptist, mormon, or buddhist—I don’t care so much what clothes you wear, whether you have tatoos, piercings, or pink hair, what you do for fun or how you choose to express yourself—what I care about is the content of your character and your degree of respect.

If you are honest (as opposed to being a liar), authentic (as opposed to being pretentious), and respectful (as opposed to being arrogant, pompous, and condescending), then we have some common ground upon which to build a working relationship for the sake of the so-called “greater good.” I used that term lightly.

What it all boils down to, is the fact that there is more than unites us than there is that divides us. I state that as a fact, though I acknowledge it is a subject of much debate.

Yes, our country is being ripped apart by partisan politics, ideological subversion, and an intentionally cultivated culture war. Yes, lawlessness, corruption, and insanity abound. Yes, a great many people have lost their collective minds, succumb to the socialist assimilation, and are no longer thinking for themselves.

Yes, our society is sick. And no, this is not by accident.

The only question that matters is: how do we overcome this?

We have to work together.

It’s not optional.

Just like failure is not an option, retreating into our respective camps and comfort zones is not an option either. By the very virtue of reading or listening to the Torch Report, you are on the “cutting edge of societal evolution”—as Rush Limbaugh would famously say—and that means that you care about our country and understand what I’m saying. We are on a collision course. The deck is stacked against us.

But as Americans, we will never give up.

We will come together and form new coalitions and alliances. We will pour our time, talents, and resources into achieving practical solutions. We will draw upon our grit, tenacity, determination and inspiration to push through, to persevere, to overcome all odds and reclaim the reigns of our once great nation, hold fast to the American Dream, and secure the blessings of liberty for future generations.

No matter how bad it gets, the American Spirit always lives on in our hearts.

Our flag STILL stands for freedom, and they can’t take that away.

Let that pride well up in your heart.

It will give you strength for what lies ahead.

PS: Don’t forget, now it’s easy to catch up on previous episodes by listening to The Torch Report on iHeart Radio, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Apple iTunes —enjoy!

PPS: If you feel like you’re getting value from the Torch Report, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support shining light in these dark times!