Enjoy a great Thanksgiving Holiday…pray for peace
These editorials have appeared annually in the Wall Street Journal since 1961
THE DESOLATE WILDERNESS
Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620 as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof:
So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16) and therein quieted their spirits.
When they came to Delfs-Haven they found the ship and all things ready, and such of their friends as could not come with them followed after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and to take their leaves of them. One night was spent with little sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian discourse and other expressions of true Christian love.
The next day they went on board, and their friends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound amongst them; what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each other’s heart, that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the Key as spectators could not refrain from tears. But the tide (which stays for no man) calling them away, that were thus loathe to depart, their Reverend Pastor, falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with watery cheeks commended them with the most fervent prayers unto the Lord and His blessing; and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leaves of one another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them.
Being now past the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before them in expectations, they had now no friends to welcome them, no inns to entertain or refresh them, no houses, or much less towns, to repair unto to seek for succor; and for the season it was winter, and they know the winters of the country know them to be sharp and violent, subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search unknown coasts.
Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beasts and wilde men? And what multitude of them there were, they knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any outward object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weather beaten face, and the whole country full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew.
If they looked behind them, there was a mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a main bar of gulph to separate them from all the civil parts of the world.
AND THE FAIR LAND
Anyone whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.
This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.
And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped.
So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.
For the traveler, as travelers have been always, is a much questioned as questioning. And for all the abundance he sees, he finds the questions put to him ask where men may repair for succor from the troubles that beset them.
His countrymen cannot forget the savage face of war. Too often they have been asked to fight in strange and distant places, for no clear purpose they could see and for no accomplishment they can measure. Their spirits are not quieted by the thought that the good and plenty bounty that surrounds them can be destroyed in an instant by a single bomb. Yet they find no escape, for their survival and comfort now depend on unpredictable strangers in far-off corners of the globe.
How they turn from melancholy when at home they see young arrayed against old, black against white, neighbor against neighbor, so that they stand in peril of social discord. Or not despair when they see that the cities and countryside are in need of repair, yet find themselves threatened by scarcities of the resources that sustain their way of life. Or when, in the face of these challenges, they turn for leadership to men in high places-only to find those men as frail as any others.
So sometimes the traveler is asked whence will come their succor. What is to preserve their abundance, or even their civility? How can they pass on to their children a nation as strong and free as the one they inherited from their forefathers? How is their country to endure these cruel storms that beset it from without and from within?
Of course the stranger cannot quiet their spirits. For it is true that everywhere men turn their eyes today much of the world has a truly wild and savage hue. No man, if he be truthful, can say that the specter of war is banished. Nor can he say that when men or communities are put upon their own resources they are sure of solace; nor be sure that men of diverse kinds and diverse views can live peaceably together in a time of troubles.
But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere-in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.
We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.
And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out to Delfs-Haven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.
Enjoy a great Thanksgiving Holiday…pray for peace
As an American citizen, how do you want our country to move forward for you and your family:
SECURE BORDERS? OPEN BORDERS?
MORE GOVERNMENT? LESS GOVERNMENT?
A STRONG MILITARY? A WEAK MILITARY?
LESS TAXATION? MORE TAXATION?
LESS GOVERNMENT REGULATION? MORE GOVERNMENT REGULATION?
FAIR TRADE AGREEMENTS? QUID PRO QUO TRADE AGREEMENTS?
PROPER CARE FOR OUR VETERANS? DON’T CARE FOR OUR VETERANS?
MERIT BASED IMMIGRATION? THE SHIT WE HAVE NOW?
RESPONSIBLE HELP FOR THE POOR? THROW MONEY AT THE PROBLEM?
TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY TO OUR CHILDREN? ERASE AMERICAN HISTORY?
RESPECT OUR FLAG? DON’T GIVE A SHIT?
SAY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IN SCHOOL? WHAT IS THAT?
Infrastructure X (Keystone & Dakota pipelines) Regulation Reform XX 1 in 2 out
Individual Tax Reform XX Entitlement Reform
Business Tax Reform XX Education Reform X
Healthcare Reform Veterans Administration Reform X
Rebuild our Military X Trade Reform X
Secure our Borders (The Wall) XX Lead the world from the front XX
Help for the poor XX Drain the swamp X as we speak
Peace through unmatchable strength Support Israel X
Destroy ISIS XX Extreme Vetting XX
Conservative Supreme Court nominees XX American Jobs XX
I will track these campaign promises and will check them off as each is accomplished adding those I have missed as they become apparent. This is quite an agenda and will be difficult to achieve all in one term, but I believe the American people are behind him and know these things need to be done. Now, if he can get our legislators to support him instead of fighting him….
As of September 2018: Trump Administration Accomplishments
As you can see above, the listed accomplishments are from 2 years ago. Many more victories for America and the American people have been added to the list below since that time.
* Almost 4 million jobs created since election.
* More Americans are now employed than ever recorded before in our history.
* We have created more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since my election.
* Manufacturing jobs growing at the fastest rate in more than THREE DECADES.
* Economic growth last quarter hit 4.2 percent.
* New unemployment claims recently hit a 49-year low.
* Median household income has hit highest level ever recorded.
* African American unemployment has recently achieved the lowest rate ever recorded.
* Hispanic-American unemployment is at the lowest rate ever recorded.
* Asian-American unemployment recently achieved the lowest rate ever recorded.
* Women’s unemployment recently reached the lowest rate in 65 years.
* Youth unemployment has recently hit the lowest rate in nearly half a century.
* Lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for Americans without a high school diploma.
* Under my Administration, veterans’ unemployment recently reached its lowest rate in nearly 20 years.
* Almost 3.9 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps since the election.
* The Pledge to America’s Workers has resulted in employers committing to train more than 4 million Americans. We are committed to VOCATIONAL education.
* 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future-the highest ever.
* Retail sales surged last month, up another 6 percent over last year.
* Signed the biggest package of tax cuts and reforms in history. After tax cuts, over $300 billion poured back into the U.S. in the first quarter alone.
* As a result of our tax bill, small businesses will have the lowest top marginal tax rate in more than 80 years.
* Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
* Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.
* Opened ANWR and approved Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.
* Record number of regulations eliminated.
* Enacted regulatory relief for community banks and credit unions.
* Obamacare individual mandate penalty GONE.
* My Administration is providing more affordable healthcare options for Americans through association health plans and short-term duration plans.
* Last month, the FDA approved more affordable generic drugs than ever before in history. And thanks to our efforts, many drug companies are freezing or reversing planned price increases.
* We reformed the Medicare program to stop hospitals from overcharging low-income seniors on their drugs-saving seniors hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone.
* Signed Right-To-Try legislation.
* Secured $6 billion in NEW funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
* We have reduced high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent during my first year in office.
* Signed VA Choice Act and VA Accountability Act, expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
* Increased our coal exports by 60 percent; U.S. oil production recently reached all-time high.
* United States is a net natural gas exporter for the first time since 1957.
* Withdrew the United States from the job-killing Paris Climate Accord.
* Cancelled the illegal, anti-coal, so-called Clean Power Plan.
* Secured record $700 billion in military funding; $716 billion next year.
* NATO allies are spending $69 billion more on defense since 2016.
* Process has begun to make the Space Force the 6th branch of the Armed Forces.
* Confirmed more circuit court judges than any other new administration.
* Confirmed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
* Withdrew from the horrible, one-sided Iran Deal.
* Moved U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
* Protecting Americans from terrorists with the Travel Ban, upheld by Supreme Court.
* Issued Executive Order to keep open Guantanamo Bay.
* Concluded a historic U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal to replace NAFTA. And negotiations with Canada are underway as we speak.
* Reached a breakthrough agreement with the E.U. to increase U.S. exports.
* Imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to protect our national security.
* Imposed tariffs on China in response to China’s forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and their chronically abusive trade practices.
* Net exports are on track to increase by $59 billion this year.
* Improved vetting and screening for refugees, and switched focus to overseas resettlement.
* We have begun BUILDING THE WALL. Republicans want STRONG BORDERS and NO CRIME. Democrats want OPEN BORDERS which equals MASSIVE CRIME.
“MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN”
and
“KEEP AMERICAN GREAT”
Have a great weekend…. God bless America!
Buy American made products whenever you can, it’s good for you, good for your friends and neighbors and good for our country.
If you are hiring…try to hire a veteran…. they are loyal, disciplined, hardworking…and they deserve our support.
By the way, if you wish to comment on my rants or offer any other insights you may have, you are encouraged to email me.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT ON IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA…1907
In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag…We have room for but one language here and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
