There were 333.3 million people living in the United States in 2022. Of that number, 260 million, or about 78 percent, are adults. Of that number, 168 million, or just 64 percent of all adults, are registered voters. Of them, 154 million, or 91 percent, voted in 2020. That was huge. These are the statistics.
Why is that important? Because for all the jabber about losing “our democracy” (it’s actually a constitutional republic) and the hooting over “voter suppression,” you’d think people are being chased routinely from the polls by thugs waving baseball bats to menace voters. Voter suppression is a lie, and the perpetrators know it’s a lie. But it’s a fabrication they’ve turned into an article of faith that is as inauthentic as the empty claims of a snake oil salesman hawking false cures in the streets of a dusty frontier town.
The truth is that voters are abundant, and those who seek their support at the polls are becoming more numerous by the minute. At last count, no less than 3 Democrats and 13 Republicans say they want to be our President. They come from various backgrounds. Some have business credentials. Good ones. Others range from spiritualists to environmental activists. Unsurprisingly, most are political figures dreaming of being the ultimate political figure in America. Too bad. In this age, we need leaders, not figures, particularly those devoted to figures of speech.
Some of them could serve adequately as President. A few have true executive experience. Most have ambition. That’s not completely bad. But it’s not very comforting, even when shrouded in talking points that make voter ears itch while doing little to actually resolve the underlying problems that irritate us. We’re a nation afflicted with political poison ivy without an adequate supply of calamine lotion.
Our problems are numerous. Things like disregarding constitutional governance, failing to prioritize fixing the plethora of problems that beset America, and pols preferring self-adulation over selfless service. Like many, I am exhausted with all of it.
I’ve often written in this space of my concerns about the burgeoning national debt; the profligate spending; the abundance of unconstitutional executive orders that subvert the legislative process; the actions of law makers who willingly—blithely—hand to unelected bureaucrats the power to tell us what Congress “meant” when they passed this or that law; and—more irritating than wading through acres of poison ivy—the “woke” policies that would have us reject the wisdom of our founders for the silly affections of people who haven’t a clue about America’s founding or the functioning of a republic. We are drowning in a rising tide of ignorance courtesy of an “edu-ocracy” more concerned about gender-affirming indoctrination than teaching our kids and grandkids reading, writing, and mathematics. And they don’t think we’re paying attention. They are wrong. We are. Many voters are not as attention-deficit—as the teacher unions think. But I digress.
So, what shall we do in 2024? Here are some more statistics to factor. In America today among the 260 million of our fellow adults, there are millions of farmers, veterans, businesspeople, attorneys, doctors, nurses, accountants, policeman, firemen, and educators (who actually educate.) Does it strike you, as it does me, that America has an abundance of good people who could be our President? You know many people in these fields of endeavor and others. They are wise and decent people. And, no, they are not skilled politicians, but they are people who have the desire to use common sense and do a good thing. To apply their talents and make life for families, communities, states, and the nation better. Most do not aspire to the presidency. That idea is alien to them because their priorities are closer to home. But they surely want America led by the best and the brightest, not the loudest and most ambitious.
The abundance of talent in America is undeniable. I know people I have served with, both in the military and in their capacity as hard-working Americans, who are more than equal to the tasks the President must confront. They may not be smooth talkers, but they know right from wrong. They may not be diplomats, but they know what is in the best interest of the country. They may not be lawyers. But they know that above all, good citizens obey the law. They may not be slick politicians, but they know that compromise and commonsense are preferable to “my way or the highway” gridlock.
So, with all of this talent, why in 2024 might our choice be between two superannuated men—just 0.0000006006 percent of our total population—whom 61 to 71 percent of us (according to a recent Harris poll) do not want to run again? It’s an abundance of statistical nonsense to me.
PS: It’s here! My new book Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East is NOW released. You can also get a copy at Amazon. However, IF you want a signed and personalized copy from me, you should order one from my website shop page where you can obtain any of my books! Get yours today!
0 Comments