“This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.
You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between a left or right. Well, I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down.”
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan spoke the above words in his famous “Time for Choosing” speech in 1964. He might as well have been a prophet.
Here we are, 13 months after I wrote my first article concerning the 2024 presidential election. A year ago, President Joe Biden was the presumptive Democrat candidate, and the GOP had not yet chosen its candidate, though former President Donald Trump appeared to have the advantage.
Without even a primary, Vice President Kamala Harris was installed as the Democrat candidate after a collective group of liberals kicked Biden to the curb. She claims she is “running to protect democracy” without being elected by her Democrat constituents to do so, which I find poetically ironic.
This will be Trump’s third run at the Oval Office after serving as president from 2016-2020. But this time is quite different. Several Democrats – Elon Musk, Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard – have come forward to support Trump because they don’t like the direction our nation is headed. It’s rare to see so many leaders from different backgrounds and walks of life join in support of a candidate. This group has put partisan politics aside to fight for something more important: America.
Make no mistake, the future of America is up for grabs right now. The candidates have two very different views of what America should be and how we as a nation continue forward.
Harris has changed her policy positions more times than I changed outfits before picture day in 1986. She was against fracking, now she’s for fracking. She said we didn’t have a border problem, then said she would fix the border. She proudly touted “Bidenomics,” then said she’d fix the inflation causing us stress at the grocery store, gas station, restaurant, etc.
In essence, these policies appear to represent a post-constitutional America. Harris and many of her colleagues view the Constitution, which has served as the law of our land for over 200 years, as antiquated. She believes the First Amendment needs to be regulated and that free speech should not include “disinformation.” Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), advocates abolishing the Electoral College, effectively allowing California and New York to decide all future elections. They seek to finally and radically transform America into a more globally fluid land with no border, high taxes and elevated government dependency.
Trump has already demonstrated how he will serve if elected. If you liked his first term, you will probably be satisfied with the next four years. He believes the United States should have a secure border in order to keep dangerous criminals out. He wants to build a strong economy with lower taxes. He wants to give citizens more control over their own money.
Trump aspires to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay. He advocates for U.S. energy independence, which means drilling for oil here at home, thus lowering our fuel prices. That would also mean exporting oil to other nations and hopefully using the profits to pay down our $35+ trillion debt. Trump believes in American-made products and wants more manufacturers to be headquartered here. His mantra has been “America First” for years. Trump believes the First Amendment is essential to a free society. U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), his running mate, maintains many of the same policy positions as Trump.
That’s the gist of each candidate’s plan for America. The contrasts are stark, and the prospective policies implemented will produce two very different futures for our nation. One future ensures that our citizenry will grow increasingly dependent on the federal government, thus decreasing individual independence and our position in the world. If you extrapolate that, consider the U.S. dollar no longer being the world’s reserve currency and what that will do to individual bank accounts and portfolios.
The other prospective future provides the potential for us to get our act together again. We desperately need to rein in spending - if Congress can find the spine to do so. America can once again become a nation that produces goods. Economic policies that allow Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money can be enacted. We could even get Robert Kennedy, Jr. to overhaul the Food and Drug Administration. Imagine having healthy, non-GMO food to choose from again!
There was a lot of talk about loving your neighbor during Covid. You want to love your neighbor? Vote for policies that will lift your neighbor UP for the next four years. Vote for the policies that will help them put food on the table, while still putting money in their savings account. Vote to protect the First Amendment so your neighbor won’t be jailed for speaking his or her mind in the public square.
It's roughly 13 days until the 2024 presidential election and President Ronald Reagan’s words are truer than ever. The outcome of this election and the policies implemented will either pull our nation up or drive us further down into every kind of distress.
Kristin Landers is a substitute teacher and freelance writer. Landers’ previous work includes serving as Communications Director for the Alabama Policy Institute and working for Citizens Against a Legalized Lottery (CALL) to defeat legalized gambling in the state of Alabama.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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