Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. – Helen Keller

 

…I always thought I was a liberal but I came up terribly surprised when I found I was a right-wing conservative extremist…I have always listened to every human being I’ve ever met about how I should feel.  But this so-called new liberal group… they never listen to your point of view and they make a decision as to what you think and they’re articulate enough and in control of enough of the press to force that image out for the average person.  For some reason, maybe it’s these pictures, they have not been able to do that with me…it hasn’t affected my career in popularity in spite of the fact that they’ve tried to make them do it.  There isn’t a hell of a lot we can do to change human behavior.  We keep making laws to try to change human behavior but we can’t do it…You’re being conned into Keynesianism and socialism now but it isn’t going to stop the selfishness of human behavior.  It isn’t going to stop the greed.  If you take $20 and give a dollar to every son of a b!tch in the room, you come back a year later one of the b@st@rds will have most of the money.  It’s just human nature.  We’re never gonna whip it with a lot of laws. 

As communication gets better and you make people conscious of somebody in trouble, starving or something like that, the average person will help…I think there are people who try to affect a thinking where they know more than some other son of a b!tch and try to pull a false impression on what human nature is.  We’ve proven we go back to hope at the first opportunity…and bam they’re out there ready to grab it.  So we are optimistic; we have to be optimistic.  What else would we be if you lose optimism?” –  John Wayne

In keeping with this theme of hope and optimism, here is an excerpt from President Trump’s Speech which he delivered last Wednesday at the 2017 Voter Values Summit…

…We are confronting rogue regimes from Iran to North Korea, and we are challenging the communist dictatorship of Cuba and the socialist oppression of Venezuela.  And we will not lift the sanctions on these repressive regimes until they restore political and religious freedom for their people.  (Applause.) All of these bad actors share a common enemy, the one force they cannot stop, the force deep within our souls, and that is the power of hope.  That is why, in addition to our great military might, our enemies truly fear the United States.  Because our people never lose faith, never give in, and always hope for a better tomorrow.

Last week, Melania and I were reminded of this in a powerful way when we traveled to Las Vegas.  We visited a hospital where some of the survivors were recovering from absolutely horrific wounds.  We met a young man named Brady Cook.  He’s 22 and a brand-new police officer.  That night was Brady’s second day in field training — his second day as a policeman, can you believe that?  But when the shooting began, he did not hesitate.  He acted with incredible courage, rushing into the hail of bullets, and he was badly shot in the shoulder.  

This is what Brady said: “I didn’t expect it, but it’s what I signed up for.  When stuff goes down, I want to be there to face evil and to protect the good, innocent people that need it.”  And here’s a young guy, great guy — and second day.  I said, Brady, don’t worry about it, it’s going to be easier from here.  (Laughter and applause.)  Brady is a hero, and he can’t wait to get back on the job. 

Several weeks before, when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, a local furniture storeowner, who’s known in Texas as “Mattress Mack,” decided he had to help.  When the rain began to flood the streets of the city, he sent out his furniture trucks to rescue the stranded.  He brought them back to his stores, and gave them food and a clean, dry place to stay, even if it meant ruining countless dollars’ worth of furniture.

As “Mattress Mack” put it, “My faith defines me, it’s who I am.”  “We can afford [the cost]…what we can’t afford” — we can’t — and he said this very strongly, “what we can’t afford is to cause people to lose hope.” 

In Brady and Mack, we see the strength of the American spirit.  This spirit of courage and compassion is all around us, every day.  It is the heartbeat of our great nation.  And despite certain coverage, that beat is stronger than it’s ever been before.  You see right through it.  (Applause.)  That beat is stronger than it’s ever been.  

We see this spirit in the men and women who selflessly enlist in our armed forces and, really, who go out and risk their lives for God and for country.  And we see it in the mothers and the fathers who get up at the crack of dawn; they work two jobs and sometimes three jobs.  They sacrifice every day for the furniture and — future of their children.  They have to go out.  They go out.  They work.  The future of their children is everything to them.  They put it before everything.  And they make sure that the future of their children has God involved in it.  So important to them.  (Applause.) 

We see it in the church communities that come together to care for one another, to pray for each other, and to stand strong with each other in times of need.

The people who grace our lives, and fill our homes, and build our communities are the true strength of our nation, and the greatest hope for a better tomorrow. 

As long as we have pride in our country, confidence in our future, and faith in our God, then America will prevail.

We will defeat every evil, overcome every threat, and meet every single challenge.  We will defend our faith and protect our traditions.  We will find the best in each other and in ourselves.  We will pass on the blessings of liberty, and the glories of God, to our children.  Our values will endure, our nation will thrive, our citizens will flourish, and our freedom will triumph.

Ever since President Donald J. Trump took office and for 8 long years under his predecessor, Barack Hussein Obama, there has been constant chorus provided by the Nattering Nabobs of Negativism, now known as Modern American Liberals, concerning how uncaring, how bigoted, how xenophobic, how narrow-minded, and how just plain awful and stupid average Americans are to continue to love this country, to honor its flag, and to continue to hold dear the America Legacy of Traditional Faith and Values.

For proof of this, please check out the majority of Americans’ reaction to the NFL Protests. Americans are abandoning the NFL in droves, causing the League’s revenue to drop by 17% per week.

The rugged individualism of previous generations of Americans flows through our veins. The American “Can-Do” Spirit has taken us from the bottom of the Ocean to the surface of the moon.

The overwhelming majority of Americans will stand by one another in times of crisis, as shown throughout the Fox News Coverage of both the hurricanes and the Las Vegas Massacre.

The intestinal fortitude that is our heritage as Americans…along with that Still, Small Voice which still resides in each and every one of us, will continue, I pray, to guide our nation, and spur us on, to stay vigilant and protect our American Freedom, just as my Parents’ Generation did, against the Axis of Evil.

This Sabbath, I’m thankful for Americans who are still making a difference.  Americans who still love God and country, and stand on principle with their feet planted on a Solid Rock, and not on shifting sands.

And I am thankful to have an optimistic, hopeful American President who recognizes that it is the strength of average Americans, not the never-ending negativism and pandering of a minority in this Sovereign Nation, which makes America great.

They are the reason we remain, in spite of all that has befallen us in the last 8 years and 9 months, the Greatest Country on the Face of the Earth.

They are also the reason that together, we are about to Make America Great Again.

Until He Comes,

KJ