Let The Good Times Roll

The last 13 years have been a rollercoaster ride, weak men bad times, strong men good times, weak men bad times; let’s look forward to good times.  

Over the last 13 years in America we have lived through great upheaval; the ebbs and flows of life, politics, the media, and the serious issues we have had to deal with. I choose this specific period for a reason, it involves something that came to mind recently. 

In his book “Those Who Remain,” Michael Hopf writes “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” The author’s sentiment is I believe provable, if we analyze the last three administrations in Washington.

The Obama administration was weak, passive, and subservient. Aside from implementing progressive liberal policies, it was also divisive and exacerbated racial tensions. The president was known for bowing before Middle Eastern potentates, embarrassing his nation and people. The administration had little if any respect for traditional values and institutions, especially the descendants of Western Civilization, who in the sentiment of Mr. Obama felt that they “Clung to their God and guns.” Traditional Americans went through 8 years of hard times and feelings of exclusion under a radical and hostile government. This hardened and incentivized these Americans; they became stronger. 

January 20, 2017, was a day that for some will live in infamy, and for others it heralded the advent of the Make America Great Again movement (MAGA). The election of Donald Trump was not only a transfer of power, but indisputably was the beginning of good times created by a strong unwavering president who governed with tenacity and boldness. 

Under the Trump administration times were good; a strong economy, record low unemployment, energy independence, a southern border under control, and world leaders understood they were dealing with a strong uncompromising American president who insisted they pay their fair share. Although Mr. Trump could ruffle some feathers, and was rebuffed, demeaned, and despised by Democrats, the media, and the entirety of the so-called ruling class, he stood his ground, dug in, and gave as good as he got.

But while most Americans were feeling the fruits of a strong president and government, a sudden and damaging event occurred in January 2020 that would disrupt and create chaos and cause good times to evaporate. The Coronavirus came suddenly and without warning. Life as we knew it stopped, and the people came to depend solely on their president, local, and state leaders, and medical experts to inform and direct the course of their lives. 

This change was manifested in a malaise among the people. Many were frightened by the daily count of the sick and the dead, and feared for their own lives. They became lethargic and weak, and sought refuge behind the doors of their homes. Most business stopped with the exception of those providing (so-called) essential needs. And the one place the people could turn to that offered solace and hope was their houses of worship, which were also shuttered by order of the mandate.

The year 2020 proved to be a time that truly tested the American people’s mettle. The death of a man with a long criminal record, at the hands or knee of a police officer, was another turning point along with the virus. Riots, demonstrations, destruction, and death ruled the streets of major cities. The president stood forth and took command of a fractured nation, he would call out the National Guard to quell the riots, but local officials refused his entreaty.

Then again the president stepped up, and brought together the heads of big business, pharmaceuticals, and medical experts, and delivered a vaccine in record time.

But as 2020 drew to a close, the people by then were tired and frustrated, they had suffered through a time of great upheaval, and for many, their spirit was weakened and broken. When they went to the polls to vote in November of that year, they sought relief and felt perhaps a change was needed. Their decision, we now know, was one that has taken the country from a strong President Trump and good times, to a weak President Biden, and what he has wrought thus far - hard times.

Hopefully, the hard times we now have to live through, will, as happened before, create a strong unwavering American, and perhaps the president that rescued us before will assume the same role in 2024 and bring back good times.