A “Thank You” - and a Welcome - to Subscribers
While a “free” site, I’m deeply grateful for your interest and engagement with these missives.
OK, I lied. This is my last post for Thanksgiving.
While pondering this holiday and lamenting the encroachment of Christmas upon it, I realized a mistake - my failure to thank you for subscribing to this blog.
Yes, I know, it cost nothing other than your time and I’m sure there are many posts that you skim right past, depending on the topic. But I cannot let this Thanksgiving pass without thanking you for indulging these posts.
I launched this enterprise a couple of years ago after retiring from full time employment, scratching an itch to rediscover my original profession - journalism. I became a part time newspaper reporter in Chickasha, Oklahoma, during college in the 1970s after befriending it’s general manager, the late Charles Drew, who became my first mentor.
It started by covering the “police beat,” and other mundane reporting tasks. I added a stint as editor of my college newspaper, “The Trend.” It was there that I wrote my first controversial editorial that resulted in me being hauled before it’s board of regents. I don’t even remember what it was about, but somehow turned it into a positive experience. My college president, the late Dr. Roy Troutt, became a great friend and supporter.
My writing and political interests led me to be assigned to cover a campaign stop in nearby Lawton, Oklahoma, by President Gerald Ford late in 1976. Oklahoma was a competitive state at the presidential level back then. I was assigned to cover his appearance, writing for the dozen newspapers in the Sooner State owned by the Donrey Media Group.
Little did I know that job was an audition for my first job out of college, a 20-year-old state capitol correspondent for Donrey, and later editor of the Henryetta Daily Freelance. It was in both of those jobs that I met people who would influence my life and career. I burned out on 6-day-a-week, 60+ hour work weeks with low pay, but loved producing something that people read and enjoyed. I won four awards for my work from the Oklahoma Press Association, including editorial writing.
It has been a joy to return to my inaugural profession, a labor of love, even though it comes with no paycheck. And I’m grateful for your indulgence and interest. My friend David Eisner, President of the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, listed this blog on his top ten social media sites. A few of you subscribed as a result. Welcome. I hope you are not disappointed.
A few subscribers, several of them former colleagues from past political campaigns and jobs, have been kind enough to come forward with ideas, insights, information, and tips. That brings back old memories of my reporting days.
I know many people who are more gifted orators and writers than me but are terrified of rejection, or worse - cancellation. There is a legitimate fear, especially in the political sphere of life, that something may be said, unintentionally or sloppily, that may offend the sensibilities of others.
I know from personal experience. I’ve hastily and petulantly crafted tweets in the past that have poked the proverbial bear and triggered a mob attack, including completely false, if not defamatory, news stories. I know what it’s like to be attacked in the workplace and publicly for even inviting someone - a former US Senator and presidential candidate - to speak at a company event. It is amazing who and what triggers certain people these days. This is the world in which we live. To stand up and engage in debate these days, or even to indulge in contrasting points of view, whether in many workplaces or on social media, comes with professional and personal risks.
These mobs exist to seek and silence unacceptable speech by destroying reputations. Unfortunately, that has driven people into silence. That is the real threat to our “democracy.”
But when you feel strongly enough about injustices and causes, you fight on. You learn from mistakes and new information. You also remember the lessons of history when people allowed themselves to be silenced in the face of evil, including thousands of churches in Nazi Germany during the 1930s that stood by silently as genocide occurred under their noses. At least one voice didn’t remain silent in the face of that evil: Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Sadly, I see too many churches repeating history in the throes of modern cultural attacks, especially the sexualization of children.
I started this blog with the notion, perhaps arrogantly, that there is a void I can help fill. That void provides historical perspectives and unique insights on events and issues of the day, reflecting my 44 years of experience in press, politics, and policy. I do deeper “long form” dives and analyses into current issues than you may typically see. And I’ve tried to model civility in the process, to be provocative and “unvarnished,” but never personal. I seek to improve our collective ability to constructively discern the world around us and with as much joy as the topic can muster.
This blog may evolve in 2024. I may start a “subscription” for those posts that do in-depth political campaign analysis while keeping posts like this for free. Some have suggested an accompanying podcast. I love the new genre of on-demand media, and I have many favorite podcasts, from my friend Chris Stigall’s to “What the Hell is Going on?” My friend Marc Thiessen and his co-podcaster, Danielle Pletka, are both senior fellows at the American Enterprise Institute. I’d welcome your thoughts.
As I look back on 2022, it wasn’t a great year. Those of you with 401(k) and other retirement accounts know. The election results disappointed many of us. Like most Americans, I wouldn’t say I like the direction of our country on many fronts. It is easy to overlook the wonderful things that did happen. We still live in the greatest, freest country in the world. On a personal front, one son returned safely from deployment to east Africa. Another started a great new job. And I’m a new grandparent.
I’m incredibly thankful to you, my subscribers, for your interest and support of this curious hobby—best wishes for a wonderful and healthy Thanksgiving and a blessed Christmas season.
Thank you for being a brave journalist and for caring about this country. It is still the last best hope.
Thank you for teaching me with every read. I share these often. Happy Thanksgiving to your growing family and God bless America