Renegades like us

Renegades like us!

• One –

We are quintessential working stiffs. Fifty years in the workforce. Four incredible children. Nine completely awesome grandkids. Forty eight and counting, wonderful years married to the love of my life. Retirement. 401(k), modest though it may be. Social security. A regular “retirement gig” that I love. This is our time.

Did you know that there are 3,700 miles of paved rail bed trails in the US? Small town America. God’s country.  Our happy place! Given the time and resources (and stamina) we’ll spend as much time as we can riding these trails, seeing new places, hearing the stories of America, some happy, some are sad. We ride for our health (that’s what retired people do), but mostly we ride to see what’s around the next bend, over the next hill. 

You meet the best people while you’re riding. It’s fun to talk to the “locals”. Equally fun to engage with migrants like us. We tell our story. They tell theirs. Who, what, when, where. Most times we connect, more spiritual than social.

Paved rail beds are ideal for “more mature” riders such as we are. On this day, the beautiful downtown area fades behind us. We begin a gentle accent into the Appalachians. We passed 20 or so industrial complexes. That explains the rail bed. Most of these are shuttered, out of business. Huh!

Granted, some were old, but not all. I’m wondering, where did all those people, you know, the workers, where did they all go? These were good jobs, good money! Were they able to hire on with other plants around here? Did they have to leave for greener pastures?

At one time, these folks were the kings of the textile industry. But almost overnight, everything changed. So what’s the story here? 

Here’s what we learned from “a local” at the lunch counter, a long time resident. Foreign imports! Cheap, poor quality. Not just some. Ship loads! Ridiculous mountains of the stuff! The prices? How could those foreign importers afford to produce, ship, and sell their products so cheaply? Simple, they cheat! 

• Two –

Many of these “countries of origin” have little to no regulation for their industrial complex. Impoverished masses, willing to work long hours for meager wages. Child labor. Even slaves! For real? According to Global Slavery Index,  there were more than 11 million people living in slavery at the time. Men, women, and children. Forced labor. Free labor. No limits. No restrictions.

These imports, these mountains of cheap, inferior textiles, were being gobbled up by the same list of garment companies that we, American companies, had supplied for years! Our reps did what they could, pointed out the obvious, both in quality and labor. These same customers, they came to us asking for better prices! Can you believe that? Asking us to compete with sweatshops? Long time customers, telling us that they could not remain competitive in the marketplace unless they too, like their competitors,  purchased from these same foreign importers. 

So what are we, chopped liver? 

Our customers, our long time, loyal customers, were flocking to the ports, buying right off the boats. Get this, we find out that the importers are actually selling their products well below their own cost! So how does that work?

1. Flood the market with inferior products, at irresistible prices.
2. Allow time for the market to acclimate to the obvious quality gap.
3. Rationalize concerns, slave and child labor notwithstanding!
4. Force domestic producers to either compete with these products, or get out of the market, superior quality notwithstanding.
5. After the inevitable demise of the domestic producers, establish prices for these same low quality foreign imports to actually, and for the first time, yield a  profit for their minders.

Playbook Marxism! If you can’t beat them (in the theater of ideas),  destroy them! 

• Three –

Those people, the ones who used to be employed at those shuttered  textil e mills, where did they go? Many of them had to leave. No work, no income. The result, a shrinking tax base, dwindling school attendance, church attendance and support evaporating. America on the move, looking for work, looking for good paying jobs, hopefully jobs with benefits. 

This forced-migration was not limited to a single industry. Thousands, at times, millions of displaced, disillusioned Americanworkers were flocking to large metropolitan areas, cities already bereft of opportunities.  It wasn’t long until these once proud working men and women found themselves standing in long lines, seeking government assistance. Hat in hand, they wonder, how did this happen? How did I end up here? Finally, the call. Next?

A well paid, passionless government employee types away; name, social security number, address? You know the drill. A review of  benefits you are entitled to. Are you kidding me? I have a wife, four kids. How am I supposed to feed them, house them, cloth them? Monotone, emotionless, he explains, what with the downturn in the economy and all, tax revenues have really taken a hit.  Benefits are hard to come by. 

No %#^ Sherlock!

From proud citizen to just another schmuck on the public dole.

You sir. You ma’am. You are now exactly where those foreign importers want you. Rather where those who used them, the nameless, faceless cabal that meddles in the affairs of men. You do not matter to them. Those foreign importers, they don’t even matter to them. The children and slaves who they exploit, your own children, the wife of your youth to whom you made great and precious promises. None of you matter! Pawns on a chessboard. Useful idiots. Excess population. 

These people have an agenda. Their agenda does not include any of us, save to reduce us to obedient sheep, easily controlled, easily manipulated. Demoralized.

• Four –

Should you find this direction unacceptable, STAND UP! Be counted. Enough is enough! Attract THAT kind of attention, you may find yourselves at odds with your minders. Your keepers. “You do not want to jeopardize your benefits, do you? Stand down, step back in line, or there will be consequences! You may need to think long and hard before bucking the system.” 

The system. The good old government of the USA? No, go deeper. The deep state? Deeper. Those who call the shots for the deep state actors? Big pharma, Big tech? Deeper still. The cabal. Nameless, faceless. They call the shots. Stay seated, remain compliant, they will  “take care of you”. But if you dare to take a stand, God help you! And He will!

To those who have had enough, to those who dare to risk losing favor with their minders, you are not alone. There are those to your right and to your left who have traveled similar roads, endured  similar journeys. They too have come to the same conclusion. To stay here is to die a slow, meaningless death. They chose life, as do you. They have pledged their lives, their fortunes (merger though they may be). They have pledged their sacred honor. These guys. You would do well to throw in with people like these. 

This is a fight, but who exactly are we fighting? Who are we fighting for? We just want our lives back. The lives we had, that we lost, that we let slip through our fingers.

Where to start? Logic would dictate that we go back to the beginning. Damned those cheap foreign imports!

Poor quality, sweatshops fully exploiting slave and child labor. How can we get the attention of these bad actors who are worlds away? 

Money! Tariffs, blatant, punitive, severe.  Hit them where it will leave a mark. Take away their “realized advantage” , their illicit business tactics. Level the playing field.

Good plan. How to get it done? Willing, sympathetic legislators, both state and federal. Hard to come by? You bet!

Washington is awash with money, filthy money. Willing compliants (and most are) willingly surrender their integrity, even their ability to do the right thing. Why? How? They no longer want to do the right thing!

Perhaps when they finally got to Washington, they wanted to “make a difference”, to do the right thing. To be welcomed by the party leaders, the big league players, exhilarating! These newbies were made aware of “how things really work” in this town. Keep a low profile. Do what you’re told. Vote how we tell you. Do these simple things, and you will become rich beyond your wildest imaginations! But if you don’t, if you choose to go your own way, we will destroy you! We will bleed you like pig slaughter, then hang you out to dry like the traitor you are. 

So, kind of a ”get paid to play” deal. Well, I didn’t go through all the trouble to get elected just to sit and do nothing! Ok then, I’ll just take the money, quiet the storm, bide my time. Surely I will be able to put forward some of my own ideas from time to time. I have some really good ideas, potentially useful legislation. I move forward.

I take a chance. I  run my ideas by some colleagues. People I know. People I trust. They agree, good ideas. My resolve is bolstered. I go to the committee chair to see if my good ideas have a chance to see the light of day. He is kind, but direct. You’ve got something here, to be sure. But here’s some friendly advice. If you have anything you wish to hide, say for instance, from those frequent junkets with lobbyists, those things have a way of getting out. Better to just tow the line. By the way, the pay is pretty great right? 

It’s a faithful choice. By faith, some make it!

• Five –

Those guys, those ladies, those non-complaint legislators, renegades like us!

How will we find them? You will find them, at church, flying in coach on their trips to Washington. Eating the same pretzels, drinking the same soda as you. Like many of their colleagues, they could be in first class. Champagne and caviar. No interaction with the schmucks headed back to coach.  Regular people.

These folks are humble. They keep a low profile. Yes, you’ve seen them on TV.  But do you know them? You strike up a conversation. They are cordial enough. The conversion turns, as inevitably it does, to politics. Wow. My heart somehow knows!

The good news is, these people are looking for you!  Renegades in search of a constituency. Together, you, we, can make a difference. Make no mistake, the rulers of this world, they know who these people are. They know where these people live. They will do all that is within their power to crush them! The odds are not in their favor.

So what, lose hope, lose heart. Take your rebellious heart home to  your government subsidized housing. Bide your time, await your meaningless death?  Not a chance!

Fight, fight, fight!

Pray for them. These renegade legislators, they fight for their very survival everyday. They need you. They need to hear from you. Let them know, “You’re not alone! We support you” (send them money). Let them know that you are praying for them. Let them know your ideas. Ask them, what can I do to help? You, you CAN make a difference. You ARE the difference! 

We renegades, we are in need of a leader. Like minded, independent of the system by which all things Washington depend. Yes, a leader like that! Can’t be bought. Won’t be bought. “I don’t need your money. I don’t want your money”!  He doesn’t check all my boxes. The perfection I am looking for, that I literally am praying for, not this guy! I can’t cast my vote for someone like this. Then it occurs to you, it occurs to many renegades like us, to not vote is a vote in and of itself. For them, for the complaints. The perpetual corruption continues. 

We pray. We ask God our Creator to guide us. A lamp unto my feet… We trust what we hear from the Father, a clear word, perhaps even beyond our understanding. We step out in support of this guy!  We may even work to maximize even the remotest possibility that he could actually become president. We join now with people who we may have identified as “crazy” as recently as yesterday. Not just a few of us. A flood of like minded renegades. Enough is enough. It’s time for a change. God wills it, so it shall be done!

 By definition, leaders lead! From where we are presently to where we need to be. From bad to good. Maybe from good to great. Leading with purpose, a singular  purpose,   clearly delineated. Be fruit, multiply, take dominion over the whole of creation. Everything has been placed below your feet. The word of God has spoken.

• Six –

The cabal, closed door meeting: 

You stop this, whatever it takes. If these renegades gain influence in Washington, if they dismantle what it has taken years to build, it will cost you! The money will stop. Your power will evaporate like the illusion it is. You stop this now, or we will destroy you. Get this done, NOW.

 End of closed door meeting. 

The after meeting: 

Somehow their constituency is growing. So must ours. How about we open the borders. We can use NGOs (non-government organizations) to usher people in. We can give them shelter, clothing. We can strengthen their resolve by giving them money. That we have plenty of! We need to turn money into votes. Give them cell phones, AirJordans, walking around money. Whatever it takes!

We can turn Texas blue! Final nail in their coffin. Flood them with our newly recruited voters. Wait! What? Illegal aliens cannot vote, right? That’s what the thirteenth amendment to the US Constitution says. So how does that work? They cheat!

The powers that be, really the handlers of the powers that be, they simply choose to ignore the Constitution. That old, tired, out of date collection of arcane laws. How can this relic be applied literally?  How can we deny these “citizens of the world” their right to influence outcomes in their newly chosen homeland? Out of a heart of compassion, we will choose a new and better way, the US Constitution notwithstanding 

I can imagine what will be, unburdened by what was. – Karl Marx 

What? That crazy governor in Texas! He’s renting buses, even airplanes. He’s sending our “migrant voters” out of Texas. Sanctuary cities, as they call themselves, for years they made it clear to everyone. We gladly, and with open arms, welcome illegals into our city. Into our care. You’re welcome!

Rats! Blue Texas, off the table. Sanctuary cities, overwhelmed! The sheer number of migrants, not to mention the cost to house them, feed them. The costs associated with policing them. Crime surging, public support plummeting. Newly minted renegades, even in these sanctuary cities, enough is enough! 

• Seven –

Let’s put this to a vote. They hold the majority, winning more often than not. But margins appear to be dwindling. Legislation continues to be presented and passed, often without as much as a hearing or a reading. The cabal wills it, so it shall be done. More renegades have been seated, both house and senate. Revolutionary ideas are capturing the attention of a nation in distress. Ideas that many hate, have an awakening effect on renegades unawares. Public discourse begins to include these wild and crazy ideas. They can’t be ignored, though the media sycophants have been given their marching orders. 

Higher offices are in play. A growing constituency is committed at all cost. The results are in!

One man/one woman, one vote!

• Eight –

Money can buy anything. So says conventional wisdom. Problem is, a heart that is true, a face that is set like a flint, these are people who cannot be bought. Solid. Resolute! An unstoppable force meets an unmovable object. Something’s gotta give!

 Vote for us, we will give you money, pay off your student loans, other direct payments for other ridiculous fabrications. How do we compete with that?

You want your life back! Do you want the freedom to go where you want, when you want? Do you want to realize your full potential, the freedom to reach for the stars! The opportunity to strive for what those who have gone before enjoyed, that for which they fought and died. That dream, uniquely American. A city on a hill. If that is what you want, us too! We would appreciate your vote. 

• Nine –

Change can happen, Is happening. The winds of freedom, gently rippling a flag long forgotten. Resurgent. Deep, emotional, radiant pride!

Headlines:

 American jobs returning to American working families. 

Tax revenues soar, thanks to resurgent American industry.

Foreign importers protest unfair tariffs. Appeal to the courts for redress.

The light of day shines brightly on international sweatshop operators.

In the meantime, remember the slow, painful demise of the industrial complexes along the paved rail bed? How are these folks fairing?

As the plants closed, local businesses and churches followed in due course. The government funded schools kept going of course, albeit under funded and half empty.  Do local civic leaders accept this creeping blight as inevitable? 

Take this little community for instance, lo these many years later. These folks refused to roll over. The citizens demanded action. If not industry then what? Tourism? Who would want to come here? Well, why don’t we pave over the old Travelers Rest spur rail line. No trains run there anymore since the plants closed. That would be a great place to walk and ride bikes. How about let’s cut back the forest around the old waterfall. We could make sidewalks, maybe a bridge over the falls and creek. That would be a great place for restaurants, hotels, and shops. Like that movie, “if you build it…”!

Well, what am I, chopped liver!

All that takes money, money that we haven’t got. The tax base is shot. Someone speaks. I’ve done some research. There are people out there that will “invest” in our community. I’m talking big money! There are, however, a few stipulations. Some are odd, weird even!  Gender neutral bathrooms, banning gas power vehicles, disarming our police force. You know, stuff like that. We’re talking about a lot of money. Just between us, they will give each of us that are on the council a “thank you for your vote” gift. I’m talking about “cancel your mortgage” kind of money. By the way mayor, you will get double!

OK, stuff like that never happens, right? Two times a day and twice on Sunday! You take it, they own you. They own your town. All you have to do is sit down, keep quiet, and count your money!

Problem is, there are some on the council(s) who are, you guessed it, renegades. They will not allow their town, our town, to become just another pawn in the big game. Others on the council will fight you tooth and toenail. That’s a lot of money! They will fight you on this. Longtime friends and neighbors become mortal enemies overnight. All for the love of money…

Politics. Local, vicious. Your renegade pitch; This is our town. Our ancestors fought for this town, many to the death to defend this town. Our mamas and daddies grew up here, as did we. Our children deserve what we had, what we will have again. Our town, led by our people. People who love this town, who will fight for this town. Together we will prevail. Our road back to prominence, to prosperity, begins here, now, in each of hearts. Easy money has never, will never, lead to anything good! We appreciate your support and your vote. God bless you, and He will!

So here we are. Each citizen, each voter, standing at the precipice. I am willing to personally sacrifice My life,  My fortune, My sacred honor. Am I willing to scrimp and save, to roll up my sleeves, willing to work hand in hand with  my neighbors to achieve common, though lofty goals? 

Choose NO on the ballot initiative. If the NAYS are in the majority, you will gain everything, the entire master plan for our future without spending one dime out of your pocket. There is no value in what costs you nothing. You forfeit any say in the direction and future of your community. What community? The deed and rights have been signed away to God knows who in God knows where!

• Ten –

Just up the parkway is a similar community with a similar story. Among the most naturally beautiful cities in the world. Something of a spiritual Mecca for American Christians, a frequent destination on their faith journey. As did many, this community  also staked their future on tourism. As remote a place as it is, that will prove to be a formidable challenge. 

The precipice. The vote, the NAYS have it!

During a recent trip to the area, we had the opportunity to visit this once serene center of reflection and tranquility. Rather, we opted for a nice walk in the mountains. Beautiful vistas, waterfalls. The best kind people, all walking the same remote trails as were we. So why pass on a trip to “the city of the sky” as the minders recast the slogan of their choice. Partly, because of its moniker!

This city on a hill, this beacon of light, had been transformed. It looks much like the many  resort towns that are scattered throughout the region. The natural beauty has never been more radiant. I have heard that to enter the limits of this city is like breaching a dark cloud. You immediately sense an unnatural weight on your shoulders. You walk the beautiful streets, you peruse the shops and restaurants. You are aware that you are being watched, by everybody! What you are wearing, what you are saying. Your mannerisms, accent, the color of your skin. Your hesitation to use a “gender neutral” bathroom. You are being watched, and  judged, and found lacking! Get your stuff and get out!

You have likely been reported to the office. You know, the DEI. Interestingly enough, the greek rendering of this would (yes, I know this is actually an acronym) can be translated as  god, but I digress.

 The thought police (no guns of course) begin to trail you. Awkward. Dare I add a cordial God bless you while interacting with these residents? Should I chance sharing a gospel nudge with the people we encounter on the street? Should we let our “light so shine” while in this dark, heavy place?

The people here do seem, among themselves, happy. Their appearance, clothing, hair, their tats, lifestyle, strike a distinct divide, us to them. Their disdain for outsiders is palpable. There is a prince who has power over the air. He has been judged. If only they knew. Leaving that town will be the highlight of your trip to the “city in the sky”. The thought police move on to trail other tourists, ostensibly to maintain the atmosphere of reflection and tranquility in their town. Sad.

• Eleven –

Should the YEAS have it, the revolution continues. You don’t throw off the yoke of bondage. You simply refuse to put it on. Your community comes together. They pull together to implement the master plan, independent of outside entanglements.  Far more aggressive than the “outside investors” had even proposed. “Pay as you go” implementation. Get this! “Smart money” companies (closet renegades like us) get wind of our plans. They want to be a part of “something special”. Come on in, the water is just fine!

The tariffs have taken hold, there is talk about resurgent opportunities in the textile sector. Life blood begins to flow into some of those shuttered industrial facilities. Competition on a global scale! Revenues yielding profits, driving local tax revenues. Our native sons and daughters are returning to our little town in droves. Experienced textile specialists, ready to take “this thing” to the next level! We’re back. And we’re better than ever! 

• Twelve –

To be sure, we, as a community, as a nation, we came close. Too close!  The minders haven’t gone away. They are regrouping. Patient, analyzing, planning. They don’t simply wish to regain the frightening level of control we all but lavished on them (by God’s grace, we  survived). Not even close. Their goal; destroy every country, every  institution, every government that dares stand in their way. One world, one government. We are to be citizens of the world. Their world! 

Honestly, there is only one still standing in the gap. US! The U.S.A! The last bastion of freedom. It is up to us, fellow renegades. The enemy is nigh unto the door!

 Fight, Fight, Fight!

Note to transportation managers:

You will have to rely on trucks. You know, those big global intermodal containers to move your products and supplies. The Travelers Rest spur rail line has been paved over. Tourists from all over the country are riding up and down those same tracks that you used  to use.

Where are all these people coming from? Where are they going? Anywhere they want. Anytime they want. 

Freedom is like that!