Optimism For The Future

For the past 25 years, at least, America has been in decline. Those of us who are old enough to remember the 1970s can recall how low the American morale was by the end of the Carter presidency. In fact, President Carter’s most famous speech is referred to as the “Malaise” speech. We also remember the improved attitude that we experienced during the Reagan years.
Certainly, Reagan was not perfect and made some poor decisions (1986 immigration reform, anyone?), but on the whole, his administration led to increased optimism and hope.
That improving attitude was dealt a blow under the first President Bush, he of the “read my lips” lies. Since then, we have sunk lower and lower, both in real terms and in outlook. Presidents Clinton, Bush II, and Obama have increased the decline, rather than stopping it.
But that decline is coming to an end.
I have no illusions that everything Donald Trump does will be positive. Regardless of what he does over the next four years, he has awakened the American people, however. He has given a voice to those who are tired of the way things are and desire change. For that reason alone, I welcome his inauguration.
However, my focus here is less on Donald Trump’s presidency, and more on the awakening of the American people. What have we learned in the last year and a half?

1. Political Correctness is dying. We have seen the fruits of Social Marxism and are finally fighting against it. It is now OK to say what you mean, without worrying about offending some liberal false interpretation of reality.
2. Nationalism is on the rise. Sure, there may be differences of opinion on what nationalism really means, but few can truly argue that globalism is faltering. In some places, nationalism is pretty easy to define. For those places that are historically homogenous, it is clear who is a true member of that nation. For example, Latvians are people who have historical roots in Latvia. They are white, speak the Latvian language, have a Christian heritage, and can trace their lineage within that country. Non-white, non-Christian, non-Latvian speakers? Not a member of that nation.
   For other countries, it is a bit more muddled. For example, in the United States, we have multiple groups who have some sort of claim to an American heritage. American Indians, Blacks, Whites, Hispanics all have a legitimate connection to the region. Ultimately, it comes down to culture in such a region, and we will have to work that out. No matter how the issue is resolved, globalism is on its way out. Our first step is to stop immigration, especially from those groups who pose a direct threat to our society (Muslims, Mexican border invasion, etc.).
3. Government is finally being publicly discussed with distrust. Sure, most of us have had those views before, but the popular description was that government was a positive element. Now, we are seeing a majority of people who realize that government should be limited, focused on specific things, rather than being an all-powerful force. The fruits of a socialist government are becoming evident, both in Europe and America. Throughout the first century and a half of America’s existence, most Americans held to George Washington’s perspective that government is a handy servant, but a fearful master. I do believe that we will see a return to this viewpoint amongst the American people.
4. Egalitarianism is on the decline. Of course, this was inevitable, since this doctrine is a dead end. The reality of life simply cannot be ignored forever. How will this all play out is anyone’s guess, but ultimately, we will see that people will stop demanding total equality in all areas of life. Some things I expect to see are the demise of Affirmative Action, the removal of government-imposed hiring practices, and such legal abominations as Title IX requirements on universities.

So it is a time of heady optimism. At the moment, it may seem shaky, but that is just because it has been so long since we had any reason to be optimistic. We are not used to it yet, but we will be. The dam has broken, and good times are on the way. The path forward will be rocky, on occasion, but the die is cast. We have had a taste of relief and will demand more. 2017 will be a better year than 2016, and I suspect 2018 will be even better. There may be ups and downs, and I expect that, but the trajectory is moving upward.
The goal here is to keep our momentum. The election of Trump was one small battle in a much larger war. We must keep our focus on things to come, realizing that we have more to do. Here at Men of the West, we stand up for you. We will continue to post articles that address various aspects of Western Culture, looking at our past, present, and future. We have some other things in the works, as well, and hopefully, in the coming months, we will offer you even more practical ways to get involved and move forward.
We pray you have a blessed New Year, as we work together to return our culture to its proper place in our society.