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Glenn's Show Prep

Are you a sheep or a sheepdog?

August 06, 2015
Staff

WRITER

Glenn delivered a passionate monologue on Thursday’s radio show calling for people to start taking action. Glenn admitted the struggle this has been for him in the past, as even during the 9/12 Project and Restoring Honor Rally, he saw himself more as a person to set others on the path for leadership. He never wanted to be the leader of this movement. But the time to sit on the sidelines has come to a close, and it’s time to choose. Will you continue to be a sheep? Or will you be a sheepdog?

Start listening at 40 minutes into today's podcast:

GLENN: Yesterday I read a fascinating article on a website, The Art of Manliness, which is a great book, if you haven't read that book. I read it I think last year. It's really great, and a good website. The article mentioned two incidents in New York City in the subway system that happened in the past year.

During one of them that happened in last December, a 58-year-old man was knocked onto train tracks and laid there, and he was unable to get up. Eighteen people stood there on the platform for about a minute to a minute and a half and did nothing. Old man falls on the tracks. Eighteen people are standing there. No one moves.

One guy actually acted. Not in the way you would hope. He actually took out his cell phone and took a picture of the guy laying on the tracks before the train ran over him. Six months before that tragedy, a 49-year-old woman was grabbed and thrown onto the very same tracks. This woman thrown onto the tracks.

This time, her friend chased down the attacker. Punched him. Then went back to help several other people pull the woman to safety before the train arrived. Just the same exact story, a different reaction from the people standing on the platform.

So the question is, what happened? What's different? Why did the first group freeze and the second group jump into the fray, face down the danger, do what needed to be done, risk their own life in the process?

The question is: Why are some people sheep and others sheepdogs?

As I'm reading this article, it pointed out that lieutenant, colonel, and author and friend of the program Dave Grossman has written something really interesting on the subject. He believes that humankinds can be broken up into three different categories: Sheep, wolves, or sheepdogs. Which are you?

Grossman contends that the vast majority of us are sheep. And he's not saying that to be insulting. He just believes that we are in one of three categories, and most of us are kind, gentle, peaceful. We're sheep.

I went to a rodeo last week, That Famous Preston Friday Night Rodeo, I think it's called. It's the biggest rodeo in Idaho, and it's fantastic. And they have kids that are like four years old ride on the back of sheep.

heep are amazing. Because they will run in -- unlike bulls or anything else, they will run in, and then they will just run to the other sheep. And they stand there, and they wait. And they just stick in a herd. And you could be coming at them with a chainsaw, and they just -- I can herd them up and cut them in half. It's amazing.

Rarely if ever are people faced with conflicts that rise to the level of life or death. Most people try to avoid making any waves. Just try to do the right thing. Most people are good. And they don't know how to deal with dangerous and evil people when they fall into something that is unpredictable. They just do what everybody else is doing.

Most people depend on someone else to protect them. Now, according to Grossman, a tiny percentage of humans can be described as true wolves. Wolves are the bad guys in our society. This is a very small number of people. Wolves are the -- the sociopaths that commit violent crimes or ignore our moral or ethical boundaries. They're the ones that take advantage of the defenseless sheep among us. The wolves, he says make up about 1 percent of our population. So when the guy fell on the -- off the platform, the first guy, all the people that were there were sheep. Nobody moved. If one person would have moved, others would have followed. But nobody moved.

That's the last category. Sheepdogs. These are society's protectors. Sheepdogs live among the flock from birth. Helps them imprint on the animals they protect. They blend in. They watch for intruders within the herd. And usually just the presence of the sheepdog will keep the wolves at bay. But if a wolf isn't persuaded to keep his distance, a sheepdog is willing and able to fearless attack the wolf and protect the sheep. So the sheepdog among humans is almost exactly like the canine counterparts. Grossman says there are human sheepdogs that have the capacity for violence, but also the moral compass and a deep love for their fellow citizens. But in times of peace, they look like sheep. They're gentle. They're loving. They're kind. They blend right in with the sheep. For the sheep's part, they often find the sheepdogs annoying when things are going well. When people complain about a police officer giving them a ticket for a minor traffic violation, when a wolf shows up and the police catch him, the complaining stops and the people line up and cheer and celebrate. But that cop, that sheepdog, when it's peaceful -- and we see this all the time -- when things are going well, nobody likes the cop. But once you need help, boy, are you glad they're there.

Sheepdogs make up a very small percentage of the population. Maybe 1 percent. So that leaves 98 percent of the human population, is sheep. People who are not used to getting involved. Who just want to warned and graze. Take care of their lambs. They go to work. They go to school. They like their entertainment. They like to do what everybody else does. They just want to be left alone. They're sheep.

Sheepdogs, he says, are not born sheepdogs. I look at this like Marcus Luttrell. He is a sheepdog. That guy, if there's ever trouble, he's going to get a guy. Now, I've always thought you were born into that. Because I can't do that. Grossman says that we're hard-wired psychologically and sociologically to be sheep. To go along to get along. To become a sheepdog, you have to make a conscious decision to do so. You have to want to upgrade your mental, physical, and emotional hardware from sheep 1.0 to sheepdog 2.0. You have to be willing to move out of your comfort zone and away from the rest of the flock.

Now, it's a lot easier to just believe that, you know, a sheepdog is going to eventually just find his way into, you know, the situations. That we'll find the right person in the White House. You know, somehow or another, it will happen. My vote doesn't matter anyway. I don't know anything about the issues. I'm too busy to know where everybody stands. Besides, there are other people that know much more about it than I do. They'll go to the voting booth. They'll do the right thing. That's what happened in 2008 and 2012. 42 percent of Americans identify themselves as conservative. 42 percent. Compared to the 21 percent that say that they're liberal.

Who won the election?

PAT: Not the conservative.

GLENN: Someone else went to vote. You didn't go to the voting booth. Somebody else will do it.

Look at a crisis. The Middle East. There's nothing I can do about it. But somebody is going to do something. Eventually the sheep cry out. Somebody has got to do something. The problem is, someone isn't doing anything about it. So Christians, Muslims who aren't Muslim enough, homosexuals that are practicing homosexuals, that, by the way, don't exist in Iran, they're stoned to death. They're thrown off of buildings. Children are being slaughtered.

Planned Parenthood, I'm not a sheepdog. I don't know what to do. I just -- I just want to stay here in the pack. This is what I'm asking you to choose -- and I don't know how many people are going to choose to do this in Birmingham, Alabama. I want you to know, this is not an event -- you know, we had really good intentions with the first 8/28. August 28. When was it? 2010?

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Five years ago, we went to Washington, DC, with Restoring Honor, and 500,000 people attended. But it was pretty easy. I just asked you to go and just see that you were not alone. Now, there were some threats on that. So some people regretted and still tell me to this day, I regret not being there because I was afraid. But 500,000 people showed up at the national mall. But it was easy because all I asked you to do was just come. Just come. I'm not asking you to do anything. I just want you to see you're not alone. We sang. We cried together. Then we went home and we grazed like lambs.

This 8/28 is different. And I don't know how many people will come to Birmingham, Alabama. It's different because it must be different. We are going to Birmingham, Alabama, on August 28th and 29th. And now I've added the 30th because I'm going to be speaking at three different churches. I'm not going to tell you which ones they are. Because one of them has asked me not to because they just want their congregation to hear from me.

But for three days or two days at least, we're going to get our upgrades. We're going to learn how to be sheepdogs. We're going to learn how to stop being sheep. We're going to learn how to protect the sheep. We're going to learn how to march, how to protest, peacefully, lovingly, we are going to learn and demonstrate enough is enough, I will stand. We are going to protect the flock. We're going to stand up and be counted. We are going to declare to the whole world: Never again is now.

We mean it.

I've been a sheep most of my life. When I started the 9/12 Project, I said over and over again, I'm not leading that. I don't want to lead that. I'm not a sheepdog. I don't want to lead that. I said the whole time I was at Fox, I don't -- Pat will verify this. Every day, I don't know how much longer I can do this. I don't want to do this. I grew up in an alcoholic family. I was the pleaser. I was the one that brought everybody together and said, okay, come on. Stop arguing. It's all going to be good. Hey, let me tell you a joke. That's how I grew up. I don't like confrontation. I don't like this role.

I'm not a sheepdog. Let me correct that. I have never been a sheepdog. I am a sheepdog now.

Anyone who wants to join me on this, anybody who wants to change their life and say, I will stand, I will be counted, I don't know what I'm going to do, I don't know how I'm going to do it, but if I see someone thrown off a platform, I will be the one down in the track lifting them up. When I see an injustice anywhere, I know it's an injustice everywhere, and I will stop it. I will stand in the gap.

Did you know that in Hebrew, one of the definitions of prophet is that? It's not somebody that sees the future or anything. One of the definitions of prophet is just someone who stands in the gap. I told you yesterday, there are holes in our wall as a country. There are holes everywhere.

We have to put our fingers there and plug the holes. We have to stand in that gap. We need to -- we need to strengthen the links. We need to unify. A house divided against itself cannot stand. I want to tell you something that I wrote last night on Facebook.

We must unify. If you want to join me in Birmingham, Alabama, I urge you -- I had another talk with my family last night. My children said, what do you want us to do, Dad? And I said, I'm not telling you what to do. You need to find it. You're adults now. You need to find it. But this is a family of sheepdogs. We must stand united in love together. You want to join me? This time, it's different. Restoring Unity. In Birmingham, Alabama. 8/28 and 8/29. Tickets can be found at now.mercuryone.org. Now.mercuryone.org. Grab your tickets now while there are tickets left. And we will see you in Birmingham, Alabama.

Stop blaming Gen Z for the problems WE created

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

I want to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. Life is tough, but it is worth it in the end.

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. They just won’t let go of their power even though their time has passed.

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

The generation coming of age is right to feel frustrated.This mess — with high costs and a massive debt burden — was not of their making.

Iwant to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. ≈

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. ≈

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed.

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

Once the government said that they were going to guarantee everybody’s college tuition, universities found out that they could just charge more because the government would give you virtually any amount in your loan. And they have been charging more and more ever since. In 1965, the average college tuition was $450 a year. Adjusted to inflation, that's $4,000 a year. You're currently paying an average of $26,000 a year as opposed to the inflation-adjusted $4,000.

What happened? The answer is always the same: government regulations. Gas is up. Why? Government regulations. Can't afford a house? Well, that's due to several things. Many of them revolve around the fed and our national debt. But the simple answer is the same: government regulations.

Moreover, the U.S. government has run a staggering national debt. We have been concerned about it forever, but the people in power haven't been listening to your mom and dad and people like me. A lot of other people just thought, "Oh, well. We could get away with it. We're the United States of America, after all. Somehow or another, it will all work out."

People like me have been saying, "No. We can't pass this on to our children." You're now seeing what we have passed on. When you say that the adults are responsible for creating this world of problems, in some ways, you’re right. We were lied to, and as many people do, they want to believe the lie because it makes them feel better.

There are big lies being pushed in your generation as well. You're being told that a man is a woman and a woman is a man. At the same time, you’re being told that gender doesn't even exist at all. It makes us feel better to go along with the lie because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

My generation believed the same kind of lie about our national debt. We were told that we could spend all this money on subsidized programs because it would provide you, our children, with a better life. Some people warned, "Wait, how will they pay this off? This will cost them." We didn't want to believe them. The lie sounded better, and it was easier to believe that than the truth. We never saw the consequences, and even if we did, they were always way out in the future. Nobody wanted to listen to the doomsday people saying, "No. It's going to come faster than you think."

And that time is right now. Our government now is printing $1 trillion every 100 days. That's never been done before. We have more debt than any country has ever had in the history of the world. But we’re not alone. Every country is doing this. They’re going into debt like we’ve never seen before, and we’re all about to pay for that. It’s going to make your life even harder.

There are Democrats and Republicans who still believe in spending all kinds of money and getting us involved in every global conflict. Then there are constitutional conservatives who believe that we should conserve the things that have worked and throw out the things that don’t and follow our Constitution and Bill of Rights. You haven't really learned about those most likely. But you should. All of our problems are caused by the government and the people who feel they can bypass the Constitution. That's what this election is really all about.

You might say, “I don’t really care. I don’t like either of the political parties.” I know a lot of people who don’t like either of them, but one is going to try to cut the size of this government and one is going to spend us into collapse.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed. You need to learn enough about the truth, about why this has happened to us, and about how our Constitution lasted longer than any other Constitution in the world. The average is 17 years. This thing has lasted hundreds of years. Why? How? And why is it falling apart today? That's what you should dedicate some of your time to figuring out today.

You can complain about the way things are. I complain. Everybody complains. But don't wallow there. Learn what caused this. And if you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework. They always end the same way, and that's exactly where we're headed right now. We can either repeat the dreadful past of nations that have tried it before us, or we can choose freedom, liberty, and prosperity. The ball is in our court.

Government's SECRET crackdown on preppers threatens YOUR right to grow food

Glenn recently had Representative Thomas Massie on his show to sound the alarm about an important yet often overlooked issue affecting what we eat. Whether you're trying to be prepared to weather a catastrophe or just trying to keep food on the table without resorting to eating bugs, it's more important now than ever to source local food. Unnoticed by most, our right to eat home-grown or locally-sourced foods is under attack. The government doesn't just want a say in what you eat; they want you vulnerable and dependent on their system, and they are massively overstepping their bounds to ensure your compliance with their goals.

How did the attack on your food begin?

Government overreach on food can be traced back to 1938 under the autocratic eye of FDR with the Supreme Court case "Wickard v. Filburn." The case was pretty straightforward, but the results were devastating. The case began with the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, which sought to control national food prices by placing limitations on how many crops farmers could grow in a season.

Filburn was one such farmer, who was allotted 11.1 acres of wheat to plant and harvest annually. Filburn planted and harvested 23 acres, arguing that the extra acres were not headed for the market, but were used for personal consumption. After being penalized for over-harvesting, he fought his case all the way up to the Supreme Court, arguing that Congress did not have the authority to regulate crops that never left his farm.

Unfortunately for Filburn (and the rest of us), the Supreme Court didn't agree. They ruled that the mere existence of that extra wheat—whether it left Filburn's farm or not—had an effect on the national value of wheat. Congress assumed the power to regulate just about anything that could be roped under the umbrella of "interstate commerce."

Under the precedent set by Wickard v. Filburn, Congress might bar you from growing tomatoes in your backyard, because it could affect national tomato prices. This was a major blow to our right to feed ourselves, and that right has been eroding ever since.

How is our right to feed ourselves under attack today?

Last June, the Virginia Department of Agriculture shut down Golden Valley Farms, a small Amish farm owned and operated by Samuel B. Fisher in Farmville, Virginia. Golden Valley Farms had started out selling dairy products, primarily, and processed some meat for personal consumption. However, by popular demand, Fisher began selling meat.

Fisher initially hauled his animals to a USDA processing plant, paid to have them processed, and then hauled them back. This process was time-consuming and costly, and Fisher's customers didn't want the meat processed by the plant. A survey done on Golden Valley Farms customers found that an overwhelming 92 percent preferred meat processed by Fisher. So naturally, Fisher began to process more and more meat for his customers.

Moreover, COVID shut down the USDA plant, which made it impossible for Fisher to process the animals by the USDA anyway, though the demand for meat was greater than ever. Fisher made the call to process 100 percent of his animals himself and didn't look back. That was until June when the Virginia Department of Agriculture caught wind of Fisher's operation and shut it down. The VDA seized all of Fisher's products, and he wasn't allowed to process, sell, or even eat his meat. Then they loaded it up in a truck and left it at the dump to rot.

Nobody ever got sick from eating meat from Golden Valley Farms. This was NOT about "health and safety." This was about control. The fact is that informed adults were not allowed to make a simple transaction without the government sticking its slimy fingers into Fisher's business and claiming it was somehow for "our benefit." But it's not for "our benefit." It's so they can regulate and control what we buy and what we eat, and they cannot stand it when we operate outside of their influence.

What comes next?

Where does this end? With so much of our ability to feed ourselves already eroded, is it too late? Is it going to get worse? Before long, will it be illegal to eat eggs from your chickens or pick vegetables from your garden without getting government clearance first? Fortunately, a solution is already in the works.

Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie recently told Glenn about a new constitutional amendment designed to limit government overreach regarding food production. The proposed amendment reads as follows:

And Congress shall make no law, regulating the production and distribution of food products, which do not move across state lines.

The amendment is still on the drawing board and has not been formally introduced to Congress yet. But this is where you come in. Call your representative and tell them to support Massie's amendment and take a stand for your right to provide sustenance for you and your family.

If we can build skyscrapers, we can rebuild bridges

Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Images

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

I am sick and tired of hearing about our limitations. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge this week is an amazing hero story of the cops and first responders who saved an untold number of lives by doing exactly the right thing quickly. But I’m really tired of hearing about how long it’s going to take us to recover from this catastrophe and how bad it’s going to be.


The immediate impact for Americans regarding this bridge collapse seems dire. If you're waiting for a new car to come in from overseas, prepare to wait longer. The Port of Baltimore stands as the nation’s leading import-export site for cars and trucks. It’s also the leading nexus for sugar and gypsum, which is used in fertilizer, drywall, and plaster. A record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo was transported through Baltimore just last year.

To expect more from our leaders is rational. But to expect the most from ourselves is essential.

The bustling port is now cut off after the 1.6-mile-long bridge crumbled and fell into the river early Tuesday, blocking the only shipping lane into the port.

The officials have said the timeline for rebuilding the bridge will be years. The Port of Baltimore creates more than 15,300 jobs, with another 140,000 jobs linked to the activity at the port. This is a major disaster and will continue to cause significant problems on the East Coast for U.S. importers and exporters.

The bridge collapse means it will not be possible to get to the container terminals or a range of the other port terminals in Baltimore. Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul J. Wiedefeld told reporters on Tuesday that vessel traffic in the port would be suspended until further notice but noted the port is still open to trucks.

Michael Mezzacappa, an attorney and expert on property damage cases in the shipping industry, told the New York Post that the collapse will have a major impact on shipping and traffic routes in the East Coast for the foreseeable future. “It’s not going to get fixed any time soon,” Mezzacappa said. “It’s going to take a lot longer than anyone expects. This is going to be a major problem for the Northeast.”

Remember the American spirit

I am absolutely sick to death of all of these stories that say things like that. Have we forgotten who we are? Have we forgotten what we’ve done?

Let me remind you of the American spirit, a spirit so potent and so vibrant that it has scaled towering mountains, mountains nobody thought they could cross.

It’s the spirit that constructed marvels of engineering. Have you ever been to the Hoover Dam? Have you seen the New York City skyline? The skyscraper was invented here for a reason. Here we are on the threshold of tomorrow, and none of us knows what is going to happen. But I'm getting the impression that we’ve been so beaten down that we believe we’re not going to make it tomorrow.

Have we forgotten who our ancestors are and what they did? If you look through our history even briefly, you will see a group of people who never take no for an answer. You will see a people who can do anything.


I want to stop just briefly in 1930. The Great Depression had its icy grip on us. It was a time that felt like a flickering candle in the vast darkness just barely holding on. Yet, it was in this crucible of adversity that Americans did great things.

The Empire State Building rose. It wasn’t just a structure of steel and stone. It was a beacon, a beacon of hope and American resilience and ingenuity. The way that thing was built — no one has ever seen anything like it before and since. In a record-shattering one year and 45 days, an army of workers, as many as 3,400 men on certain days, transformed this audacious vision into a cowering reality.

If you look through our history even briefly, you will see a group of people who never take no for an answer.

The Empire State Building wasn’t constructed. It was conjured into existence with a symphony of clanging metal and roaring machines and the inexhaustible spirit of its builders. The men perched on steel girders that were being flown in by giant cranes whispered tales about how they could still feel the warmth of the freshly poured metal beneath them. That beam was still warm, even though it was poured in Pittsburgh, put on a train, then put on a boat, then on a truck, then hauled up into the air.

They could fill the warmth because we moved that fast. It was a feverish pace of construction. It seemed to defy the laws of time and physics.

For a long time, it was the tallest building in the world — an architectural achievement. It was also a declaration to the world that America was a land where the impossible became possible, that we are a people of determination, innovation, with a relentless will to succeed.

These aren't merely historical footnotes. They are blazing torches illuminating our path forward. They remind us that when we're faced with adversity, we don't just endure it. We overcome it. We don’t wait for history to chart our course. We write it with the sweat of our brow and the strength of our backs. That’s who we are. Have we forgotten that?

What are we waiting for?

We find ourselves at another crossroads faced with the challenges that threaten to dim the bright future that we all dream for our nation, for our children. The spirit that built the Empire State Building, laid down miles of railroads, cut through the Rocky Mountains, and sent astronauts to the moon is still inside of every heart of every American, somewhere.

Awaken that spirit. Scale new mountains. It's not just rock and earth. Scale the mountains of innovation. Build. Not just physical structures but a future that upholds the spirit of adventure, hard work, and ingenuity. Stop tearing everything down. Let's start building.

Why are we waiting? If this isn't a national emergency, I don't know what it is.

And I don't just mean the bridge. I mean all of it. You might say, “Well, our government has to lead.” Really? Does it? Maybe that’s our problem. America is led by its values and principles that are found in the souls of those who still remember who we are and who we serve. Americans lead the way. The government always follows.

You might say again, "Well, we can’t act without the government." Nonsense! Where are the bridge builders who will stand up today and say, “I'll get it done!” As soon as that happens, you’ll see who is leading and who is stalling. The government is the one that stalls the engine out. To expect more from our leaders is rational. But to expect the most from ourselves is essential.

There is nothing we can't achieve when we all stand together, united by our dreams, and driven by the will to see them fulfilled. Don't listen to anybody else who tells you differently.

6 things every voter needs to know heading into the 2024 election

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Election season is coming up and every vote matters. Over the last four years, our country has experienced some of the lowest lows it has seen in a long time. From horrors at the southern border to government overspending, it is clear: our country is in trouble. Everybody needs to get out and vote.

When you look at the numbers, there are some noticeable trends in who actually votes... and who doesn't. According to Pew Research, the more mature crowd (30 and up) gets out there and does their civic duty, while the younger crowd (18 to 29) just doesn't make it out to the polls. If you are a young or first-time voter, the process can seem daunting. You have to jump through some bureaucratic red tape before you can head to the polls, which can be frustrating and discouraging for someone who has never done it before.

If this describes you or someone you know, you're in luck. We compiled everything you need to know to get ready to hit the polls this election season in a convenient guide below.

Get an I.D.

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The first thing you'll need is a valid state I.D. These can take a while to acquire, so if you don't yet have one, it's time to get on it. Not all states require I.D., and every state has different requirements. You can check to see if your state requires an I.D. to vote here.

Register to vote

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Every state, except North Dakota, requires prospective voters to register, so it is important to make sure you are registered in the state and county you reside in. Every state has a different registration process. You can find your state's registration website here.

Confirm date of election day

You want to make sure you arrive at the polls at the right date and time. Most states have a set election day, and often there are even a few days or weeks of early voting that lead up to it. Check out this list of election dates to find out your election day and mark it in your calendar.

Find your polling location

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You can find polling locations on your state's voter information website, which can be found here. Keep in mind that you will likely have to find a location within the county where you reside. These locations often include public schools, public libraries, city halls, and other public buildings.

Research candidates on the ballot

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Before you vote, it is important to be educated in what you are voting for. Find out who will be on the ballot (and don't be surprised when it's not just the presidential nominees), and do a little digging. Don't assume that because a candidate has a little "R" next to their name they share your values. You can visit this website to find out who will be on the ballot in your local area.

Actually go vote

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There is nothing else to to but get out there and vote! Go out there and make your voice heard!