Signs of Hope: Silicon Valley Liberal Floors Glenn With Support for States' Rights

There is a civil war playing out in the Democratic Party between the radical left and old school, left-leaning Democrats. While trouble is brewing, so are opportunities. Glenn continues to encounter people who recognize the difficulties we now face as a nation. Two weeks ago, he met with leaders from Silicon Valley, mostly liberal, and the conversation bordered on shocking.

"Guy sitting next to me said, 'You know, we have to admit our own mistakes... None of us here sitting at the table had a single problem with the way Barack Obama was signing executive orders. None of us said anything. It didn't bother us. We didn't have a single problem the way they got health care done. They just jammed it through. None of us said anything, but hurrah. Now that Donald Trump is doing the same thing, we're all freaking out. You know, maybe we should have had a problem with Barack Obama doing it,'" Glenn recalled.

Glenn did his best to stay silent and listen.

"I'm like, don't say anything, don't say anything, don't say anything. Don't wreck this. He's on the right train. Keep going," Glenn said.

Then came the kicker.

"He said . . . 'Every time the Tenth Amendment is brought up, every single one of us in this room always say racist, state's rights is just about racism. But, gee, aren't we the same people right now saying we have to strengthen the Tenth Amendment and maybe we should secede from the Union? Maybe it's not about racism. Maybe there's something to these state's rights,'" Glenn recounted.

The revelation left Glenn floored --- and more convinced than ever that we have a chance to turn things around.

Speaking about two of the four books he's been reading, Glenn explained how understanding the five tribal stages and the language of moral foundations are the secret keys to bridging the divide.

"I think we're between stage one and stage two, and there are those in our audience that are stage three, four and five," Glenn stated. "It will take those of us who are three, four and five to be able to learn the language of these first two stages, speak to them, couple that with The Righteous Mind, and we can change the world. We really can heal the scars."

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

GLENN: Okay. So I want you to listen to this. This is from Los Angeles. Long-standing tensions between the Democrat Party's moderate and liberal wings have ignited in California, where progressive activists are redirecting their anger over Donald Trump and congressional Republicans towards Democratic leaders at home. Stoked by a contested race for state Democratic chair and the failure of a single-payer health care bill, activists are staging protests at the capitol. Assembly Speaker Rendon reportedly receiving death threats after shelving the health care legislation last month. And security was tightened at the statehouse, after activists disrupted a floor session last week. The rancor spillover from the contentious Democratic presidential primary last year is aggravating divisions in a state regarded nationally as a lodestar for the liberal cause. Establishment Democrats fear the rhetoric and appetite for new spending could go too far, jeopardizing the party's across-the-board dominance of state politics. All of this has taken new significance on, as California embraces its role as the focal point of the anti-Trump resistance.

They're now having to say, "Guys, guys, guys, we're on the same team." But they're not. Go back to The Coming Insurrection, the little blue book that when I first started at Fox, people couldn't imagine -- what? Why is Glenn Beck, he's saying read this socialist revolution book from France. Yes. Because I said it would come here. What was the point of that book? Do you remember why they were revolting in France, I mean, other than Frenchmen were revolting?

PAT: They were sick and tired of the promises not being fulfilled. Right?

GLENN: In what way?

PAT: They wanted Communism.

GLENN: Correct.

PAT: And they decided to go for it now, rather than progressively.

GLENN: Correct. And they kept saying, we have the opportunity right now. We keep electing you guys, and you keep saying -- see if you've heard this phrase before: The French version of, okay. We just need the House and the Senate. Oh, okay. Well, we need the White House too. But once we get the House and the Senate and the White House too, then we'll be able to do something. They're like, we've elected you guys over and over again, and you've had the power. And you won't do it. You're never going to do it. You're never going to do it. Because it's about you. It's not about Marxism. You're just using us. Well, that's what's beginning to happen now. The Democrats have invited these people in, and they're Marxist. And they're revolutionaries. And they want their system.

So they wanted a single-payer system. The real Democrats said, "Okay. No, I think that will bankrupt the state." And the Marxists and the deep, deep progressives said, "Now is the time. If not now, when? Are you kidding me, we're more popular than ever because of Donald Trump. We can stand against it and lead the way. You people aren't going to do it." That's why they've had to ratchet up security because the sentiments that I pointed out eight years ago in The Coming Insurrection and said, "It's coming here," is now beginning in California.

Okay. Sounds like bad news. But here's the opportunity: And I have witnessed it myself. In fact, this weekend, I met two different people who said, "Glenn, I'm reading this book called The Righteous Mind." And I just smile, "Uh-huh."

This woman told me on Saturday, "I'm reading this. I had to get to you because I believe there's a way out." And I said, "Really? Well, I'm trying to work on that. I'm interested on hearing anything you've got."

And she said, "Well, you have to read The Righteous Mind." I said, "Jonathan Haidt?" She said, "Yes. You know it?" And I said, "Yeah, we're working on something based on that as well."

She said, "I've seen it work in my own life." She said, "I had family members who I could not even talk to, and I started using what he's pointing out, and I changed what I was saying, how I was saying it. And they're hearing me now."

"Yes, I know. I've seen it work myself."

And here's the opportunity: Last week, two weeks ago, when I was in California, there is a huge change in people. Huge change. And it's not -- the last time I was there was right after -- yeah, right after the election. And people were stunned and they were afraid of Donald Trump. And everything else.

So I go out and I meet with -- I'm going to have dinner with the one guy who is a really nice guy, but very, very liberal. Was very Hillary Clinton, I believe.

And I let him know that I'm coming out.

He said, "Glenn, I want to introduce you to some friends. They need to hear you speak." And I said, "Okay."

He said, "Anybody you want to meet with?" I said, "No, I just don't want to meet with anybody who has a jersey." So if you're, the Democrats have to win, or that Donald Trump, we have to do everything we can to stop, or whatever, no team jerseys. Open minds.

He said, okay. So about 20 people show up. Twenty, 25. And they're -- they're amazing job titles and names. I was shocked.

And all of them came in with -- with a very open mind. And in some ways, afraid. Some of them told me that they were more afraid of their side than even Donald Trump now.

They said the Republicans are spooking the crap out of us. But what's happening on the college campuses with the uber left is frightening.

Point number one: Their eyes are beginning to open. Point number two: Guy sitting next to me, he said -- I opened up with: Look, we all have to admit our mistakes. And we have to just say, "I'm not trying to win. I'm trying to find a way back towards any kind of normal conversations with people who disagree with me, where I don't hate you and you don't hate me and we have to stop each other. Because what does that lead?"

Please, play this out for me. You guys win every election for the next 20 years. You have every seat and everything is Democratic. What are you going to do with the 40 percent of the population that just will not give up the idea of a free market? What do you do with them? Kill them? Silence them?

Because, I mean, at first, you just have to silence them and get them to play along. But when they don't after 20 years, what do you do?

And the same thing with the people who say you're the enemy. We have to just -- what are we going to do with you, after 20 years of winning every single election? Because they're not going to give up. Do we round you up? Do we put you in indoctrination camps, or do we kill you? Help figure this out.

We all came to the conclusion that there is no winning, just stop playing to win. Let's start finding ways to live together.

So I say this: Guy sitting next to me said, you know, we have to admit our own mistakes. None of us here at this table -- now, this is a super liberal guy. None of us here sitting at the table had a single problem with the way Barack Obama was signing executive orders. None of us said anything. It didn't bother us. We didn't have a single problem the way they got health care done. They just jammed it through. None of us said anything, but hurrah. Now that Donald Trump is doing the same thing, we're all freaking out.

You know, maybe we should have had a problem with Barack Obama doing it. And I'm like, "Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't wreck this. He's on the right train. Keep going." He said, "And another thing: Every time the Tenth Amendment is brought up, every single one of us in this room always say, racist. State's rights is just about racism. But, gee, aren't we the same people right now saying we have to strengthen the Tenth Amendment and maybe we should secede from the Union?

Maybe it's not about racism. Maybe it's something to these state's rights. I am floored -- floored with the nodding heads of, yeah. Yeah.

Now, they don't agree with me on policies, but the principles are starting to shine through. So here's the opportunity in California. There's a Democratic civil war. The Coming Insurrection. Where people are shutting things down. You're going to have violence. Because that's what the left -- the uber, uber radicalized left, that's what they do.

So you've got that.

Then you have a whole bunch of people who are like, I'm not with them. But I also -- I'm not really with the G.O.P. either because they're doing the same kind of tactics as I just realized my party was doing. And I don't like that either.

That's where you come in. And if you can speak their language, you can get enough to open up to where you say, "See. Yes. You're right. The Tenth Amendment." For different reasons, we both believe in the Tenth Amendment. For different reasons, we both believe in the Fourth and the Fifth Amendment. But see how important the Constitution is?

We have that opportunity. And if you can only -- if you could get, my gosh, 50 percent of the Democrats of California to turn, not going to happen, Glenn.

Good. I'll take 5 percent. I'll take 10 percent. You can get 5 percent of the Democrats in California, I believe, right now, if we start listening to each other. We start talking to one another, and we know how to talk to one another. And we stop trying to win. Because, they're on the wrong side!

Play that out in your mind. How does that end? Play that out in your mind. How is it working out so far?

New tactic. And we'll be talking to you about it and teaching it in the coming weeks. But I would highly recommend you start reading two books: The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Spelled H-A-I-G-H-T.

PAT: No, it's H-A-I-D-T.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: What?

PAT: H-A-I-D-T.

GLENN: Oh, you guys are reading the wrong book.

STU: That would suck.

GLENN: Yeah, so Jonathan Haidt. So that one. And the other one is Tribal Leadership. Now, Tribal Leadership is -- does anybody know who that one is by?

PAT: Two guys, I think, right?

GLENN: So you read that one. And that one is different -- that one is more about business. It's an older book. A couple years old. But it's more about business. But --

STU: Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright are the authors.

GLENN: If you read those two books -- the Tribal Leadership -- think of the company as our country and see where the tribes are headed.

I contend that we are -- and when you read this, you will understand, and you will put your hand to your mouth and go, "Oh, no." I between our country is between stage one and stage two. And the Democrats and some on the alt-right are more stage one. That's a dangerous place to go.

Stage two is almost a complete loss of hope. And a just submission into whatever. And I want a strongman to fix it because we've tried everything else.

I think we're between stage one and stage two. And there are those in our audience that are stage three, four, and five, which are our good. But it will take those of us who are three, four, and five, to be able to learn the language of these first two stages, speak to them, couple that with the Righteous Mind, and we can change the world. We really can heal the scars. We'll give that you as the days and weeks continue.

EXCLUSIVE: Tech Ethicist reveals 5 ways to control AI NOW

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By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

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The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

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If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Could China OWN our National Parks?

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The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

Lee isn’t proposing to auction off Yellowstone or pave over Yosemite. He’s talking about 3 million acres — that’s less than half of 1% of the federal estate. And this land isn’t your family’s favorite hiking trail. It’s remote, hard to access, and often mismanaged.

Failed management

Why was it mismanaged in the first place? Because the federal government is a terrible landlord.

Consider Yellowstone again. It’s home to the last remaining herd of genetically pure American bison — animals that haven’t been crossbred with cattle. Ranchers, myself included, would love the chance to help restore these majestic creatures on private land. But the federal government won’t allow it.

So what do they do when the herd gets too big?

They kill them. Bulldoze them into mass graves. That’s not conservation. That’s bureaucratic malpractice.

And don’t even get me started on bald eagles — majestic symbols of American freedom and a federally protected endangered species, now regularly slaughtered by wind turbines. I have pictures of piles of dead bald eagles. Where’s the outrage?

Biden’s federal land-grab

Some argue that states can’t afford to manage this land themselves. But if the states can’t afford it, how can Washington? We’re $35 trillion in debt. Entitlements are strained, infrastructure is crumbling, and the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service are billions of dollars behind in basic maintenance. Roads, firebreaks, and trails are falling apart.

The Biden administration quietly embraced something called the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to lock up 30% of all U.S. land and water under federal “conservation” by 2030. The real goal is 50% by 2050.

That entails half of the country being taken away from you, controlled not by the people who live there but by technocrats in D.C.

You think that won’t affect your ability to hunt, fish, graze cattle, or cut timber? Think again. It won’t be conservatives who stop you from building a cabin, raising cattle, or teaching your grandkids how to shoot a rifle. It’ll be the same radical environmentalists who treat land as sacred — unless it’s your truck, your deer stand, or your back yard.

Land as collateral

Moreover, the U.S. Treasury is considering putting federally owned land on the national balance sheet, listing your parks, forests, and hunting grounds as collateral.

What happens if America defaults on its debt?

David McNew / Stringer | Getty Images

Do you think our creditors won’t come calling? Imagine explaining to your kids that the lake you used to fish in is now under foreign ownership, that the forest you hunted in belongs to China.

This is not hypothetical. This is the logical conclusion of treating land like a piggy bank.

The American way

There’s a better way — and it’s the American way.

Let the people who live near the land steward it. Let ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, and local conservationists do what they’ve done for generations.

Did you know that 75% of America’s wetlands are on private land? Or that the most successful wildlife recoveries — whitetail deer, ducks, wild turkeys — didn’t come from Washington but from partnerships between private landowners and groups like Ducks Unlimited?

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized. When you break it, you fix it. When you profit from the land, you protect it.

This is not about selling out. It’s about buying in — to freedom, to responsibility, to the principle of constitutional self-governance.

So when you hear the pundits cry foul over 3 million acres of federal land, remember: We don’t need Washington to protect our land. We need Washington to get out of the way.

Because this isn’t just about land. It’s about liberty. And once liberty is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.