January 17, 2005

It has become clear that Americans fed-up with political correctness are shifting to the right and making a strong statement that the country has strayed too far from the values of our founding fathers.

Liberals are going to hate to hear this but this is PRECISELY why my commentary is right on point this week. The Average American today, “Joe and Sally Six-Pack” as I like to call them, have had it with the Left and they’re not going to take it anymore. (My apologies to the producers of the movie “Network” for playing off their classic film line.)

It’s funny how we come to realize things in life, when the light finally goes on, when reality smacks us in the head, and all of a sudden we say to ourselves, “Oh, I get it!” Well, that has finally happened to me, and in the least expected way.

This epiphany happened today as I was driving home from a very successful meeting on behalf of a client. I took a cell phone call from a fellow named “Tom” who, after apologizing for calling me out of the blue, made an incredible case for why the little guy in our country is flexing his Made-in-the-U.S.A. muscle and we better all pay attention.

His passion and anger reminded me of the classic quotes that came out of the Nixon Administration. Richard Nixon, in a speech about ending the Vietnam War, on November 3, 1969, called on the “silent majority” in America to back him up. His Vice President, Spiro Agnew, in expressing anger at how much control the Democrats had over America, declared: “In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism.”

Today, we hear similar cries from people who are standing up and vowing to take America back from the Negative Left who see nothing good in America and want us all to be like Canada, or worse, France.

But back to my caller.

He was angry (furious was more like it) that the city of Azusa, California, a sleepy little burb in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley in Eastern Los Angeles County, was trying to shut down one of the largest and most respected gun ranges in the U.S. It has a pistol range, a rifle range, a moving target range, a shotgun range for skeet and trap, and a combat range, located in the foothills near the intersection of Interstates 210 and 605.

The San Gabriel Valley Gun Club is a favorite of not only ordinary firearms enthusiasts, but also the home of more than 50 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The military also uses it regularly to train and qualify our soldiers, including prepping them for overseas duty.

I know it sounds kid of funny to talk about the military using a range East of L.A. for war training, but think about this. In a heavily populated region like L.A. and Orange counties, with most military bases now closed, where do valiant warriors go to sharpen their skills to take on Al Qaeda and other world-wide terrorist dangers?

By the way, not all of our military folks fight for us overseas. One of the regular visiting military units at the gun club is the Coast Guard’s Sea Marshals. These men and women work in ports around the U.S., including Long Beach and Los Angeles harbors, boarding incoming ships and looking for terrorists, dangerous cargo, and other things that threaten this nation’s economy, our livelihood, and our very existence. Next time you see a truck hauling containers into your community to the local WalMart, Kmart, Sears, et al, remember that a Sea Marshal or a U.S. Customs inspector probably checked it first to make sure it doesn’t blow up in your town.

Local cops, state parole and narcotics officers, and federal ATF, DEA, and Customs and Immigration agents all train alongside each other to protect YOU and “Joe and Sally Six-Pack” in the other on-gong war in our lives, the war on crime. So the San Gabriel Valley Gun Club, founded 58 years ago, is a major resource right in the back yard of the second largest city in America.

But back to my caller.

”Tom” was telling me that even though he disagreed with the war in Iraq, and he is not some right wing nut, he voted for George Bush for President because “we have to take our country back. We are going to get our moral values back.”

We have all been hearing about moral values lately and some in the media have sarcastically questioned what this “buzz word” really means. Tom told me what it means to him and he made a lot of sense.

He said that as Americans, we have always been at the top of the world heap not just because we are risk takers who maximize the use of our freedoms of speech, religion, the right to assemble, bear arms, elect a representative government, etc. Tom reminded me that although we may have philosophical differences over issues like abortion, the funding and future of Social Security, and whether we should be the world’s police force, we generally have always gotten along as a society.

It is his contention that the Democrats, the Left, the ACLU, and their ilk, have ruined it for all of us and that we are now in a massive and classic “pendulum swing” back to the right in the hopes we end up somewhere near the middle where most of America resides. He feels the current layout of red and blue states should become the traditional red, white and blue America in which all of us were raised.

It is Tom’s view that everyday, average Americans are tired of political correctness, the removal of “Christ” from Christmas, the inability or refusal of the government to control our borders, the over-regulation and taxation of our businesses, and the increasing intrusion of the government into our everyday lives. He hates the IRS but loves the FBI. Go figure.

I know he may sound to some like the far right fringe, but he was also venting AGAINST the NRA and other darlings of the right. Tom was sounding like a guy with beefs on both sides of the political aisle.

And he was parroting the very same concerns I have been hearing from a lot of folks recently of all ethnic, economic, and sexual persuasions. They are all saying to me that our country has lost its way, not just a moral compass, but a common sense compass, that we are headed in the wrong direction. And THAT makes people very uncomfortable and it is spurring them into action. That’s why they didn’t want John Kerry as President. To them, he was not real. George Bush was real and more down to earth.

They want to return to America some of the great themes and values of previous generations. I know some of you Lefties are just itching to say, ‘Oh yeah, the values of previous generations? Like slavery, coat hanger abortions in back alleys, and women not able to vote?”

And I respond, “No, you nattering nabobs of negativism (thanks, Spiro). The silent majority (thanks Tricky Dicky) is tired of being silenced.”

Average Americans who sometimes work more than one job, who raise good and productive kids and grandkids, who don’t always vote but always give of their time, talents and resources to charities and the needy, feel a burning duty to stand up and stop the decline of our civilization.

They say our education system is broken and they’re right. They feel our political system is dysfunctional and corrupt and they’re right. They are tired of the ACLU types using the separation of church and state to rid this country of its religious heritage and they are right.

And they fear that that if we succumb to the values and weaknesses of some of our traditional allies, like the French, we will become as weak and milk toast as they are. And these Average Americans are right. We are much better than that and we deserve a better destiny.

Common sense people are also simple, uncomplicated people. They are simple, not simpletons. They are not jet-setters, trend-setters, or night-life clubbers. They are just hard working folks. They don’t need or covet Prada or Polo, and Rolex watches are NEVER de rigueur. For them, Levis or Wranglers and Timex are more than adequate. They don’t demand Victoria’s Secrets to feel sexy – WalMart and Sears do the trick.

Image this: how in the world did we get to this point in our lives without trashy lingerie? How did we prosper and pro-create our way into the 21st Century without fertility drugs and the ubiquitous soft porn shows and commercials on television?

”Tom” and his average American friends know. They focus on the basics. They’re not radicals on either fringe of the political spectrum. They’re not the far religious right and they certainly don’t consider themselves “political progressives.”

They overwhelmingly voted for George Bush because he speaks to THEIR values, their hopes and dreams, and their memories of what American has been and can be once again. They don’t want to be Ozzie and Harriett or Archie Bunker. But they also don’t want to become like Madonna, Johnny Depp or any of those other foreign-land suck-ups from Hollywood.

They want to see our police and military train at safe, regulated gun ranges with flawless track records like the San Gabriel Valley Gun Club. They want their kids and grandkids to learn the value of an education, the right to learn how to handle, use, and respect a firearm, and the opportunity to succeed and fail based on their own ability to take risks. They DON’T want any more government in their lives and they are tired of supporting the lazy, the hustlers, and the other leaches in society who are draining on our economy, our values, and our future.

And they have made it clear to me in recent discussions that are prepared to vote their conscience and their values to remove left-wing anti-gun, anti-God, anti-decency, anti-Boy Scout, anti-business, seemingly “anti-everything” elected officials from office.

They are coming out in droves to fight to save the San Gabriel Valley Gun Club for our police, our military, and our communities. They are standing up to fight for returning the recently-removed cross from the official seal of Los Angeles County. And they’re still damned angry about the holiday season that just concluded where one of the main topics of conversation was the political correctness of not using “Christmas” in store ads and promotions, as well as in salutations, in school plays and other public venues.

These average Americans have become soldiers in a fight to stop the rewriting of American history by those whom they see as out of touch with the undeniable religious values that put “In God We Trust” on our money, and “One nation under God” in our pledge of allegiance.

And by God, they will not be deterred.