What if the Left Wins? A Survival Guide
Gulf Coast nights, flounder lights,
I’m back on the eastern shore.
With my history of wrecks, I think it’s time to check,
The crab trap of life once more.
Need is a relative thing these days.
It borders on desire.
The high-tech world is full of bright shiny things,
We think that we really require.
Sometimes more than others,
You see who and what you are.
I’m a one-man band with no immediate plans.
Tonight, I just need my guitar.
Don’t need to feel important or famous.
No limos or my little Nash car.
One lucky man, with my feet in the sand.
Tonight, I just need my guitar.
Tonight I Just Need My Guitar – Jimmy Buffett (2002)
…..
Jimmy Buffett passed away on September 1st, 2023 at the age of 76. The Captivating Mrs. Campbell and I are parrot heads. We even have the hats with a parrot on top that we have worn to various of his concerts over the years. Jimmy’s voice wasn’t spectacular, and his songs were musically uncomplicated and similar in many ways. But no matter where you are or how bad your day has been, that music can take you to a beach and put a Margarita in your hand. That was his magic. His songs transport you to other places and commiserate with your sorrow. Those lyrics somehow were about you.
A conservative can get pretty down these days. There is probably a better than even chance that Joe Biden, or an ideological clone of his, gets elected president next year and brings the House majority along. As we look around outside of elected politics, we see media, big tech, the education complex, and big corporations seemingly moving society and culture away from what is right and good and true. The economy seems to reward debt, irresponsibility and lethargy over hard work, diligence, and thrift. We stand up against these forces. But we often feel like David standing up to Goliath without the certainty of the result that David achieved.
Don’t let them beat you. That is what they want. They want you to submit to their control of your actions and your mind. They want you to see their victory as historically inevitable. It is not.
Conflicts over the many dimensions as exist between right and left today, will invariably have ebbs and flows. We will win a battle one day and lose another the next. To employ an overused phrase, this is a marathon and not a sprint. Or to put it more in a car theme that I prefer, this is not a quarter mile drag race but more like the Indianapolis 500. Maybe we’re 100 miles in right now. There’s a long way to go. We need to stay in the fight and have confidence that we will see the checkered flag in the end.
Here are a few suggestions of attitudes and actions that work for me to keep sane, stay positive and continue the fight even when the skies look gray:
Find Your “Tribe”: Somewhere between 45-55% of the country agrees with us on these issues. They may not be Fortune 100 CEOs or movie actors, but they are out there. Find your tribe and be with them. Use them for support and guidance and to reinforce that you are not alone.
Stand Up to Something: Someone I read commented that if conservatives were only to shop from places that agreed with our values, we would have to eat My Pillows for breakfast. It’s too hard to do that. They probably don’t taste good. But, put your stake in the ground in as many places as you feel comfortable doing. Bud Light and Target have learned of late that writing off half the country is not good for business. Or maybe it’s that school where your kids or grandkids go that needs more voices to support girls being girls and only playing other girls in sports. If we all do something, it adds up.
Vote: This is obvious, but I hear so many conservatives say their vote “doesn’t matter” so no reason to do it. That’s what the media wants you to think. It does matter. If every conservative voted every year we would never lose an election because not every leftie votes. It starts with you.
Learn: If you only listen, watch, or read the cursory news from big media, you will likely not know the truth and certainly not the whole truth of what is going on. Read blogs like this one. I follow Daily Wire, the Spectator (US version of the UK publication online), Hugh Hewitt and some local talk show hosts amongst others. Knowing what is actually going on may upset you. But it is better than ignorance. There are those who find joy in not following what is going on. I get that. They are happy. The fact that you are reading this means you are probably not one of them. When the tide comes in, we will know to go to higher ground.
Breathe and Be Grateful: I could have used any number of words here, but you have to get away from this stuff now and then and have a life. Read a novel. Go to the gym. Fly a kite. Take a walk. Love your family. Laugh with your friends. The constitution is under assault, but it is still there. The left can’t stop you from living in the way you want to live. At least not yet. So, live it! To quote Jimmy Buffett, “if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane” (Changes in Latitudes – 1977) We all have more to be thankful for than 99% of all the people who have ever lived on earth. Be grateful on and for every day.
Family: Before dozens of faceless, Godless and dispassionate government programs failed at trying to rescue those in trouble, we all took care of each other through our church, our neighborhood and our families. You may not be able to change the world, But you can change the world around you. Ensure that your family is part of the solution and not the problem.
Pray: Prayer is powerful. It is not only powerful when many pray for the same things. But it is powerful in its effect on those doing the praying. God is there. Not all of you believe that but I do. He is listening. He is supreme. You do the best you can in all things, but some things must be left to God. And in the end, His justice will win out. Maybe in our lifetimes. Maybe not. The comfort that God and, for we Christians, that our Lord Jesus Christ gives to us in good times and bad simply cannot be replaced by any mortal force. Try it.
So, what does Jimmy Buffett have to do with all of this? I have found meaning and introspection (and of course lots of fun, Margaritas and cheeseburgers) in many of his songs. The song at the top of this blog is one he sings by himself with a 19th century acoustic guitar. I am singularly untalented with any musical instrument. But we all have something or someplace that is the equivalent of Jimmy’s guitar. A thing or a place where we have control and peace. If you don’t know what your guitar is, look for it. It is there somewhere.
Rest in Peace Jimmy Buffett and thank you for the laughs and the joy. I bet the cheeseburgers in the real paradise are pretty darn good.
I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Drive Fast, Live Free…..and find that One Particular Harbor