Dakota Beacon

I received a note from our friends in Northwest Minnesota.  Some of you have been here since the beginning of the tea party movement and know the tremendous contribution these people have made in changing the political dynamic in our area.  Some of you have participated in their rallies, some have attended their educational events and heard the speakers they have brought up here for us.  They undertook a great task and have done great things. 

Barb Chervestad, Kay Steiger and Melanie Mathiason, et al, have found it more than they can do to keep on going without more support.  This is entirely understandable.  Barb is also a mom, a wife, a working person and the Vice Chairman of the 7^th District Republican Party.  The other ladies are equally busy with their lives.  I cannot blame them for calling it a day.

My reason for writing to you  now is that some of you might not have been aware of how much these patriots have done for us and what a heavy load they have carried – all too often alone.  It is my hope that firstly some of you will want to thank them personally for their service to us and secondly to exhort you to rededicate yourselves to the preservation of our republic – at all levels.  The cost to the patriot is high – personal time, financial sacrifice, much thought, no small amount of stress and all too often some gratuituous criticism.  But this is the cost of freedom.  Remember that.  And remember that while it is exciting to get in on rallies and speak up on a sunny summer day in the park, it is a long, sometimes cold and lonely fight in the long run.  If we give up when the road is rocky, or when the excitement of the crowd wears off, if we abandon the struggle and give up the fight, we lose not only our freedom but the liberty of generations to come.  Remember - this is what the enemies of freedom are expecting and waiting for.  Reagan said it very well – freedom is not passed along in the blood, it must be fought for in each generation or it will be lost forever.  Barb and Kay and others understood this.  When they called for support it was not forthcoming.  We should all remember this.  And if we wish to honor them for their work, we must take up the burden and do our share now.  It means not only physical work but often soul searching and prioritizing.  After all, letting others do this work while you stay away in your garden, your book club or your cruise, is really like putting yourself on political welfare, isn't it?

So please feel free to communicate your thoughts to the people of the Northwest Minnesota Tea Party Patriots – thank them and let them know their efforts have not been unnoticed or unappreciated.  And pay it forward:  when called to action, step up.  I said I could understand their feelings.  That is because I, too, have felt the same way.  I put out a call for people to offer to help  Paul Sorum – THE ONLY CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE RUNNING IN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY – and few responded.  I hope some of you at least visited Paul’s website and I hope you caught some of his radio broadcast interviews.  In any case, we did not succeed.  We should be asking ourselves why.  We should resolve to give more of ourselves in the future.  This decision of the MN organization provides us with some perspective.  This, in itself, is a service. 

In the alternative, please do not complain.  Don’t complain that Common Core lingers on in our schools, depriving your kids of a decent education.  Don’t complain that in-state college tuition is outrageously high and performance outrageously low.  Don’t complain that your property taxes are going up or that we have budget shortfalls in Bismarck.  Don’t complain when you, yourself, are finally the victim of political and governmental coercion and corruption.  Don’t become alarmed or complain about unvetted immigration and its impact on your life and your community.   Don’t complain because Obamacare persists and digs itself further into our lives and our culture, like a worm.  Don’t complain because taxation and regulation are preventing your economic prosperity and limiting your families’ options.  And whatever you do, don't say, "Someone should do something about this."  Don’t complain - because you had the opportunity to address all of these things in the June 14 primary.  You didn’t show up.  Most of you didn’t.    You can’t fix that one.

But there is tomorrow.  Look ahead with renewed resolve to be REAL patriots.  Resolve to study the candidates and volunteer to come out to support them – remember they are making a huge sacrifice to do this.   It is Fourth of July weekend.  Most of you will be enjoying picnics and fireworks and patriotic speeches, parades, music.  You might dress up in a red, white and blue tee shirt and eat red, white and blue cupcakes.  If any of this means any more to you than just a good time please take these words to heart and consider them a warning.  If you leave all of the load to others and they can no longer carry it we will ALL be lost.  It is like a ship – if the crew sits around with its feet up on the deck chairs instead of sailing the ship, the two or three out there trying to do the work won’t be able to do it alone and the ship will go on the rocks.  That is what you are risking.  But a lot of people doing their fair share makes light and happy work and spells ultimate success.  Instead of a New Year’s resolution, make an Independence Day resolution and examine your own contribution.  Some of you have been doing this all along.  My words are for those who have been too busy or too tired or had “better things to do” than participate in democracy and in the running of the republic.  Not only will you lose your country, but the rest of us will and your children will. 

Remember as you watch the rockets’ red glare this weekend why you are there watching it, what makes Monday, July 4, different from Friday, July 1 or Tuesday, July 5.  Remember who has sacrificed to make you free – some have given their life’s blood, others their fortunes, others the essence of life itself – their time.  Take a moment to say thank you.  And promise yourself to step when called upon to do your share some day in the future.  And perhaps we will remain free.