It has been hard to miss the past couple of weeks. It started inadvertently with a win by Brandon Brown at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega, but now can been seen on hats, shirts and even on the floor of the House of Representatives.
“Let’s go Brandon” has become a sign of the current times and a likely phrase for the ages. And its popularity is driving Democrats and their media enablers crazy.
But as the crises continue to mount in the first year of President Biden’s term—runaway inflation, worker and supply shortages, the Afghanistan debacle and now China testing hypersonic missiles and reportedly planning to field at least 1000 nukes—people are starting to ask, “What can be done to head off this rolling catastrophe?”
According to a recent poll, 71% of Americans believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction.
While voters in Virginia, New Jersey, and a few other places have sent shockwaves through DC and the elite media establishment, most of America will have to wait until 2022 before our voices can be heard at the polls.
As I’ve gone around the country, I have been asked at event after event, “What can the rest of us do between now and then?”
Herman Miller, the company where I once worked, had as part of its management philosophy something called “roving leadership.” It meant, in simple terms, if you saw a problem or issue in the company, it was your responsibility to highlight it and make every effort to solve it.
As a leader at Herman Miller, you had a responsibility to the company to act when action was required even if it wasn’t within your scope responsibility.
It was all about taking action—recognizing every single individual within the company, regardless of what department they worked in or what level of the company hierarchy they fit into, had a vested interest in the success of the company. Every person mattered and their input was valued.
For those of us who are frustrated by what’s happening in America today there’s an important lesson. Act!
Do what you can.
Use your skills and God-given talents and you will be surprised by what you can accomplish. This of course also holds true for those who support the current direction of the country.
Individual activism can make a difference.
Think about the impact Scott Smith had in Virginia. He was a father seeking information and accountability for the alleged sexual assault of his daughter.
Initially the allegations were denied by the local school board, but he persisted. Vilified by mainstream media and arrested by local authorities, he continued to fight and persevere.
By doing what he as a father felt needed to be done, he successfully achieved accountability for what happened to his daughter. Asra Nomani and Michelle Leete, while on opposite sides of the debate surrounding critical race theory in Virginia, made a difference.
At the highest level, the bold actions by these individuals can be argued changed the focus and the trajectory of Virginia’s gubernatorial race.
This demonstrates the power of single individuals rallying against the political elite. Many thought they couldn’t be touched. They were proven wrong.
The same thing happened with the Douglas County School Board in Colorado. Four individuals fed up with the rules and mandates coming from the school board decided to take action. They challenged four of the school board members.
Last Tuesday night when the results were announced, the four running on a Kids First platform prevailed. Within a couple of weeks, they will constitute the majority of the school board.
I recently met Hugo Goerner, a California businessman. Hugo is concerned about the direction of California, Illinois, and other states that are on the path to financial ruin.
With potential defaults on their looming liabilities, these states will jeopardize the stability of the U.S. financial system. Rather than complaining, he started his own individual group, EPAC, in an effort to educate others about the building crisis.
I don’t know how successful he will be, but Hugo decided to act rather than complain and wait for someone else to do it.
Act for America, a grassroots organization announced that its members have taken over 4,000,000 legislative actions in the last 90 days.
Those are small actions made by lots of people trying to make an impact today.
The lessons we can learn from Scott, Asra, Michelle, Colorado, Hugo, and Act for America is that actions you take can and will make a difference.
Identify what your skills and strengths are and act. Every one of us can make a difference. Elections are won by sweat and shoe leather. In between elections continued vigilance and activism can impact governance. This is true regardless of your political persuasion.
For those on the conservative side, the challenge now is to make “Let’s go Brandon” into more than a euphemism for a coarser phrase. It is to turn it into a call for action.
Peter Hoekstra was US Ambassador to the Netherlands during the Trump administration. He served 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the second district of Michigan and served as Chairman and Ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. He is currently Chairman of the Center for Security Policy Board of Advisors.
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