As I was meandering on Ricochet yesterday, I was reminded that it’s a “conservative” thought platform. So it occurred to me I might want to share some of my own… conservative thoughts, that is.

Or is it “are?”

No, it’s “is.”

Anyhoo, with the memory of crying at the dinner table, choking out the words “We’re going to lose our country,” when the news came out about the Keystone Pipeline project having been abruptly terminated (four-plus years ago), I am now totally up for the wild ride we’re currently on. As my technical boot camp instructor used to say, “I don’t have no dog in the hunt” on the question of Trumpian impacts upon the mysterious and probably nefarious operations of the swamp.

Being at a several-years distance from the swampier swamp of the Golden State’s governing minions, I no longer must consider, nor am I irked by how things actually work versus how they’re supposed to work. Instead, I now have the luxury of returning to my youth’s purer idealisms about integrity, faith, competence, trustworthiness, merit, neighborliness, generosity, and compassion.

No, I haven’t moved.

I’ve gotten in touch with my roots.

I mentioned in an earlier post this year that my husband gifted me a subscription to County Highway, a throwback-style newspaper out of Montana filled with glorious words written by very talented strangers. Along with the subscription, hubby gave me poster-sized copies of The Declaration of Independence and The Bill of Rights printed on a faux parchment background. I placed them, using a level, of course, just under the 3’ x 4’ colorized canvas of an original photograph from one of my uncle’s WWII photo albums. The image is of General George S. Patton with all of the Third Army commanding officers (including my uncle) standing in front of a beautiful ivy-covered building somewhere in England in June of 1945.

Next to this display on the right is a sign that says many things, in its essence encouraging me, or anyone who reads it, to keep the vision in mind, plan well, work hard, and leave this world a better place for those who come after me.

Now, some would say that I’ve become simple-minded.

Others would say that I’m glossing over the mistakes we’ve made and the flaws we’ve been criticized for as a country.

Still others would assume that, if I voted for Trump, I must be an uneducated white woman (as many pollsters declared).

My answers to these accusations are Yes, No, and No.

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Yes, it takes great effort to reveal a deep and substantial truth. Tor Norretranders, an interesting man who wrote a book called The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size, coined the term “ex-formation.” The best way for me to describe it is this: take a mountain of data, mine it down to its golden nuggets, and reconstitute what remains into its highest comprehensive form without losing any depth or accuracy, while also conveying great meaning despite the brevity and simplicity of the end product. The depth of the product is measured by the amount of effort that went into the analysis and deconstruction of the data mountain into an elegantly simple but meaningful result.

The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights are the three most beautiful examples of a profoundly meaningful and elegantly simple result produced through what the founders may not have recognized as the rigorous process of ex-formation.

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No, I’m certainly not glossing over the mistakes of our history, nor am I ignoring our flaws. There are two things I want to say.

First, a point about history. As Nathaniel T. Johnson describes in his book Traced, history shows us that people, groups and cultures have, over the centuries, continually migrated from place to place around the globe, meaning that the societal necessities that dictated norms and practices also moved, changed, and melded over time. It’s life on this planet.

In my view, overlaying the norms and ideologically driven moral codes of today upon long-past historical events has a chilling effect. It serves to stop us in our tracks and distorts the moral lenses through which we perceive history. The weight is too heavy… crushingly heavy.

This doesn’t mean that all of those historical events were upright and moral at the time. But it also doesn’t mean that what was done was so egregious as to dictate a rewriting of the historical narrative. Despite what the left believes today about what response would have been perfect and righteous back then, what actually happened may have been dictated by circumstances; or societal constraints or necessities that we cannot imagine or understand from where we now sit.

My view? This assault on our past is either a gaslighting campaign to distort history for political advantage, or a generalized emergence of ignorance easily manipulated by the politically entrenched — the too-far-gone elite. Probably both.

Second, a point about human nature. Human nature can be fickle and unreliable. We are susceptible to temptations, corrupting influences, believing fantastical things promoted by charismatic and persuasive voices, and carrying out acts of evil when caught up in the snares laid out by the enemy of our souls. The left fails to recognize the normal capacity of a human to sin, which means they also fail to recognize the need for a Savior and the Word of God to both save our souls and guide our lives.

We are made in the image of God, which means we are beings of great depth and possibility. But there’s a bonus! We’ve been granted free will to make our own choices in regard to our relationship with Him. Yes, we can do whatever we want … including what might lead to our peril.

The good news? He is faithful, and we are His beloved. The enemy, the thief, hates us for that. As Scripture states, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; Jesus came so that we would have life and have it abundantly. It’s as simple as that. And as deep as anything could be.

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And NO!

Finally, a point about uneducated white women. This is personal … and it really bugs me. The notion that only uneducated white women voted for Trump is racist, sexist, and politically biased. And I’ve worked too hard to be so rudely dismissed.

I’m a white woman and I voted for Trump.

And no. I’m not “uneducated.” I have a double major BA, an MBA, and a partially completed seminary credential in Christian studies, not to mention all of the formalized training I’ve undergone in my profession, teaching in the state university system, and serving as a corporate mentor and instructor. I’ve also traveled extensively, worked in international corporations, and walked the many halls of government, the various roles often requiring that I gain intimate knowledge of the “way things really work.”

Sorry to be so crass and braggadocios. It’s my defense. I am fed up with the Left’s diminishing of conservative women.

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I’ll end with this.

I’ve been following Christ for a very long time, not entirely with a pristine abidance, but the difficult seasons have (apparently) been necessary for my good, and sometimes for the good of others. Despite the pain and grief I’ve caused, I am learning to trust and lean into His ways of working all things together for good.

I’m not perfect, we’re not perfect, our country is not perfect. But there is grace.

And the immediate future looks exciting and bright.

Hi-Yo Silver! Away!