Sphynx-like she stares out at the lake, and her gaze seems to float like a mist. This is my Goddess in the Garden statue freezing time, freezing passions. Her dawns do not “come up like thunder out of China ‘cross the bay,” as Kipling wrote, but they do whisper, there is still light, still magic, in the world…go and find it. So, I do. And, as I’ve written elsewhere, the hours glide by like dancers in a stately pavane. Come sunset, I may be sitting at a park table somewhere sipping a black cherry malt concocted with secret ingredients, watching the Muggles enjoy their evenings. Young men just out of high school are playing disc golf; a spritely young mother escapes the house to run her mile; tandem lovers bicycle slowly past in silent harmony. The sun ignites the horizon, and in its ashes, I may race the moon along country lanes to witness my Goddess embarking for the far shore of the river Lethe in the arms of her dreams. All in balance. Sunrise…sunset. Only the journey matters. Magic never bores.

September in MN. You’ve probably noticed by now that I use the letters MN for both Minnesota and Mom Nature. They are synonymous to me. When I grow up (I’m never growing up), I may relocate to the forest. Shouldn’t be that much of an adjustment, since I usually spend a couple hours there each day anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I love civilization. Don’t you? At some level, it makes sense for almost every living thing. Herd, flock, tribe, society, nation, culture, religion – bunches of sameness – they all need the protection that comes with numbers coming together. And then there’s that thing called – what was it called? Oh, yeah, America. The idea there was not to have too narrow a refinement of sameness. Lots of freedom within each group identity, but all groups would subscribe to certain things in common. Checks and balances. No absolute power, because “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The American experiment started from scratch, helped by geography and a knowledge of what went before it. No bait and switch, no rebranding of old monarchies. And it had some key features that made it unique. The foundation was an independent-minded citizenry that rewarded hard work, risk-taking, imagination, resourcefulness and personal responsibility – in short, a meritocracy rather than an aristocracy. Its beacons drew like-minded seekers of self-determination like moths to a flame of Liberty from all over the world. Freedom and equality of opportunity promised millions access to their dreams. We became a nation of laws with a soul of sacrifice and charity that twice rescued humanity from totalitarian rule in the twentieth century. The last figures I saw showed us to be the destination of half of the world’s immigration and half of its charity. Our flaws and controversies were many, but America’s astonishing outpouring of invention, industry and production reshaped and super-charged a stodgy world. We were cocky, optimistic, independent, and our spirit blazed the trail to new heights in every global sector. But a word that describes us that is often left out of history books is incentive.  

Incentive is the bride of freedom. It permits the success that comes with hard work, inspiration, risk-taking and imagination. It protects the opportunity to compete and rise. However humble our skill-set, it beckons us to be the best individual we can be. Incentive rewards us for being an asset to society rather than a liability. It’s what socialism doesn’t have; it’s what controlled societies smother with their equal outcomes instead of equal opportunities. What’s the point of working hard, if the outcomes are the same? Where is the greatness of a nation to come from if the exceptional and the excellent are demonized? Government elitists want us to be dependent on them. Without importing and maintaining dependent masses, who would vote them into office? A market-economy democracy relies on successful outcomes to keep its leaders in office. Both depend on media to reach voters. As the socialist model grows, it inevitably fouls its own nest by ensuring mediocrity. Leftists grow and grow bureaucracy, spend trillions far into the future, and love their 5-year plans that never meet stated goals and cost exponentially more than promised. Each new colossal spending package with a deceitful token name seeks to bail out the mistakes of prior packages and unfunded mandates, igniting inflation and a decline in the standard of living if not economic collapse.   

Degrees of democracy have been tried before, of course, even to the extent of being amendable. But they weaken from within over time. Generations who grow up knowing nothing else increasingly take it for granted. As appreciation fades, so too does the will to safeguard democracy. In a large developed society, the loss of democracy may come as slowly as boiling frogs over decades. Given that length of time, many will not notice or care when sources of information morph into selective narratives, won’t realize they are being conditioned mentally and emotionally, won’t grasp the threat to their personal choices as cultural medias censor/cancel/cleanse, won’t recognize the enslavement of their children’s education as it slides into indoctrination. Government institutions charged with impartial enforcement justify using “any means to an end,” free and fair elections become politicized, and the partisan faction empowered by such corruptions steps into full control. That is how tyrannies lock themselves in. It has happened elsewhere. It is happening here.

Whoever you blame for that, know that I respect you. We can agree or not, and in the end we will all share the same fate. Like you, I want the best for us – all of us. Your children, my children. So, I share my fears…

We are very close to becoming a one-party system of political exploitation and class dependency. Statehood for Washington DC and Puerto Rico will likely seal the deal if Congress remains in White House control, along with more Federalized election changes. If you like the way things are, you will want to ensure that Congress remains with the White House. If you don’t, you’ll want to slow down what you view as a train wreck by voting to flip control of Congress. Just my thoughts, of course; but I hope all who vote fully understand the stakes. These elections aren’t about validating or hating personalities. They are not 7^th grade elections for anointing the King of the Football Team and the Queen of the Cheerleaders and their supporting courts. Please look past single issues, media caricatures, and the “gotcha” game of process crimes. Think beyond the national divide. You are voting for every future decision to protect us from nuclear nightmares, and to address crime and social stability, and for a prosperity or decline that will shape life for you and your family unalterably. Thanks for reading.

And if you think I’m just nuts, I’ll confirm it with some fun closures. Here are a few of Mom Nature’s horizons to beckon you from one season to the next. Click the photo of yours truly at the end if you want video proof that I’m certifiable. If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Naked Jungle” based on the story “Leiningen Versus the Ants,” this is the 13-second sequel “Sully vs the Ants.” For the past two years I’ve been tarring futilely over their little sand excavations that eventually undermine a driveway, but this year I switched to duct tape, and bottom line, it’s working. It’s a great conversation starter with passing neighbors, though the consensus is that I should be committed. On the day of this clip, the ants broke through and I hollered “breach in sector nine…call 9-1-1!” Then I scraped the old duct tape up and put fresh tape down. My cinematographer thought it was funny and recorded this American Gothic video op with the scraper as evidence for my upcoming hearing. Be safe, be well…

Thomas "Sully" Sullivan