"Start Where You Are. Use What You Have. Do What You Can." Arthur Ashe

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The midterms are over and the things that matter most haven’t changed. Division and dependence are political strategies that are destroying our country. Both political parties have been corrupted by money and power. Career politicians focus on the next election instead of working for us. The dishonest media are the greatest threat to our freedom.

 Our politics are extreme and broken. Winning is everything to many, and they will do anything to win. $16.7 billion was spent on state and federal elections this cycle. We were subjected to non-stop ads spewing blatant lies. We have a feeble and demented president who plans to run again. Pennsylvania elected a senator with a severe disability that will prevent him from functioning effectively. Iowa elected an 89-year-old man to a six-year term in the Senate, his eighth. Arizona is counting votes days after the election and enough elections have not been called to prevent us from knowing the makeup of Congress. Some in “conservative” talk radio couldn’t wait to throw Tim Michels under the bus. These same people would have been groveling at his feet if he won.

 Florida is an encouraging beacon of light. People want leaders who have character, competence, courage, and work for everyone. They came out big for DeSantis and demonstrated we are not red or blue. We are Americans, and that one bond transcends any differences we have. Only the politicos profit from division.

 As dirty and dysfunctional as our politics have become, they are merely a symptom of our sick society. For decades, we’ve been on a downhill slide. Many are addicted, anxious, and depressed. There is no pill to fix this. We cannot be well unless we live well; and living well will require returning to the principles of morality, self-sufficiency, personal accountability, and hard work.

 

We have the power to change, and our freedom depends on it. Individually, we can choose to:

 

• Live a moral life. Know what we believe and stand for it.

• Seek the truth wherever it leads.

• Make our families strong and teach our children how to live.

• Accept personal accountability for our choices.

• Do what is required to take care of ourselves. Pursue our dreams and resist coveting what others have.

• Be informed and engaged. Apathy and complacency brought us to this place.

 

Reversing generations of decline will not be quick or easy. The tennis great Arthur Ashe offered sage advice to those faced with a monumental challenge: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”