There was a hidden lesson within Trump’s “too big to rig” rhetoric, which modern-day talkers and experts will never mention for obvious reasons. Simply stated, it is that unity equals strength and together we can prevail. Trump’s campaign slogan is an offshoot of our forefathers’ belief that freedom will only prevail when the citizenry is informed and actively involved. Therefore, Trump’s victory was based on this logic.
Our American heritage offers guidelines that this latest example of “too big to rig” respects. Our Declaration informs, “To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.” Later, Andrew Jackson states, “The people are the government, administering it by their agents; they are the government, the sovereign power.” Obviously, from these statements, it’s “we the people” who are in charge, so it’s necessary that the “consent of the governed” come from an informed, active, and knowledgeable electorate, so that our people candidates will likely hold the same beliefs.
Today, the importance of defending freedom has lessened, simply due to the long interval from when its price was paid. Now, it’s inherited at birth. So, this tendency is real and needs guarding against. Plus, it’s the ageless adage, “anything given is never appreciated.” While freedom is always enjoyed, the appreciation level remains weak due to the effects of time and inheritance.
Nevertheless, our Presidential missteps from the last century illustrate the vulnerability of our free Republic. Each miscue continued to diminish our birthright of freedom, which suggests another player at the table. Over time, that hidden player has grown in strength and size so that now even elections are viewed as an archaic nuisance!
This century-old casual approach first elected Woodrow Wilson, who praised democracy rather than our Republic. He was followed by the never-ending terms of FDR, who, unknowing to the people, supported socialism to the detriment of both America and the world. Later, following the protest craze of the sixties, Presidential standards took a hit with Bush, the elder, who publicly praised and anticipated a “new world order.” Clinton followed with his draft dodging history and insatiable gutter-based morals. Then it was Obama’s public announcement of his intentions to “fundamentally transform America.” The so-called Biden Presidency was our final travesty. His stumbling generated a Democrat awakening, culminating in enriching Trump’s “too big to rig” numbers.
The totality of his “too big to rig” result also stirred interest globally. It set a positive example of people power that here at home, dwarfed by the numbers of our enemy’s loud, intimidating tactics. What’s lasting is the lesson that together, “we can fight and beat city hall!” All this was from one stubborn American who believed in the people and his country.
Wisdom’s final shout from the past should be today’s north star reckoning. From our eldest Founder, Benjamin Franklin, comes, “A Nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins.”
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