Donald Trump beat the odds. He beat the Establishment. He beat the culture changers who would have Americans discard their faith and their heritage. And he beat the planners who intend to create a one-world government run by themselves. Assuming, of course, that he truly is anti-Establishment.
It was delightful to see and hear the media’s cocksure Clinton backers scratching their heads and wondering what happened. These are the people who ignored Hillary Clinton’s description of Trump supporters as “deplorables,” who failed to note her call at the UN’s LGBT conclave to force religions to change, who never mentioned her clearly stated preference for “open borders” throughout the entire Western hemisphere, and who labeled practicing Catholics purveyors of “backwardness.”
The media stars — television, newspapers, magazines, joined at the hip by multitudes of educators — repeatedly permitted Donald Trump’s enemies to portray him as a hater when Clinton’s carefully chosen rhetoric showed how much of a hater she truly is. Amongst them can be found an array of political elitists, professed liberals, proud one-worlders, professional politicians and their closely allied pundits, pollsters, prognosticators, and powerbrokers. Almost without exception, these were cheerleaders for Clinton. But they backed the loser.
In the recent election, a plurality of Americans relied on their suspicions about their country being steered down a wrong road. So, they resisted further movement toward the cliff looming ahead. They want government to obey the nation’s laws. They want immigration curtailed and illegal border crossing terminated. They want the flow of American jobs overseas stopped. They want to stop the questionable climate-change agenda, sovereignty-destroying trade pacts, entangling alliances, and endless wars.
The Trump victory will likely lead many Americans to revisit numerous other attitudes. We suggest that the same cabal that has misled so many about national and international policies has long used its influence to discount — even smear — The John Birch Society and the many stands it has carefully taken. If he wanted to, Donald Trump could discover that millions of Americans have read a JBS pamphlet or book, heard a Society speaker in person or via the airwaves, even come into contact with a member whose attitudes about the issues made surprisingly good sense.
A good question for Americans to ask themselves is simply: If the so-called experts were so wrong about Trump, what else are they wrong about? The United Nations? Lawmaking by executive order? Roe v. Wade? Violations of the U.S. Constitution? Government takeover of medical care? Danger lurking in a drive to hold a Constitutional Convention? And more?
The 2016 presidential election should be the pivot when America returned to its praiseworthy roots, when knowledgeable patriotism became reinvigorated, and when the making of America truly great again is more than a slogan. A good place to start is to spread the realization that America originally became great not because of what government did, but because of what government was prevented from doing by the Constitution.
We wish the very best for the incoming Trump administration and suggest to fellow Americans that they hold him and Congress accountable.
John F. McManus is president emeritus of The John Birch Society. This column appeared originally at the insideJBS blog and is reprinted here with permission.
