Common Ground
COMMON GROUND
posted October 15, 2024
In this series of substack posts leading to November 5, 2024, the most consequential election of our lives, Arthur Sappington and I offer through Snake River Music Gardens in common sense language a constitutional, planetary, non-partisan, non-denominational, natural resource-based, scientific, cultural, spiritual view of the human scene here in America in October of 2024.
I am a historian, trained at Princeton University to observe the march of human events, write the truth of what happened, and sort out facts from opinions. The most important lesson a historian learns is to seek primary source material. A good historian works from physical records and accounts, public documents such as laws and executive orders, interviews, eye-witness testimonies, letters among participants, artifacts (things), photographs, and most recently, videos.
We have listened to Trump speak, read his executive orders and the laws he signed, observed his foreign policy and his leadership of the armed forces. Based on this evidence, we conclude that in his presidency, he did everything by the book, lawfully, publicly and constitutionally.
As a non-partisan non-profit, we cannot endorse a candidate, but we can report on a candidate’s record. It just so happens that Trump's presidential record 2017-2020 establishes Trump as a protector of the people, and peacemaker for earth's nations. Read for yourself! At this link you will find the record of Trump’s accomplishments: https://wiba.iheart.com/featured/common-sense-central/content/2021-01-19-the-complete-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments/
Aside from Trump’s presidential record, we present photographic evidence of his value to the American people. This link will take you to a photo of Trump praying with black, white, male and female hands on his shoulders. https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/donald-trump-prayer. Indeed, alarmed by dire threats against his safety, millions of Americans prayed Trump through his first presidency and inter-presidency. And God answered these prayers. The first assassination attempt demonstrated that Trump benefits from spiritual protection so dense it turned his head in the precise trigonometric motion necessary to save his life, calculated from the instant of the nerve impulse that triggered the bullet.
The initial response to our Republic or Democracy? post from friends and colleagues across the political spectrum ranged from heartening to heartbreaking: “Your Substack post is interesting and I am now following it.” “…very well written articles that support the Trump platform…” “I hope you publicize these posts on social media.” And on the other hand: “I don’t believe you.” "I don't want to know." "I don't want to discuss."
I am genuinely trying to understand why certain friends refuse to discuss a platform that produced four years of peace and prosperity. Have we Americans no common ground?
Do we at least agree that regardless of gender or social identity, we all live on and depend on the land for our needs? Do we at least agree that we all depend on the independent producer, whether owner or worker, farmer, rancher, miner, forester, or manufacturer, who works to make what everyone needs?
Producers work with earth's natural resources—water, soil, sunlight, trees, crops, minerals, and living critters of every size, from microbes to mammals. Who turns tree into paper? Cattle on the hoof into wrapped meat? Tomato into ketchup? Barley into beer? Water and minerals into detergent? Cotton into T-shirts? Producers. Everything you use or eat is either grown or mined.
Do you not agree? And since we all depend on natural resources and producers, why would an American not want to understand the natural resources platform of an administration? Doesn’t it make sense for government to encourage producers, listen to producers and get out of the way of the independent producers who know their jobs?
On the other hand, when a series of administrations closes 50,000,000 American ranches and farms, shuts down American lumber mills, ends American logging, stops American mining, moves American manufacturing overseas, and shuts off American fuel production, doesn’t this reveal a natural resources platform hostile to the American economy? Does this or does this not concern you? Do you want America to depend on imports for all our food, clothing, building materials and fuel? Imported goods are expensive and can be shut off. What we free individual Americans produce with our own hands on private property is under our control.
Arthur and I think it matters that American workers, producers and entrepreneurs were encouraged under Trump and are disrespected by the Biden-Harris administration.
Regardless of how you plan to vote, why not take an hour or two to read these posts, watch the brief videos on what is a republic, and discuss these basic issues with family, friends, and colleagues, in home and market, pub and dining hall?
We especially encourage young people—from teens to fifties--to read these posts, and figure out what these issues mean to you, to your life, to your opportunities for the future.
We cordially invite you to send the Snake River Music Gardens substack link to your family, friends and colleagues, multiply this discussion, add your comments to this discussion, and introduce new readers to these basic ideas. We have made three posts and will add four more until Election Day: October 15, October 23, October 26, and November 2. Happy reading!
