Dr. Richard Palazzolo

December 8, 2020

I never tire of Lee Greenwood’s anthem whenever I hear it play on air or during a President Donald J. Trump rally. I even play it myself on my guitar. The chorus rings loudly within me, ever since he released this song over thirty years ago.

This truth is embedded in my heart, flows through my veins and nothing will ever change that. That holds true, now more than ever, as we find ourselves in a turbulent post-presidential election which has still not been settled, and in advance of one of the most consequential senate run-off elections (Georgia) during my lifetime. The outcome of both will determine the trajectory of our republic.

Will we be able to hold onto the freedoms for which our forefathers fought and died? Will we allow the socialists to transform America into something that the founders would not recognize? Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader from New York City, declared the objective of the radical Left was to “take Georgia, then change America”. This is real, folks, and if it does not send a shiver down your spine or make the hair on the back of your necks stand up, I do not know what will.

How did we get here as a nation? How did we arrive at a place where our conversation consists of concerns that Left-wing politicians embrace socialism and force it on Americans? What is even more troubling is that we have an electorate who votes for the Warrens, the Sanders, the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s and ultimately Biden/Harris to name a few very misguided politicians who think they know better than we the people in our country. This should rattle every one of us.

All of this makes me think about my grandparents who immigrated to America in the beginning of the twentieth century, all having been born in the 1890’s and arriving at our shores through Ellis island with dreams of freedom and opportunity accompanying them. They knew life would not be easy, but they believed with every fiber within them that America would offer them a chance to succeed like nowhere else in the world.

Both of my grandfathers found jobs; one in the construction industry and the other sweeping floors in barber shops where he also learned that trade; World War One broke out which led them both to serve in the U. S. military. They were proud to wear the uniform; they were proud to be Americans.

When the war ended, they went back to work. One thrived as a construction worker, the other at the barber shop. They each raised three children with my grandmothers, ultimately through the Great Depression, which lasted for more than a decade under the watch of Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt who promoted a socialist agenda by pushing the New Deal. They neither bought in, nor did they complain, nor did they seek hand-outs. Instead, they fought and worked hard, doing whatever they needed to do in order to survive, and then to succeed, all while being proud Americans who loved their country. I always knew it by how, whenever they saw the flag, they would stop and put their hands over their hearts, much the same way they would bless themselves whenever they passed a church. This was the Builder Generation, true grit.

My parents, aunts and uncles, who were raised by my grandparents during the Great Depression, knew what it was like to have nothing. There are a multitude who experienced this season in America and can relate. I do not care what anyone says, none of them were people of privilege. My parents, like my grandparents, inherited an unstoppable work ethic which empowered them to work hard for everything they had, all while raising five kids of which I am the oldest. Each of my parents died without ever being able to enjoy a retirement because they always had to work in order to make ends meet, even until end of life.

They were unable to send any of us to college, so I like my grandfather before me, went to work in construction in order to pay for my college education and then served in the military. My siblings all worked their way through college as well, except for one who became a master cabinet maker. Each of us adopted the work ethic and conservative values of our grandparents and parents. We too were proud Americans who, year after year, celebrated Independence Day with great enthusiasm and pride. This is not just my story because it represents millions of others.

It is now December 2020. We are in the throes of a worldwide pandemic which disrupted everyone’s lives, as well as the presidential election, as we fight to preserve our freedoms from the socialist politicians who are seeking to control us. Where did it all go wrong?

My grandparents, who represented the Builder Generation, and my parents, who represented the Greatest Generation, collectively created a great foundation. Unfortunately, many of my contemporaries who represent the Baby Boomer Generation (those born 1946-1964), were influenced by the Flower Power, anti-establishment revolution and anti-Viet Nam War radicals like Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, who started what was called the Yippie movement. They were also members the radical Chicago Seven during the late 1960’s. Add to the mix the unrepentant, urban-terrorist William Ayres who justified killing cops and blowing up buildings. People like them influenced many of my generation who later became educators and went on to indoctrinate subsequent generations throughout our colleges and universities with dangerous liberal and socialist anti-American ideologies, which was birthed decades earlier by the likes of progressive racist president Woodrow Wilson.

Political Correctness, Wokeness and the “everyone gets a trophy” era to ensure no one gets butt hurt, all emerged leading to the attitude of entitlement. A generational wave developed, morphing into a metastasized monster producing the rotten fruit of disrespect as well as criminal behavior, which is accepted and encouraged by the left. Just look at Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle and New York City.

I have come to recognize that many of my former High School and college classmates still worship at the altar of liberalism with their hatred and vitriol directed at conservatives, even as they approach or have entered their seventies. They comport themselves as superior moral elitists and masquerade as “patriots” yet continue to peddle anti-American narratives and look down upon us while labeling us with unflattering pejoratives. All of them deify Obama and Pelosi who are dishonest merchants who peddle harmful initiatives, that they will never be affected by because they are insulated by their wealth, all while disparaging those who have earned good incomes.

All these people believe that America must pay for their sins. God’s desire is for us to learn from our sins and not pay for them because Jesus already made that payment. The interesting thing is that the radical left wants us to pay via exorbitant taxes, reparations and by conforming to the globalist agenda of the rest of the world, which Obama initiated with his worldwide apology tour in 2009.  The current Democrat movement, driven by intellectual dishonesty, underwritten by the likes of George Soros and peddled by the press and social media outlets, will ultimately suppress hard working Americans, while they get bloated by their self-absorbed arrogance and disdain for real flag waving patriotic Americans. This is unacceptable and it is up to us to blunt their advancement.

My grandparents did not come here to become globalists, they left Europe to become American citizens because they knew how exceptional America. They were not interested in settling for mediocrity.

Patriots, we cannot allow Biden/Harris, Pelosi, Schumer, AOC and others to determine our lives and take responsibility for the health of our republic. We must resist them. We must now support and encourage the patriots in Georgia to make sure we keep the senate as a firewall against the socialist agenda, whether the Presidential election goes to Trump or the unthinkable outcome of Biden who lacks the intellect, energy, fortitude and moral compass to lead from the front.

Stay the course, no retreat and keep grinding. I am proud to be an American, I will stand with you and defend her even though I no longer wear the uniform. Will you join me?