By Gary Gillen
Morning in America Again!
You can feel it in the air. A new day is dawning and the entire country is optimistic, hopeful and happy. The election of Donald Trump as President has changed the country already. By the time you read this article he will be in the important first 100 days of his administration and its promise to put Americans back to work.
As I write this column in mid-January we have seen the Electoral College cast their ballots and elect Trump. We have also seen the stock market jump “bigly” as Trump himself might say; proof that the markets like his election. And who are “the markets?” People, stockholders, businesses. Investors see a future that reduces taxes, reduces the onerous regulations that the anti-business Obama Administration dumped on us and lets business grow. With that growth will be more jobs, better jobs and higher wages. Our youth can learn the feeling of accomplishment that comes with responsibility.
The December 2016 labor report was pitiful. 156,000 new jobs created BUT 41,000 were part time and 12,000 were government jobs. 23.5 million working-age men were still out of work. Over 5 million people held part time jobs because they couldn’t find full time. The average work week in December was 34.3 hours thanks to the 35 hour work week in Obama care.
Republicans in Congress have a rare opportunity, with control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, to create an environment that rewards work not victims. That takes away disincentives for job creation. That celebrates success instead of demonizing it. That unleashes the pent up energy of our great nation. It is important that they take this opportunity to do what they have promised.
In our last issue I talked about ‘Our “participant ribbon” Nation’ (available at GaryGillen.com) and how our children are reacting to President Trumps’ election. This is a great opportunity for us to remember and them to learn the basics of how the world’s greatest democracy should work. Our system guarantees the rights of the minority to be heard but recognizes that the majority should rule. Republicans from Washington to Austin and Richmond can educate our youth on the importance of majority rule while protecting the minority’s right to be heard and participate in debate.
A wise man once told me that “Government moves slowly.” As I get older I understand the beauty of that phrase. Government should not get ahead of the people’s understanding and acceptance of change. Forcing change down the throat of Americans as President Obama did with his rule by executive order, in the words of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, “…awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
And it is up to us and our children to remember that just because we have the right to do something does not mean it is the right thing to do. Peaceful protest is an American right. The important qualifier is “peaceful.” I hope those who voted against President Trump will give him the chance to show what he can do and his supporters will understand that our government was built on compromise. I did not say capitulation I said compromise. The minority has a right to be heard but not to dictate.
Let’s join President Trump and Make America Great Again!
Gary Gillen owns and operates Gillen Pest Control and Gillen Political Strategies in Richmond. He is the only person in history to have served on both the Richmond City Commission and the Rosenberg City Council. He was the Chairman of the Republican Party of Fort Bend County 2006-2007. He can be reached at Gary@GaryGillen.com
By Gary Gillen
Our “participant ribbon” Nation
They didn’t like the results. Half of the country didn’t. They hadn’t liked the candidate. They weren’t alone. They were devastated and couldn’t even go to class the next morning. They needed a safe place. Some elite colleges offered counseling. Some professors cancelled tests or forgave absences.
This, I believe, is the fault of my generation. We didn’t want to see our children disappointed. We couldn’t face the hurt in their eyes when they did not get what they wanted. Some of my generation thought spanking cruel; that corporal punishment was degrading.
So it started with tantrums. You’ve seen them, children on the floor screaming…in public. Parents ignoring the screams. Other shoppers trying to block out the noise. Teaching children that it is acceptable behavior to create chaos. Ignoring the right of others to go about their business in peace.
As they grew up these same parents defended their children from authority. “My child could not have done that.” Changing the atmosphere in schools from parents and teachers working together to an adversarial relationship. And the parents tolerated disrespect. Disrespect of institutions, of authority figures even of those parents themselves. Part of growing up they thought.
Then came the assault on success. Honoring one child for succeeding somehow belittled all the others. So they quit keeping score. That way both teams won. The First, second and third place ribbons gave way to the Participant ribbon. Now we are all winners!
Then in high school these same parents looked away as their children questioned authority. And it wasn’t enough to question, they also accused and disrespected their teachers, speakers and the administration. So administrators began to respond to every complaint of these children. I recall that when my daughter asked permission to start the first Republican Club at her high school she was also required to find students to start a Democrat Club. While I had a great teacher in High School social studies who taught us not what to think but how to think, that is often not the case today.
Then some colleges allowed their faculties to become so liberal that students with opposing views weren’t challenged to defend their beliefs but were intimidated to be quiet. And the students have been taught to be victims. Victims of racism, sexism, even –isms we haven’t heard of.
And we come to today. Students need “safe places.” Incivility is common on some campuses. Speakers, almost always conservative, are refused entry or heckled. Many colleges have ceased to be laboratories of thought, places of great debate about important issues. Some have become petty places of censorship. Places where independent thought is discouraged and only groupthink is allowed.
For days after Donald Trump won the election for President of the United States protesters, some young, naïve and coddled others professional anarchists, protested. They blocked roads and highways making life difficult for thousands trying to go about their business. Like the child in the grocery store having a tantrum, they screamed for attention.
It is time for parents to call their children and explain to them that they don’t always get their way; that they will face adversity in life. That in life there are no participant ribbons.
Gary Gillen owns and operates Gillen Pest Control and Gillen Political Strategies in Richmond. He is the only person in history to have served on both the Richmond City Commission and the Rosenberg City Council. He was the Chairman of the Republican Party of Fort Bend County 2006-2007. He can be reached at Gary@GaryGillen.com
