We The People Wine calls itself an American brand dedicated to conservative values. Unlike companies that shove money into the coffers of radical left-wing organizations such as Black Lives Matter, We The People Wine donates a portion of profits to the Working Warrior Foundation. Its website proclaims that every sip is another step towards freedom.
While I have not tasted the company’s wine, We The People Wine’s marketing team just hit it out of the park. Their new ad is a crisp portrayal of the culture wars engulfing the country. It is worth the minute and forty seconds it takes to watch:
This ad blew me away while I was sipping my first cup of coffee. It was the first time I heard those specific comments from Reagan. Like President Eisenhower’s warning about the military-industrial complex, the Gipper’s words ring prophetic. Maybe Reagan understood that the left would be a persistent threat because of his time in Hollywood. Perhaps those experiences gave him the courage to name the specific threats to this nation.
All I know for sure is that during the years between President Reagan and President Trump, America lost something. There was a brief flash of American exceptionalism after 9/11. It faded quickly. By the time another outsider entered the White House, claiming that America is exceptional, that our history is one of continuous improvement, and that the blessings of Western civilization are worth fighting for had become “problematic.” By the end of Trump’s term, if you dared to hold these positions you were, at best, a white supremacist. At worst, you were a fascist and maybe even an insurrectionist.
All of this is very disorienting if you haven’t been paying attention. Especially if you are a Reagan kid from the forgotten generation called X. As small children, we learned that yellow ribbons get tied around trees when America doesn’t lead. And that our hostages only come home when enemies take our president seriously. The Middle East has been on fire to one degree or another our entire lives. The man they call a fascist was the first to make meaningful progress towards a different future in the region. The new administration has pivoted back toward the enemies of potential peace.
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While we did not experience the tumultuous ’60s, we felt assured that our parents and grandparents had relegated that kind of chaos to the past — just as our grandparents had defeated the fascists and then set their sights on the Communists. We all cheered when President Reagan clearly demanded, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” against the establishment’s advice.
When President Trump called out the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for causing the pandemic, Democrats and the media accused him of xenophobia and racism. They asserted that his comments encouraged anti-Asian violence. That narrative has ended because all the viral videos make it pretty clear the assailants are not Trump supporters. Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was going to start a war, according to the smart set. Putting enormous pressure on the Iranian regime was also roundly criticized.
Now, we have political leaders who cannot even defend our human rights record against the genocidal and imperialist CCP. From professional sports to Fortune 500 companies, every cultural institution lets China claim the moral high ground against the United States. Our secretary of state has invited the United Nations to audit our human rights record. We no longer defend movements for democracy in places like Cuba and Venezuela. The United States is no longer a staunch ally or an intimidating enemy.
You can trace much of this degradation back to the enemies within. Academia, Hollywood, and emboldened communists in left-wing activist groups create intransigent minorities inside the institutions of government, education, and corporate America. Anyone publicly opposed to them is smeared as a racist or a bigot. Increasingly, people who refuse to go along with the radical narratives are dehumanized and othered.
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We The People Wine’s ad is a call to action for the significant majority of Americans who still believe in the American Dream. We need to fill school boards, city councils, and state legislatures and act as a bulwark against the small and loud group of radicals who have captured our institutions. Those who can’t run for office need to attend meetings, petition elected leaders, and build like-minded communities.
We must also elevate the voices of immigrants from countries where freedom was eroded in the last century. Cuban immigrant Maximo Alvarez’s speech at the Republican National Convention showed how powerful these stories are.
We also need to elect leaders who are able to articulate the threats we face and who are unafraid to call out the enemies we face within and abroad. Going into 2022, they must be as crisp and direct as We The People Wine’s ad. Candidates must offer more than lower taxes and less regulation. They have to provide an eloquent defense of freedom, meritocracy, and, most of all, America.
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