“You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

–Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln/Douglas debate; 1858)

I don’t need to list them. Unless you’ve been on a SpaceX adventure the last two years, you know the important problems Americans are dealing with every day.

But when asked what he would do first with a new Democrat-majority Congress in 2023, President Biden’s choice was to push legislation to make abortion legal in all fifty states. Meanwhile, a candidate for governor in a Southern state intimated last week that one justification for abortion would be its positive effect on lowering inflation. Yes, you read that correctly.

To Americans’ credit, abortion doesn’t even crack the Top 5 when they’re asked to rank the seminal issues affecting their lives. Notwithstanding the political miscalculation of these two politicians, what else does it imply?

What does it say about the moral fiber of our country when the leader of the free world lists abortion as his number one legislative priority? Is he tone deaf, out of touch, or just courting the pro-choice vote?

I keep coming back to the abortion debate because I believe it speaks volumes about the moral decline of our country–how we value life…and death. The sanctity of life is, by definition, sacred. One cannot talk about a woman’s right to an abortion and legitimately ignore the fact that implicit in that freedom is the willingness to end another’s life. Yet, it has happened millions of times since the Roe v. Wade decision.

Before I leave this, let me say most pro-choice states will have compassionate exceptions to their anti-abortion legislation. To suggest that a minor who’s raped and impregnated will be forced to carry that pregnancy to term is simply gaslighting in its most callous form.

I believe, and polls support, the following three Ps are the important issues on our voting citizens’ minds:

(in no particular order)

• Personal safety. People want their family members to be able to go shopping, go to work, worship, and attend school without worrying about them not returning home. They also want secure national borders, so we can welcome legal immigrants and keep out illegal immigrants.

• Pocketbook issues. Economic and energy policies that trigger inflation and cause rising prices of durable goods, food, and gasoline/heating oil are non-starters. The Clinton Administration’s mantra, “It’s the economy, stupid,” still resonates.

• Public education. Prolonged Covid closures and alternative school curricula fired up parents last year. Just look at the gubernatorial race in Virginia as an example. Parents are now emboldened to watch what’s being taught to their children. The early results of the after-effect of remote learning are in, and they aren’t good.

Based on literacy rates, perhaps our young students don’t have gender confusion, they just don’t know the definition of the word “pronoun.” Shouldn’t our tax dollars support teaching the three Rs, science, and genuine American history?

American voters are not stupid, and they will not be fooled. Both sides of the aisle need to face the true issues of the day and tell us how they’ll address them. Should they fail to do that, they’re the fools.

You and I are blessed to live in a democratic republic where we can still vote for our lawmakers. If you agree with our country’s current direction, vote for it to continue. If you’d like to see a change, vote for that change.

But please, just vote.