Six Step Survival Strategy

Big Media (HT: American Thinker) has finally done it. It has been close the last two presidential elections, but Big Media, George Soros, MoveOn and Hollywood have finally pulled it off. They've obscured the facts about their cipher candidate and foisted the weak choice on Republicans. Yeah – I still think Giuliani would beat Obama like a drum. But Big Media cleverly applied the divide and conquer strategy to Rudy and our friends in the evangelical movement fell for it. I'll write about what I think the psychological factors are behind this later, but for now, brace yourselves – we're about to get CHANGE... Good. And. Hard.

Here's my plan for surviving the next two years. Yes, I mean two years until Congress changes hands again. I'm very optimistic about this. If I'm wrong, I'll deal with that two years from now.

1. Pray every day giving thanks for your friends and family and the natural beauty around us (my condolences to those living in the big cities). Gratitude makes you a happier person and therefore more people will want to be with you, making you happier still. In engineering this is called a positive feedback loop, but in this case its a good thing (not so much in engineering).

2. Don't allow despair to even get a foot in the door. Bill Buckley once said, speaking on the death of his wife, that despair is a mortal sin. I agree – it is soul killing and diminishes your ability to be grateful (see my first point).

3. Keep up your friendships with Obama voters. These people tend to be charming, intelligent and fun. And if you don't occasionally expose them to conservative thought, who will? Set ground rules though. Stick to one topic at a time. No name calling. Derision and scorn are not arguments for your side. One of Dennis Prager's many mottoes is “I prefer clarity to agreement”. I think that is a great attitude to take into a debate - “let's discover where we disagree”.

4. Don't expect to change your friends' minds. Disappointment is sure to follow. Be satisfied with clarity.5. Don't let derangement set in, as we've seen happen to so many of our liberal friends. If you start sounding like Naomi Wolfe (George Bush is halfway through the 10 steps to a fascist dictatorship!) or that guy on the corner wearing the sandwich board that says “THE END IS NEAR”, people will believe you're nuts. Even if you might be right, credibility may be the only thing you can really maintain in this world, and you can't keep it by predicting the future. Neither Naomi Wolfe nor you know. Although, I admit I believe Wolfe is especially clueless.

6. Give credit where it is due. Bill Clinton has spoken honestly about the Fannie/Freddie mess being the responsibility of Democrats in Congress resisting regulation. Give him credit. George McGovern is making TV ads for the Employee Freedom Action Committee to fight Democratic legislation that would eliminate the secret ballot in unionization voting. CNN did an honest piece on Obama's alliance with Ayers (don't ever call it an association again. See Thomas Sowell). Camille Paglia, a reliable truth teller (although surprisingly blinkered in what she wants to do with it), says some astonishing things in defense of Sarah Palin and attacking liberals and feminism. These instances of responsible behavior on the part of liberals need to be acknowledged and encouraged. And frankly, I find it comforting that even some Democrats seem to be having an “uh-oh” feeling. Giving credit will also increase your credibility.

Someone once said “hope is gratitude for the future”. If we can live by that, we'll all be better for it.