Yes, I know we did. But there's something more at stake. Bear with me, here.


You all know I've been involved in a particular youth organization for my entire adult life. Like so many organizations, there have been ups and downs, national crises, and indeed, today an identity crisis. We deliver the product very well at the local level, but we seem unable to deliver the message at the national level.

Does any of that sound familiar?

But I'm thinking more big picture today. Consider one of my experiences from decades ago. We had a youth join us, but he was a particularly unreachable young man. He never really "got" what we were trying to do, and generally always did his own thing and didn't quite become a part of the team.

That's not uncommon - many youths have no idea what they want or where they are going, and my organization prides itself on giving them a safe space to "figure themselves out.". Unfortunately, the young man in question had his strongest backers - his parents. He could do no wrong in their eyes, and whenever Pops was along on one of our events, the regular, registered, trained, leaders had no influence or sway over this youth. His father always told him whatever he was doing was OK - even if he was away from everyone else, doing something dangerous, or outright disrupting the program and the event.

We were hesitant to kick him out, as that's not what we do. But then things finally came to a head. The family of another youth called the senior leadership to a meeting, and told us they were leaving the program, and specifically told us why. I bet you can guess.

That galvanized us into action. At the end of the day, the program is bigger than one youth. I made the observation that the second somebody else tells us that they're leaving because of "Child X", then it is actually Child X that must go. You may be surprised that I still remember - but I have used that guideline to run all my units since that eye-opening moment.

So what about today?

There are fifty individuals that have chosen to join an organization called "The United States of America". There are rules, guidelines, and standards of decorum that must be followed. These are all written down in the Constitution of the United States, and by being a member of said organization, all participants are requested and required to follow those rules.

Looking at the fifty states - you tell me, how many of them do you think are following all those rules? How many of them are actively working to restrict or eliminate some of the things we decided would be the operational guidelines of that organization?

What if a group of six participants, perhaps calling themselves "New England" approached those in charge and told them we don't want to be a part of this group anymore. Texas, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah aren't following the rules, and they're pushing themselves on us telling us to do it their way or they'll beat us up.

Wouldn't you want to kick those troublemakers out for the sake of the group? Harmony, after all, is the strength and support of all institutions, more especially this of ours.

Most of the country doesn't even consider Massachusetts to be American, despite us inventing the thing. I would be very glad to see New England secede and become a part of the Canadian Maritimes, but of course, that's just me. I would also surmise that my part of the country has the resources, intelligence, and power to go it alone if necessary.

The Democrats have an enormous opportunity on their doorstep. Much debate will take place over the next few weeks concerning the direction of this nation. I have said it for years - the Union is on a precipice. Can it be pulled back from the brink, or are we going over? Given the unhinged person in the Fuhrerbunker right now - the outcome is not yet clear.