My Point of View: Actions of sacrifice show more than words usually do

Published 8:45 pm Tuesday, August 15, 2023

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My Point of View by Brad Kramer

What you love and believe in, you sacrifice for. That is a fundamental element of our human nature. Our actions show more than our words. If you truly care about something, you sacrifice for it. And what you sacrifice for, you grow to love.

Brad Kramer

In politics and society, this shows up in many ways. When a person, political party or society claims something is important to them, their actions should back it up. A word for someone who claims that something is significantly important while not demonstrating sacrifice is called a hypocrite. You cannot claim something is extremely important to you and then require everyone else to sacrifice while you do nothing but vote other people’s rights and money away.

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When I look at many issues like global warming that the Democratic Party claims are of the utmost importance, we see a complete contradiction of values and actions. Democrats who scream the loudest about global warming, going so far as claiming it is leading to global extinction, seldom do anything of significance personally, instead mandating everybody else change through legislation and taxes. Politicians and activists like John Kerry and Al Gore continually tell us that the world is over if we don’t follow their plan, yet they continue to purchase homes on beaches that, according to their own prophecies, should have already been underwater a decade ago. They fly personal jets to meetings around the world that should be settled over virtual meetings if they believed their own hype. As a business owner, I routinely conduct meetings virtually because I choose not to dedicate the resources to traveling, including fuel consumption, time and money. I could count on one hand the number of people I know who claim climate change is a significant threat, who make significant personal sacrifices to use less resources like fossil fuels (and their many, many byproducts, which fuel is only one, such as plastics, chemicals and electricity).

A clothes dryer is one of the biggest energy users in most homes, yet I see few liberals’ homes with clothes out on the line. While far-left politicians tell us that cow farts are causing global warming, they propose we consume vegan “meat,” lab-grown “meat,” or some other ridiculous substitute for one of our best, most nutritious, cheapest sources of protein. As an occupational safety professional, I train businesses how to safely handle chemicals that are used in these processed foods and see firsthand how many of these ingredients are made. Cow farts are far more benign to our environment and consumer health. It’s not even close.

Far-left Democrats who are constantly lecturing us about income inequality and wanting the rich to pay their fair share seldom make personal sacrifices to lift others from poverty, yet they are the first in line to shell out thousands of dollars for Taylor Swift tickets or vacations in Vegas. A Taylor Swift concert is not an entitlement. It’s a luxury and sign of privilege. If they were so concerned about everybody else’s “privilege,” it’s odd they’re not willing to give up some of the more obvious signs of their privilege to alleviate the suffering of others. It’s the government’s job to tax and legislate everybody else to give up their privileges, but don’t you dare ask them to give up something!

President Biden constantly lectures us about privilege, gun laws, environmentalism and racism. Yet, Hunter Biden sells his father’s influence to foreign powers and businesses, with the latest instance showing that he sold one of his finger paintings (or what looks like a third grader’s finger painting) for a seven-figure amount, and suddenly that person’s business lands a key government role, despite a history of graft and corruption. (Hunter Biden’s paintings are not selling for face value; they are sold to launder money for political favors and access to “The Big Guy,” pure and simple). He faces almost no consequence for not paying taxes, using crack and illegally acquiring a gun (among many other crimes that I, a “privileged white male” would be in prison for). Joe Biden has made so many deeply racist statements that it’s utterly embarrassing as an American. Even Jennifer Vogt-Erickson publicly called out his corruption in many social media posts, until she about-faces to gush about Bidenomics and his “accomplishments.”

Look up videos of Democrats who claim the election was stolen from every presidential election a Republican won since Bush. They’re numerous! During a Democratic presidency, they suddenly claim we have the safest and most secure elections in the world. Yet, they never want to secure our elections and claim any Republican’s concern of election fraud is “conspiracy theory” or voter suppression.

If something is so critical that the only way people will sacrifice for it is through legislation and taxation of everyone else, it’s probably a Democratic priority.

Brad Kramer is a member of the Freeborn County GOP Party.