Our moment has one solution for de-escalation. ONE.
It's time to DOBBS THE HELL OUT OF EVERYTHING!!
Return power to the states, just as the Dobbs decision returned abortion policy to the states with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. We should also return Senators to being chosen by the states. Reduce the influence that the federal government and thus the president has on all of our lives.
That's it. It's the ONLY way.
The larger and more diverse a group of people is who must live under one rule, the more our political and legal order generates tragedy of the commons and strife in everything it touches.
America has the answer to these hyperbolic times baked into our structure: federalism. If the president's decisions don't impact your transportation, housing, healthcare, food and education (and they should NOT), you are much less likely to want to take him out with a rifle.
None of those issues have anything that warrants being Federal. NOT. ONE. Think about that. Very, very little of what we all need to live and thrive has a sound argument for being regulated by Washington DC.
We HAVE a Constitutional path back to peace and harmony.
Remember, harmony is NOT about everyone playing the same note. Harmony is about playing DIFFERENT NOTES TOGETHER. That's what American federalism offers us. It is our greatest political invention as a nation.
If you're able to vote with your feet to live within governance that reflects your values, you're much less likely to see violence as your only recourse.
Honest progressives should want this as much as classical liberals (which includes most American conservatives under its umbrella). And they'll REALLY want it if Trump wins in November.
But some don't. Some have a "universalizing" ideology. For some, the revolution can never end until the whole planet reflect their wishes. Some won't be satisfied unless EVERYONE lives the way THEY want us to live.
THAT worldview is the problem. That is the source of our strife.
It's time we all see these "universalizers" for what they are. These people are called "bullies". They're "my way or the highway" types. They're busybody jerks that mask their authoritarian fetish under the guise of "compassion".
Their time needs to come to an end.
If we want to live in peace and harmony, we need to re-embrace the good neighbor principle, and learn to live with PLURALISM.
It's time for us, once again, to be THESE United States. Our of many, one. A nation of nations united by a simple document. E pluribus unum.
Whatever you think of President Trump, this image will go in the history books. Captioned: Courage. Defiance.
Hello friends! I hope you're out there enjoying the holiday weekend with the family. But if you can't help but feed your brain 24/7 like me, and want a window in why Dad Saves America exists and much more, I sat down with Hannah Frankman, the Renegade Educator. She literally turned the tables on me in our studio. We've got a episode of DSA with Hannah in the can from that day on the docket and coming soon, so be sure to subscribe if you haven't already. And check out her awesome website renegadeeducator.com/ for alternative school guidance and resources.
Happy Birthday, USA! You weren't born perfect, none of us are, but your parents were some of the most thoughtful people ever to walk this planet and they set you on a path of life long learning and continual improvement. Your terrible twos and threes were monstrous (slavery), but around 1865 you entered the age of reason. Middle school was a bit of a disaster (Woodrow Wilson, eugenics, prohibition, income taxes, the Fed).
The teenage years were a real trial by fire (the great depression) but you came out of it strong and confident, with a solid sense of right vs wrong (WWII). You were a cocky twenty-something and picked a few too many fights. You still do.
You haven't quite gotten past your high school glory, have you? Middle age isn't coming easy. It generally doesn't.
Yes, you're a youthful soon-to-be 250, but you're not young. It's time to embrace the fact that you're older, and wiser, and embrace some prudence and temperance. Lead by example. You've always been a natural leader. But lasting leadership takes maturity.
You have kids of your own now. They're judging you by your actions more than your words. They always do. Show them what it means to be an adult. Preserve the wisdom your parents raised you with so that your kids and grandkids can keep on becoming a more perfect union.
Hello friends, in light of our 25th Amendment-level disaster last Friday, I thought this recent video from @realryanchapman is worth your time. He does a great job making a case for the multi-dimensional collapse of the presidency. It's an office being destroyed by progressive centralization of powerful, impossible populist expectations that cannot possibly be met, and a personal experience in the job so toxic that only cluster-B personality types will pursue it. Check it out!
Happy Father's Day! If you're lucky enough to have or be a great dad, take a load off and have some fun together. And if there's an ocean nearby... get to it!
I sat down with Bill de Blasio, former mayor of NYC, to talk about American progressivism, political discourse, and the importance of debate.
The full conversation will be available here on YouTube, on X (Twitter), and on your favorite podcast platforms tomorrow afternoon.
Over two years ago, we started this journey to give viewers access to the best minds talking about the biggest issues facing our kids and ourselves in today’s world, and early this morning, we reached 100k subscribers! I'm excited to have you all on board to help save America because that work happens on the individual, family, and community level.
"To My Father," our new documentary about Academy Award winning actor Troy Kotsur's relationship with his dad, premieres in less than 20 minutes here on YouTube and X (Twitter)!
This channel is devoted to celebrating the heroic role that we as dads (and all parents) play in the life of our kids, and exploring the big issues facing all of us through that lens. We need to raise our kids to be open-minded, open-hearted, and ultimately civilized adults who can thrive in a free, civilized society... and preserve it long after we're gone.
But this channel is also motived by a deep concern that our kids, our culture, and especially the institutions they're surrounded by, are setting them and America up for failure. That is what the message in this video is about. It's about the frightening rise of barbaric intolerance being fostered by our educational institutions, and laid bare by recent events. It's about the underlying reasons this toxic takeover has taken place and found fertile ground in the minds of our kids. And it's about what we as Dads and Moms can do about it.
This video is posted on the Emergent Order channel because that is the mothership non-profit organization of Dad Saves America, and this message is central to EVERYTHING we're doing as a team.
This is a forceful statement, but also a deeply personal one. And if you stay to the end, you'll see it's ultimately an optimistic one that calls on us to embrace our universal human dignity and to see each of us as being worthy of respect and consideration.
With Love - John Papola
Proud papa, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and arm-chair philosopher John Papola explores the biggest issues facing our kids, our communities, and our country through the lens of fatherhood. We produce powerful stories, exclusive interviews, mini-documentaries, and deep dives on a weekly basis. Our goal is to build a movement of dads and could-be dads who embrace our heroic calling to raise a new generation ready to thrive in a free society and be champions of civilization.
New videos every Thursday.