12-9-24

Last week I talked about arguments before the Supreme Court of the United

States….in the course of that discussion I mentioned that the word “immutable”

was used…..for something to be immutable it must be unable to be

changed….something that just is what it is and the natural order of things affirms

it…..that nothing can be done to undo it…..immutability is like permanency…..it’s

lasting, it’s tangible, its real……

Now, combine that word with how I feel about the United States of America….are

we immutable?....are we permanent?.....yes and no…..I believe that we are a

nation ordained for purpose, founded by Godly men, and a miracle of God

himself…..everything about the forming of America is miraculous….I don’t want it

to change…..I want the United States of America to be immutable…..but that

takes work……and if we are to be immutable, is it just about our geography….or is

the immutability of America something more than that……

I’m reminded of a story that I probably told once before……I got to Baghdad in the

early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom…..when I first arrived Camp Victory was

still being established in an around Baghdad International Airport (we called it

BIAP)…..a lot of what was there didn’t yet have hard stands…. …..Saddam’s palace

was nearby and it was a hub of activity….the Green Zone was a half hour east and

still being hardened into a massive fort…..but despite the fact that outside the

wire was hostile red zone I was shocked to find a thriving Burger King already set

up at BIAP……I was blown away…..the chow hall wasn’t bad for Army food in a

war zone…..but nonetheless that Burger King was going gangbusters with an

assembly line of basic orders available for the troops who stood in line for up to

half an hour to get burgers and fries wrapped in that yellow waxy paper and

tasting just like home…….at one point I read that the Burger King in Baghdad,

even though it was set up in mobile units and carry out only…..that one Burger

King was the third highest grossing Burger King in the world! …….In. The. World!

And I’ll tell you why…..because it was a symbol of the home towns that so many

troops had left behind to go fight a war on foreign soil….the branding stood out

like a beacon…..the burgers and fries tasted the way they were supposed

to…..Platoon Sergeants became heroes when they would pull in and order a sack

of cheeseburgers for their whole platoon and when the troops got them they

were cold but nobody cared!.......it was a consistent taste and sight of home that

was imported without being changed and it was awesome…….it was a piece of

America and everybody wanted some of it……it was unchanged….it was the same

as expected….it was awesome and it brought a sense of peace to be honest…..

While I was in Baghdad I had a conversation one day with my chief interpreter…..I

can still picture where we were as we walked across an open area on our FOB

…..it was the same Area of Operations where the iconic images were taken of

Saddam’s statue being torn down…..my interpreters name was Wisam, but we all

called him “Sammy”, and he was like one of us……I can’t forget that moment

because of what he said, just out of the blue…..he said, “Sir, I was talking with my

father last night, and he said to me that the reason that America is so blessed is

because they are honorable and they keep their promises”…….it was a heartfelt

statement…..he wasn’t trying to puff me up in any way…..it was one of those

things that I logged away in my mind under the “don’t forget this moment”

category…..I can’t help but wonder if his father still feels that way……

I have always felt that way, and truthfully I still do…….America, from the time of

its inception has always had the immutable characteristic of being a force for

good…..we don’t always move as fast as we should……we don’t always get

everything right……but we as a nation are built on the premise that we should

move to the “good”…..and we have a long tradition of getting there……did we

have slavery? Yes, but we moved to the point that we became the world leader in

abolishing it……were we slow to enter into WWII? Arguably yes, but we became

the force that pushed fascism back into a hole……we have a reputation in the

world…..it has been a reliable reputation….an immutable characteristic……that

America is a force for good…..but the progressive left needs that to change……the

woke left needs the US and its culture and all of its components to be just plain

“mutable” as opposed to “Immutable”…..if the left can build uncertainty at home

and abroad then the immutability of America comes into doubt…….we are no

longer reliable……the brand is diminished…..its like going to a Burger King

anywhere in the world…..you know what’s on the menu, you know how its made,

and you already have an expectation before you get there because there are

some things that Burger King just does without fail……they might try a vegan

burger, or mess with the soft drink offerings, but the Whopper is always

immutable…….when I saw that sign in Baghdad I could already smell the

fries……BK didn’t try to change the menu….they knew better……but the left needs

America to change……the entire leftist woke agenda depends on things being

seen as uncertain so that they can swoop in and provide their leftist version of

how to fix it…….

There’s a doctrine in the law called “the Doctrine of Immutability”……it’s often

used in the context of defining whether someone has been discriminated against,

or denied some equal opportunity simply because they have an immutable

characteristic like skin color, or gender..….for something to be “immutable” it

requires being defined as unchangeable, intrinsically immovable, unable to

change even if it wanted to……but for something to be “mutable”, which is just

the opposite, is to say that it can be changed….that it is not reliable……how do

you defeat a narrative that says that America abolished slavery, and created the

worlds foremost civil rights and equal opportunity laws? Well, you just declare

systemic racism, teach alternative history to kids like the 1619 Project, and

declare a need to shut down all military training to root out so-called

“extremism”……and just like that you create uncertainty and defeat longstanding

positions……How do you derail the knowledge that America is an economic

powerhouse? Well, just redefine our existential threats with the dire chicken-little

perception that we will all die in ten years unless we retool everything we do

away from fossil fuels and go all electric……just a little anxiety and fearmongering

combined with some government mandates and just like that you create

uncertainty and defeat longstanding positions…..see how that works?

But go back to my original thought…..the immutable characteristic of America to

be a force for good in the world…..is that still in place?……I believe that it is, but it

has been tarnished…..there was a time when Republicans and Democrats and

Independents could differ on matters of general policy but in the end we were all

Americans and would push for an image on the world stage that America was the

biggest dog, but yet a big dog with a big heart, and a force for good in the

world…..Barack Obama was elected and that tone changed…..the President of the

United States went on what became known as the “great apology tour” where he

apologized for America for simply being America…..Michelle Obama said that she

was “proud of America for the first time in her life”…….the war in Iraq became an

abandonment of allies and ISIS came in and filled the vacuum……fast forward to

the Biden Administration and the gross incompetence of bailing out of

Afghanistan, abandoning citizens and allies, and now the Taliban is back in power

and has once again set up a safe haven for terrorism……what was once a fringe

element of society got ahold of the Oval Office and the power of the bully pulpit

and the progressive left began telling the world that we are not a force for

good……clearly demonstrating to the world that we cannot be counted on…..that

when the see the brand of the US that the recipes may not be reliably

consistent……the goal of the progressive left is to ensure that America’s

immutable characteristics can be seen as just mutable, and therefore not able to

be relied on…..it is intentional…..they need us torn down so that they can build us

back in their own distorted image…….

I’m not doing it……I believe that we are still a force for good and the world is

watching with baited breath to see if we can right this wrong in 2025…..

Just like a Burger King in Baghdad…..we must provide that sense that all is well

because America is immutable……

And that’s a wrap for the Rightside Way…..