As we endure the political circus and charade of impeachment proceedings, does this reflect a great nation?  The Book of Proverbs personifies wisdom as a woman calling out in the streets offering counsel.  Is anybody in D.C. listening?  How did we get to this contemptible place?

In 2008, presidential candidate Obama promised to fundamentally transform America.  Well, "mission accomplished."  Perhaps I give the former president too much credit, as he didn't build that, but his philosophy and policies directed our culture onto a path such that now everything has become political.  It's infected our education, science, businesses, and even health care system.  Like attending a movie in 3-D, everyone uses a political lens in which to view the world.  Sadly, it is to the destruction of us all.  Politics is a zero-sum game of winners and losers — us versus them.  If politics is our governing mindset and prevailing worldview, then we will never have unity.  A divided house falls.

Previously, U.S. politics was subservient to America's two mottos: In God We Trust and E Pluribus Unum.  We are a nation under God and out of the many, we are one people.  This was the unifying thought and the pivot point from which the political pendulum swung.  The approach to a solution was progressive, conservative, or some triangulated version of the two, but there was always an overriding unity of honoring God and a common love and attitude of self-sacrifice for country — the JFK mantra of ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country.

The prevailing culture has now removed the unifying pillars of God and country, and the resultant instability and lack of wisdom have become readily apparent.  Many have lamented for years the irrationality and adverse impact of political correctness.  Well, wake up, because now it's the apex predator.  Say something perceived to be politically incorrect, and you lose your job or fail to get hired.  With politics as our raison d'être, Big Tech companies can ban you, politicians threaten to write laws to prosecute you, and even your friends or family members unfriend you.  Even full compliance with their laws and ideology is insufficient because they'll investigate your past — what organizations did you support, what ideals did you endorse, what foolish joke did you tell when you were fifteen — sorry, we're pulling that college scholarship, canceling that book contract, or removing that recommendation for an award.

A more frivolous (yet sad) example of a politics-first value system is demonstrated by one person's quandary of how to dilute his gratefulness because a neighbor who graciously shoveled the snow from his driveway is a conservative.  Another frets about her Super Bowl dilemma where one team's quarterback is...a Trump-supporter, while the other team supposedly brandishes a derogatory name.

Is this not foolishly void of wisdom?  Does this reflect the values of our country and the culture we wish to have?  Welcome to the idiocy of viewing life from a political lens.

At the beginning of this year, AT editor J.R. Dunn wrote an excellent article admonishing us to dust ourselves off and get back after the values and traditions of America that we cherish.  This is no time to wallow in pity.  America is in grave danger, and we should not underestimate the threat.  Lady Liberty has stumbled, and without immediate selfless, wise, and focused effort by her people, she will fall.

Two initiatives are critical.  The first addresses hearts and minds, and the second deals with processes and procedures.  The composite goal is to elevate our perspective to a love of God, country, and fellow citizens and to confirm that our rules and regulations fully protect the voice of the people.  If we don't do the latter to ensure freedom of speech and an accurate vote, then we have no Republic.  If we don't do the former to raise our value system, then our Republic is not worth having.

The first initiative entails a focused effort to return to wisdom — to emphasize truth, justice, integrity, and charity and to stand up to the absurdity of cancel culture.  The cancel culture battle will be a hard slog, but we must elevate the discourse and constantly speak the truth in love against all its injustice to reverse its course.  The situation is dire.  Make a stand.

The second initiative is more pragmatic and measurable.  Our nation suffered an epic fail in our 2020 presidential election.  As a fellow AT writer noted, election reform is the top agenda item for 2021.  The problems exposed are systemic.  Lax voting regulations were initiated (some unconstitutionally) in multiple states.  Several secretaries of state lost control of ballot accountability, the state legislators failed to respond sufficiently or in a timely manner, the state governors did not address the seriousness of the matter, and the court system refused to hear the complaints presented by we the people.  All three branches of governments at the state level failed miserably.  Unfortunately, Congress did not provide a backstop for these errors and failed to act as well.  We citizens elect our representatives and entrust them to safeguard and accurately count our vote.  They all betrayed that responsibility.

There are a lot of facts and rumors of facts going around, but here are two truths:

1a. There is near 100% agreement that election fraud occurred in the 2020 election.

2a. There is disagreement whether this fraud actually flipped the results of the presidential election.

Here are the truths necessary for our nation to remain a viable Republic.

1b. There must be near 100% agreement that the 2020 election was accurately tabulated and reconciled.

2b. There must be near 100% confidence that sufficient safeguard procedures and processes are in place in all 50 states such that every future election will be extremely accurate, precisely counting only legal, legitimate votes.

The fact that 1a exists means that 2b must be implemented.  The best, brightest, and most morally upright within our nation need to be deployed to develop an error and fraud-free election process in all 50 states — blockchain technology; watermarked and serialized ballots; voter ID validation; signature verification; voter machine integrity; and complete life-cycle ballot-tracking from the moment the ballot is issued or mailed until received, verified, counted, and then properly stored for audit purposes.

Additionally, a thorough, detailed, independent forensic audit of the election needs to be done in at least the seven contested states as these discoveries will assist in the development of a failsafe election process.  This is critical to the stability of our Republic.  This also will validate the election of our 46th* president and remove the asterisk (as roughly half the nation believes that it belongs there), or it may lead to one helluva constitutional crisis, but the most important issue will be resolved.  We will know the truth.

If we sincerely profess the desire for unity and healing, then these are the logical next steps.  We will be recognized by our fruits, our actions.  If we fail in this endeavor, Lady Liberty falls, and she may never get back up.

Tom McAllister is a business consultant and the author of Blue Collar Faith.

Image: Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker via Flickr.