OPINION: Unity

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” — Antoine de Saint Exupery 

There has been a lot of talk about the need for unity in the Republican Party. The division is between two elements. One element has been referred to as Grassroots, Liberty or MAGA while the other has been called Establishment, Traditional or Republican In Name Only (RINO). Both sides invoke the spirit of Ronald Reagan and his claim that if you agree with someone 80% of the time they are not your enemy, even if you disagree 20% of the time. Both sides call for unity. But what is unity? We need a clear understanding of what “unity” means.  

Republicans often lament that Democrats have an enviable level of unity. More so than Republicans, Democrats stick together and vote together in Congress and in the population at large. Democrats famously have large blocks of voters that are synchronized messaging propagated by programming offered by the elements of the mainstream media sympathetic to the Democrats.  

We live in an era where all news is “Fake News” because whether you watch CNN or OAN you are only getting one side of the story, one view, one perspective, which makes it propaganda and not news.    

Recently CNN had a segment about how our country is a democracy and talk about it being a “republic” is just right-wing nonsense. They ignored the historical fact that democracies always collapse when the majority discovers they can oppress and legally plunder the wealth of the minority. They ignore the fact that our founders deliberately created a republic and that our national and state founding documents guarantee a “Republican form of government.” Claiming America is a democracy isn’t news, its propaganda.  

So what is this unity of the Democrats? It is the unity of the herd. It is the unity of sheep or lemmings or Borg. It is the unity of “just get along” where the hard work of critical thinking isn’t needed. It is the unity of woke where if you step out of line and speak against the approved narrative you are punished, and in some cases, punished severely to the point of losing your job or even your freedom. It is the unity of slavery where a small group, a minority, controls a large group. It is the rights of that small group above the rights of the individual.  

Members of the Democrat Party claim to want to protect democracy while simultaneously openly using the powers of government to persecute, jail or assassinate their political rivals. How ironic is it that the “democrat” party operates like a “Banana Republic?” 

In contrast, Republicans are an individualistic bunch. In general, they are type “A” personalities, independent and self-governing. They eschew regulations and restrictions because they are competent and capable without unnecessary oversight. They believe the rights of the individual are paramount. They resist being herded even if it that resistance is ultimately to their detriment.   

So how do Republicans find unity? How do you herd cats … that are on fire? This is the challenge presented to the leaders of the Republican Party. Be it precinct, county, state or federal, how does the Republican Party unify effectively? Herd unity does not work on Republicans because herd unity means surrendering cherished individual rights and responsibilities. Herd unity results in the lawless, feculent and dangerous reality of our Democrat-controlled urban centers.  

So how do Republicans unite? Donald Trump figured out what Ronald Reagan and other effective Republican leaders knew and appreciated. Trump articulated it in a single phrase; MAGA, Make America Great Again. MAGA isn’t itself a call for unity or demand for conformance. MAGA is a goal. MAGA is an idea. MAGA is a longing. Antoine de Saint Exupery explained that unity can be the product of a common desire.  

Republicans can agree on a goal even if they seldom agree on the best method of achieving that goal. MAGA articulates the goal of making America great again, and Republicans enthusiastically have embraced that goal. It is the unity of purpose.  

Republicans typically do not embrace “the ends justify the means” approach frequently used by Democrats. Republicans generally like order. They like structure and clearly defined rules that are equally applied. If you give a Republican a goal you don’t need to tell them HOW to achieve that goal. You just need to stand back and let them get it done.  

Last Tuesday members of the two factions of the Republican Party met as members of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. Previously critics had accused the KCRCC of being a cult, dictatorship or Soviet, which are descriptors of herd unity.   

What actually happened last Tuesday is that those very same critics were part of the consensus. In all but one instance the votes were overwhelmingly one sided or even unanimous. Were the critics subsumed into the collective and become members of the cult? No. Republicans united around a common goal. 

Republicans hate being told how to do something because it assumes they don’t already know. Republicans love purpose. They love making positive actions and achieving a goal. They will work in unity toward a worthy goal. 

Teach Republicans to long for the endless immensity of the sea and they will build beautiful ships, provided you don’t demand they do it your way.   

It’s just common sense.

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Brent Regan is chairman of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.