Louis R. Avallone

Category: 2016

  • There’s an Old Saying…

    There’s an Old Saying…

    There’s an old saying, “Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are.” So, who are you? Who are we, I mean, as a country?

    We pay attention to what Miley Cyrus twerks, what Jay-Z and Beyonce say, and a hundred other insignificant matters, but fewer than half of all Americans know that there are 3 branches of government, or can even name them. We obsess over an American dentist who shot a lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe and a bison calf that had to be euthanized in Yellowstone National Park, but don’t even give more than a glancing look at the almost 1 million abortions that are performed every year in our country – even with organizations like Planned Parenthood chopping up and selling baby body parts, like a poultry processor, and yet a majority of Americans still view Planned Parenthood favorably and want the federal government funding for them to continue.

    Are you kidding me? But I get it, in a way, though. It’s easy to get spread out too thin, and get distracted from what’s most important. And sometimes the urgent in our life wins out over the important.

    Like how too many in our country are obsessed with making it more acceptable, and accessible, for grown men to go to the restroom alongside our aging mothers and young daughters. The media and Washington, D.C. crowd choose to focus more on the 0.3% of the population in our country that could be uncomfortable going into the restroom of their natural, physical gender, even though there are 40 million more of our young daughters (who are under 18) that may now feel uncomfortable themselves going into the restroom, as a result.

    But what about getting uncomfortable about the senseless killings in our communities? Or generational poverty, or rising incarceration rates? What about becoming uncomfortable with rising unemployment, or a generation of Americans growing up without fathers, or the risk of terrorism here at home?

    Bottom line, you can’t do big things if you don’t know what the big things are in the first place, and you can’t know what those big things are if you’re distracted by all the small things. It’s a bit of a chicken-in-the-egg situation, here.

    It’s like when President Kennedy told Congress in 1961, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

    That was a “big thing” and with that vision, Kennedy directed the attention of a country towards what was important, and mobilized the best and brightest our country had to offer, in the process. From medical imaging, to enhanced dialysis, and even the cordless vacuum – all were the result of our country’s commitment to doing a “big thing”.

    What “big thing” is our country doing today? Or, are we so distracted by the insignificant that we are focused on “no thing”. If you feel we’re not doing any “big thing” in our country today, maybe it’s time we start focusing on the lack of leaders in our country, elected or otherwise, who have forgotten that leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.

    This is no doubt what causes too many of us to have a sense of helplessness, or to feel we have no influence on what happens in our lives. But it’s not entirely our fault. In fact, Margaret Thatcher once lamented about Great Britain that, “…we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas.”

    If the same is true about America today, this cannot end well for any American, for freedom anywhere, or the legacy of so many that fought and died protecting this experiment in liberty called America.

    After all, the Bible says, “where there is no vision, the people perish.” But if we don’t pay attention long enough to see what really matters, and are distracted by the inconsequential instead, what other outcome can there be?

  • More Guts Than They Ever Will

    More Guts Than They Ever Will

    The recent twin bombing, terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed 31 people and injured at least 270 sent shock waves throughout Europe.

    About 75 years ago, it was the same. Although the enemy back then was a different one, shock waves were being sent throughout Europe, as Nazi Germany attacked Poland.

    And on the day before the Normandy invasion, D-Day, General George S. Patton Jr. told the soldiers of the U.S. Third Army on June 5, 1944, “We’ll win this war, but we’ll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we’ve got more guts than they have; or ever will have.”

    Fighting and showing. Fighting and showing. It’s not bragging if you can back it up, as Muhammad Ali often said. And of course, America did back it up – throughout the war. The Allies backed-up German forces across Europe, liberating Paris, and 100 concentration camps in Germany, as Hitler found himself defeated; not by chance, but by American grit and determination, and by those who made the ultimate sacrifice, so that man might live free of the darkest atrocities, and live, instead, in peace with one another.

    Today, our nation’s response to threats of terror around the world is very different. Our response today is not to fight, or show. It’s to talk.

    “We defeat them in part by saying you are not strong, you are weak,” Obama declared about ISIS, “We send a message to those who might be inspired by them to say you are not going to change our values of liberty and openness and the respect of all people.”

    Obviously, President Obama forgot the schoolyard lesson that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” How can telling ISIS that they are weak, defeat them?

    BUT, only a few years ago, while campaigning for President, he took a decidedly more forceful tone, when he was at war with his political adversaries (and not terrorists), saying that “(w)e’re going to punish our enemies and we’re going to reward our friends”. When he was running against John McCain, in fact, he was even more pointed, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.”

    And it’s this preoccupation with politics, rather than peace, or prosperity, or practicality, that is why so many Americans have given up on elected officials, altogether. They know something is missing in our country. And I miss it too. And it’s the ordinary things, admittedly, that we might have always taken for granted.

    I miss a President that wants to win. That doesn’t apologize for the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform have made, for so many nations around the world. That doesn’t go around the world telling everyone that America “sometimes makes mistakes” and that “we are not perfect.”

    I miss the America where genuine difference of opinion was debated without anyone being labeled a racist, bigot, greedy, selfish, or an imbecile.

    I miss a President that encourages the independent, American spirit of ingenuity, hard work, and the pursuit of the American dream.

    I miss a President that inspires success without conditioning its achievement on government bureaucracy or income redistribution.

    I miss a President that doesn’t conduct himself as a politician running for office, when he has already been elected to the highest office in the land and has a duty to all Americans, and not just certain special interests. A President should be the leader of our nation first, and defender of our Constitution, not a leader of a “movement”.

    And that’s why I say I miss what some might have considered ordinary at one time; like fighting for what’s right and best for the cause of freedom, and not what’s only politically correct.

    Only then will those who intend to do us harm know – like the Germans learned from those brave soldiers in Normandy – that we Americans have more guts than they have, or ever will, but to defeat them…we need a president who believes that too.

  • In 2009

    In 2009

    In 2009, newly elected President Obama said, “Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” Unfortunately, though, it is the unborn that has continued to lose. Even as the number of abortions are continuing to drop nationwide – 31,000 fewer abortions last year – and while 53 abortion clinic closed in 2015 alone, black children are still being aborted at 5 times the rate of white children. Abortion is the number-one killer of black lives in America.

    And yet, Planned Parenthood (where a third of their facilities operate in primarily black neighborhoods) continues to receive almost exclusive Democrat Party support and protection, plus over a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money. Actually, taxpayer funding accounts for 41% of Planned Parenthood’s overall revenue.

    And while it claims to provide other, vital medical services for women, abortions make up 94% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy services, even though abortions performed to save the life of the mother occur less than 1% of the time. In fact, even when you combine all of the non-life threatening health issues, that number increases only to 2.8%.

    What that means to you and me is that there are over 1 million babies whose lives were taken last year for reasons that were wholly unrelated to the health of the mother. This is important because being pro-life about babies should not come at the expense of being pro-life about women. Obviously, when two lives are threatened and only one can be saved, doctors must always save that life. But this argument – that abortion must remain legal to protect the health of women – is a smokescreen because those instances are almost non-existent, according to the federal government’s own statistics.

    Nevertheless, the pro-life community is making progress in the efforts to protect the unborn, and to support life, even after the past 7 years of pro-abortion policies from Washington, D.C. The incessant prayers, the marches, and events like Bishop Duca’s Annual Pro-Life Banquet, or the Ark-La-Tex Pregnancy Crisis Center Dinner, keep the candle of this miracle-in-progress lit – and burning brightly for even those who might not yet know why we believe what we believe.

    There have been some recent legal developments regarding Louisiana’s Unsafe Abortion Protection Act, which went into effect on September 1, 2014 and I wanted to briefly mention those. This is regarding the law that requires physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their facility. As you may know, the law was authored by State Representative Katrina Jackson, from Monroe, to combat what she calls “the number one genocide in the African-American community: abortion.”

    And despite being passed with large majorities in the Louisiana legislature, and after being signed into law by the Governor in 2014, abortion providers have repeatedly fought back. This past January, they met with some success, as a federal district judge said that requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital violated the constitutional right to an abortion established by the Supreme Court in 1973.

    Then, late last month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals went the other direction, and blocked THAT decision, which allowed the law to go into effect –namely, requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital.

    But no sooner than this law was in effect, the U.S. Supreme Court, moved to temporarily block the law from going into effect. This allowed two recently closed abortion clinics to reopen for the business.

    Although we might need to draw a diagram to keep up with the legal back-and-forth here, stay with me.

    You see, this same law was enacted by the State of Texas, before ours, and their law is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court to determine its constitutionality. Meanwhile, there are seven (7) other states with similar laws, just like ours, that no doubt will be affected by the ruling in the Texas matter (which is expected at the end of June).

    And with the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, there are only eight (8) justices now. If there was a tie vote in our case, our Louisiana state law would remain in place and enforceable. The importance of the next Supreme Court justice being pro-life cannot be understated, especially since Justice Scalia was perhaps the most passionate abortion opponent, among all of the justices.

    And one last note: If you feel that being pro-choice is different than being pro-abortion (because you wouldn’t choose it for yourself, but it’s okay for someone else), please remember pro-choice voters and pro-abortion voters, are almost always two peas in a pod, when it comes to voting on election day. But whichever way you nuance it, you either oppose legal protection for the innocent unborn, or you don’t.

    So, yes, President Obama was right on this one. Elections do have consequences, and as the November election approaches, the consequences of this election for the unborn, perhaps like never before, is truly a matter of life or death.

  • We’re The Establishment

    We’re The Establishment

    ­­It’s like Superman and Lex Luther. Snow White and the Evil Queen. Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West. Indiana Jones and the Nazis. The best stories always seem to feature the heroic good guy or gal, who is locked in an epic, heroic struggle for good versus evil.

    Many fictional writers say that if you leave these key characters out of your story you will risk losing your audience, altogether. You see, every good story begins with an initial decision or event that creates conflict of some kind for the protagonist in the story, and this will ultimate test – and reveal – the protagonist character’s strengths and weaknesses. Now, the drama unfolds. For example, Dorothy decided to set out for the Land of Oz, down the yellow brick road and must fight her way past flying monkeys and a witch flying around on a broomstick hurling balls of fire. Superman decided to use his superhuman abilities for the benefit of humanity, and must therefore fight for truth, justice, and the American way wherever wrongdoing is found.

    Once the conflict has been established, the story next needs a hero – someone who will resolve the inequity, end the crisis, or bring balance to the universe.

    And although these are fundamental principles of good fiction writing, sometimes it seems that there is a “story” being told to us, as voters. This is, no doubt, why so many Americans don’t trust our government, and view politicians with great skepticism. In fact, over 80% of Americans don’t trust the government, and feel that public officials put their own interest ahead of the nation’s (in 1965, it was the exact opposite).

    So, consider this election year, which is chock-full of candidate stories wherein the hero-candidate professes to be the “anti-establishment” candidate (or protagonist), while their villain-like nemesis in the race is the “establishment” candidate (or the antagonist), instead. More dramatically, they might say they’re fighting a wrongdoer who can’t be seen (like the Wizard in Oz who is secretly pushing all of the buttons and pulling all of the strings behind a curtain, or Hillary’s “vast, right wing conspiracy” from the Monica Lewinsky days).

    But this year, for some reason, both Democrat and Republican candidates seem to be tripping over themselves to be considered the “anti-establishment” candidate. But why? Because it makes for a good story, like David and Goliath? Or they want to be considered as the one “sticking it to the man” because it’s “the man” keeping so many of us down?

    50 years ago, yes, you could say that there was “establishment” party politics, that included “the man” – you know, old money people, plus bankers, corporate executives, etc. who all worked behind the scenes, and probably had reserved tables in the proverbial, smoke-filled back room. But today?

    Naw. And not only naw, but heck naw. There’s no “establishment” like that today.

    Yes, there are people who want to keep power in Washington and serve the special interests of a few, instead of all who voted for them, but this practice has been the case for centuries. There’s also the media, and people who want to influence the rest of us, but that too, has not changed in modern times.

    In fact, with the Internet, the major media elites have less and less control over what we see, or who gets to be heard and their influence is more diluted today than any time in our nation’s history.

    But still, there’s “anti-establishment” excitement is on both sides of the aisle. In fact, Bernie Sanders professes to be the “anti-establishment” candidate for the Democrats, even though he is, perhaps, the most “establishment” of them all (by his own definition). He was elected Mayor of Burlington in 1981, and has been in Congress since 1988. He’s voted 98% of the time with Democrats during his 34-year political career, has endorsed virtually every major Democrat candidate, and repeatedly refuses to run as an “Independent.” And this is the “anti-establishment” candidate?

    No, you see, that’s all storytelling. The real “establishment” is we the people.

    Our founding fathers established this country for us, and rooted it in rights endowed to us by our Creator. It’s right there in the first sentence of the U.S. Constitution.

    And while we know that every good story needs a protagonist and an antagonist to keep the audience’s attention, this obsession with being “anti-establishment” also appears to be more of a way to blame others for the dire straits that our nation is in, rather than a candid discussion about how a candidate will do it differently, when it’s their turn.

    So, yes, we are the “establishment.” You and me. Others can use that term to refer to some nameless person or persons, or to conjure up stereotypes that play on our emotions, but that’s not any better than railing against “the rich” when someone wants to explain why the economy is doing poorly, and unemployment continues to rise.

    And while running against “the establishment” makes for good drama, it doesn’t often make for good government because instead of telling voters how they will work for the policies we want in Washington, many candidates are just spending too much of their time telling us a good story. The problem is that we’ve all heard this one before and we’re just not interested in the sequel.

  • Wanting It

    Wanting It

    Many admire that he says things other people are afraid to say. The conventional wisdom was that his popularity would fizzle, but instead, it has sizzled. He’s just a showman, they say. He’s been called an entertainer, and criticized as not being a politician. He’s not spent any time volunteering for political campaigns, walking neighborhoods, door-to-door, or spent much time at all in Washington, D.C. or pandering to the political class, or establishment politics.

    In fact, they say he is taking full advantage of the lack of leadership in the GOP, and having a little fun at his fellow Republicans’ expense. He’s been viewed as a growing problem for the Republican Party and a serious liability that continues to damage the GOP brand. He’s even been called “incendiary” and “ugly” by the chairman of the Republican National Committee.

    Many dyed-in-the-wool conservatives feel he has become a clown and a laughingstock to the general public. They say he’s not concerned about being correct, as much as he is about being loud, and that therefore, he’s just not credible.

    As one writer put it, “I think the problem is the Republican leaders…and the other candidates, don’t have the courage to say what they say in quiet, which (is) they think he is a buffoon…(t) hey think he is like a clown coming out of a small car at a circus.  It’s great he is entertaining and all that.  But nobody takes him seriously.”

    Many cringe when he says what he says about the issues, and conservative supporters become almost apologetic to their “more enlightened” family and friends, to excuse his comments. They almost always follow-up nervously, and dramatically, with the reminder that, “He just cares so much about this country, and wants to see it great again.”

    But for others, his success – and his millions of dollars – simply has not translated into any kind of respect, deference, or validation for his positions on the issues facing our country.

    And while many of you may think you know exactly who we’re talking about here, the rest of you think we’re talking about Donald Trump – but we’re not.

    In fact, every comment, which has been recited above, has been said, or written about, Rush Limbaugh. Yes, Rush Limbaugh. And yet it is also being said, almost verbatim, about Trump, as well.

    Even with such criticism of Rush, and after almost 25 years of folks demonizing him, 20 million Americans still tune in every day to listen to Rush, and his message.

    Many say it’s because he lifts the spirit of the average conservative American, who feels that our country’s best days are slipping behind us, and that the American dream no longer exists. Like Trump, and with pep-talk enthusiasm, many say that Rush makes his listeners believe that America is still an exceptional nation, that it’s best days are still ahead, and that Americans are capable of doing the extraordinary, when it comes to their own personal achievement.

    And like Trump, Rush may not be an expert on foreign diplomacy, agricultural subsidies, or military strategy, but his activism produces public action because his message inspires. His listeners also pay attention to what’s going on – even as voter turnout numbers continue to plummet across the country.

    His message is not unlike the one from Ted Cruz, who explained how his father fled from Cuba and arrived in the United States penniless with $100 sewn into his underwear, and that he was grateful to God that some well-meaning liberal didn’t come put his arm around his father and say, “Let me take care of you.”

    Rush’s message is along the same lines of the famous Zig Ziglar who once said, “Building a better you is the first step to building a better America.”

    You see, the message of Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Zig Ziglar, or Rush Limbaugh is much larger than these men, their fame, or fortune: it’s about we, the people, and realizing our greatest and best potential comes from within us, granted by God – not from what some government bureaucrat decides is best for us. This message is why Rush Limbaugh now has 20 million listeners a day, and why Trump continues to lead in the polls.

    Yes, maybe the message can be said better, or more nicely. After all, the Bible says, “Speak the truth, but do it in love.” But the popularity of Trump’s message is not primarily because of Trump. It never has been, and it never will be.

    Like Rush’s nearly 30 years on the radio, Trump’s message will continue to resonate this year with millions of Americans – not because of his showmanship or his knowing the art of the deal, but because it’s a message that we already know to be true: We can do more for ourselves than we think is possible, and that there is greatness within all of us.

    While many may get distracted by the pundits who offer their critical commentary about Trump’s presidential campaign, his credibility, consistency, integrity, his qualifications, intellect, or even as they ridicule his supporters, and what damage this is all doing to the Republican Party, just remember this has all been done before – including to a man named Ronald Reagan.

    Trump may not be the best politician, or the best choice for a nominee, but as conservatives, we just want it to be morning again in America. And we want a leader, whatever his name, to want it as badly as we do.

  • Finding the Right Words

    It’s important to avoid “stinking thinking”, as motivational speaker Zig Ziglar often said, which is when we allow ourselves to be gripped by negative thoughts and emotions, making us feel defeated, discouraged, and depressed. And “stinking thinking” can do that, indeed. Have you ever heard of the adage, “We are…what we think about?”

    In fact, how we speak to ourselves can be self-motivating and encouraging, or self-defeating and pitying. This is generally when folks remind us that it’s not what happens to us that matters – it’s how we choose to respond. Of course, the Bible tells us this also, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).

    Now, of course, we’ve all asked a friend on the phone, or just about anyone in passing, “How are you?” Maybe it’s the clerk at the grocery store, or the server at a restaurant.

    Some folks will say, “Not too bad, thanks.” You know right away that these are the proverbial “glass is half-empty” type of folks – and you know it by the words they use. “Not too bad” implies that there is always something to worry about, in their mind, or nothing is ever quite right.

    Well, what if they said, “I’m fantastic, thanks,” instead? Likewise, you’d know this was the “glass is half-full” type of person – again, simply by the words they chose – whether they really were really doing fantastic, or not. And by responding, “I’m fantastic,” it suggests this is someone who has a positive attitude and tends to look for the silver lining, even in difficult circumstances.

    So as we begin 2017, and a new administration in Washington begins to take its place, our national mood, and the words we use to describe ourselves, as a country, will necessarily change, as well.

    President-elect Trump’s “self-talk” is very different from President Obama’s. Trump uses positive words like “great”, “terrific”, “fortune”, “thriving”, and “huge.” He also says America will starting “winning again” and it will be “beyond anybody’s expectations” and, “we are going to win so much, you will get tired of winning!”

    He compliments those who are successful as “truly great leaders”, he talks about the “tremendous potential” of our country. The day after he was elected, he reminded us all that “America will no longer settle for anything less than the best.”

    He’s seems to always characterize whatever he is doing, thinking, or working on as the “finest”, “smartest”, and  “greatest”.  He talks about how we need the “smartest negotiators”, or how he has built the “best hotels”, or why he celebrates those who are excellent and “most highly sought after”, and why we need to build “the strongest military that we’ve ever had.”

    By contrast, though, President Obama’s favorite phrases over the past eight years seem to be those phrases that include the words “can’t” and “don’t,” and in particular, the word “frustrating.” He talked about how there is real anger and “frustration” in our country. And he often says how “frustrating” it is because he hasn’t achieved everything in his administration, exactly the way he had planned. He’s been “frustrated” with Republicans, with the Tea Party, as well as anyone in small towns who clings to “guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them.”

    Instead of “thriving” in your job, President Obama believes “at a certain point, you’ve made enough money.” If you started a small business in your home, and grew it into a terrific company, he surprised you by saying, “You didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Instead of growing the private sector of our economy beyond anybody’s expectations, President Obama was satisfied with it being just “fine”, surrendering to the belief that factory jobs moving to Mexico (like Carrier’s), are “jobs of the past” and “are just not going to come back.”

    Instead of talking about the tremendous potential of our country and taking responsibility as a leader, he still blames “the previous administration” for the economy, and for “less than loving Christians” who do not care enough for others. He appealed to the worst within us, saying his unpopularity is because “there’s some folks who just really don’t like the idea of a black President,” and that America has provoked terrorism because we’ve “meddled” in other countries. Instead of cheerleading for America as the “best”, he apologizes for us, instead.

    The truth is that how we talk to ourselves as a country is the loudest and most influential voice that we will hear. It can work for us, or against us, depending on the messages we allow. It can inspire us, or depress us, and the words we use make all the difference.

    Sure, we all can be guilty of “stinking thinking” at times, and that’s why, from time to time, we all need a “check-up from the neck-up,” in the words of Zig Ziglar.

    And one thing’s for sure: the election last November was our nation’s appointment for a “check-up from the neck-up” and America made a choice between two (2) visions: “winning” (optimism) or continued “frustration” (pessimism). As Winston Churchill put it, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

    May this new year be filled with opportunities for you and your family in which the difficulties might not seem all that difficult – and may you always find the “words” to say so.