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Barking is a dog’s natural means of communication. Dogs bark for many different reasons, such as to get your attention, or because they think it’s a friendly way to greet people or other animals. Most other times, though, it’s when another person or animal enters into an area your dog considers his or her territory – and as the threat gets closer – the barking gets louder.

Many have considered journalism to be like a “watchdog” of sorts, for the American people. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are well-known for their investigative journalism of the Watergate Hotel break-in, which proved the press could still hold the government accountable – and this ultimately led to President Nixon’s resignation. Then, there are investigative reporters that rely on old-fashioned shoe-leather to uncover everything from public corruption in city hall, to exonerating death row inmates.

Then, there are the Internet publications, where investigative journalists don’t need to wait and be hired by the New York Times or the Washington Post to make a difference – they can speak directly to the American people, immediately.

For example, the Drudge Report uncovered the Monica Lewisnky affair with Bill Clinton in 1998. Project Veritas exposed, just this year, Planned Parenthood’s practice of selling body parts of babies it aborts on the open market.

While these examples of investigative journalism are well-known, they are also rare. Take the failure of journalists to investigate and hold Wall Street mortgage banks, as well as the U.S. government, accountable in the many years leading up to the financial debacle of 2008.

In that example, it wasn’t that the impending housing mortgage meltdown wasn’t plain to many journalists – it was – but the only ones that wrote about it didn’t work for the mainstream press. As a result, the public was left in the dark, and powerless against what became a very complex and costly crisis.

As journalist Dean Starkman wrote his book, The Watchdog That Didn’t Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism, the costs of the mortgage crisis was “10 million Americans uprooted by foreclosure with even more still threatened, 23 million unemployed or underemployed, whole communities set back a generation, shocking bailouts for the perpetrators, political polarization here and instability abroad.”

This got me thinking. If hindsight is indeed 20/20, and if the best way to predict the future is to look at our past, might we again be left in the dark by the mainstream press today, with whom we are electing to the Presidency?

In other words, is the mainstream press advocating for Hillary Clinton to be President? Many would not only say “yes”, but “hell yes!” In fact, journalists, reporters, news editors and television news anchors have contributed almost $400,000 to both presidential campaigns of Clinton and Trump, but a whopping 96% of those contributions were for Hillary Clinton.

Not sure the mainstream press is leaving Americans in the dark this election?

Well, how much mainstream press reporting do you see that explains that the number of those filing for unemployment benefits is at its highest in more than a year, and the number of layoffs planned this year is surging?

Or that many Americans simply can’t afford to continue paying their Obamacare premiums, and that insurance companies are now raising premiums on everyone by as much as 60 percent next year? Or that two-thirds of the government-funded health insurance exchanges have gone bankrupt?

How much mainstream reporting was there when Hillary Clinton said that our “religious beliefs” in our country have to be changed, even though our nation was founded by those seeking religious freedom? Or when she said that the policy of confiscating guns, as Australia did in 1996, is certainly “worth looking at,” even though crimes involving a firearm in Australia have now doubled?

How much mainstream reporting do you see questioning Hillary Clinton’s support for Planned Parenthood over the past 30 years, even though they have been chopping up and selling baby body parts, like a poultry processor, and yet she still wants the federal funding for them to continue?

How much mainstream reporting do you see, in the midst of the racial tensions in our country, that exposes the fact that since President Obama took office, black poverty is way up, and black employment is way down.

The objective answer to these questions is “none”. You don’t see the mainstream press reporting on these issues, just like we didn’t see the mainstream press reporting what we needed to know, in the years leading up to the financial debacle of 2008.

And I believe, and I trust you may be wondering too, if we’re about to let history repeat itself…and let a sleeping dog lie, again.

Why do “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing? And why did Japanese Kamikaze pilots wear crash helmets? And why do we always press harder on the television remote when it needs new batteries? These are questions that many feel the mind is simply incapable of answering. Of course, we could go on and on with similar conundrums, especially after watching the national Democrat convention in Philadelphia last month.

For starters, how can 68% of Americans believe that Hillary Clinton is not honest and trustworthy – an all-time worst in her political career – yet the Democrat Party nominate her as their candidate for President of the United States? I mean, these negatives are higher than nearly any candidate in recent memory.

And that’s not to mention that 2 out of 3 Americans view her unfavorably, according to a CBS poll, and only about 1 out 3 would feel “proud” to have her as President, according to a CNN poll.

It just doesn’t make sense that almost one-half of Democrat primary voters still wish Bernie Sanders was the Party’s nominee, and yet Hillary Clinton still turned around and thumped Bernie’s supporters on the head – by hiring the very person, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who rigged Democrat Party support to ensure that Bernie would never have been the nominee in the first place.

None of it makes any sense, except to Democrats, who are still planning to vote for Hillary because, well, that’s just what’s right and decent to them.

But given all of the polling data regarding voter sentiment, from the Benghazi murders to the FBI investigation of her handling of classified information – not to mention a rigged Party nomination process – what is going through the minds of those who are nevertheless still chanting, “I’m with Hillary”?

If this describes you, or someone you know, psychologists call this condition the “backfire effect”. This is when, after you have added an idea to your collection of core beliefs, you protect that idea from harm. Even in the face of inconsistent ideas or other information, you stick to your beliefs, instead of questioning them, nevertheless. This “backfire effect” has long-range, deleterious effects on one’s ability to understand the issues, and one’s willingness to analyze other points of view. This is mainly because we all tend to seek out information which confirms our current beliefs anyway.

There are lots of examples of this, but consider the commonly held belief that Republicans are the Party of racism, while the Democrats are not. The facts don’t support this belief, but the “backfire effect” is clearly evident because the facts are tossed aside by all those wanting to protect the “idea” that Republicans are racist.

For example, did you know that it was the Democrat Party’s tireless efforts to preserve and defend slavery that caused the Republican Party to be founded in the first place? Yes, Virginia, the Republican Party was formed as an opposition party to slavery.

In fact, by 1861, the Republicans had elected their first president, Abraham Lincoln, and following the Civil War that ensued over this issue, slavery was ended. Racist groups, such as the KKK were, in fact, supported by the Democrat Party, and later defended by numerous government officials, including President Woodrow Wilson.

Not sure about all that? Well, consider that the 14th Amendment, giving full citizenship to freed slaves, passed in 1868 with 0% Democrat support in Congress. That’s 0%. Not one Democrat supported the amendment. The 15th Amendment, giving freed slaves the right to vote, passed in 1870 with 0% Democrat support in Congress. Again, that is 0% Democrat support.

And for those who say, “Yeah, well, that’s all in the past and a long time ago,” well, let’s talk about the Democrat Party of today, then.

Since 2008, black poverty is up, and black employment is down, even as Democrats controlled both the White House and the Congress. Forty percent of black males are incarcerated, and 72 percent of black children are still being born to unmarried mothers. There are fewer blacks participating in the labor force and the unemployment rate among blacks is more than double than it is among whites. And this is all happening under a federal government filled with Democrats. The same Democrat Party that has spent over 50 years, and billions of dollars, on social welfare programs of every kind, only to have the poverty rate even higher today than it was back then.

And I won’t even get into how white voters in 2008 looked right past the color of skin, and then elected a black man to its highest office in the land.

So, go ahead, dig in your heels, if you must, and dismiss the facts that show how the Democrat Party has paddled up this same river of division so many – and far too many times. The problem is they not only understand the “backfire effect”, but they are counting on it, to keep your vote. The question is, do they have a “fat chance,” or “slim chance,” of doing it?

Informed voters, they say, are essential to our democracy. Yet arguably, our democracy has thrived, for all intents and purposes, without informed voters. In 1850, only about 1 out of 2 school-aged children were enrolled in school – and for many of them, believe it or not, attended only one day a year. By 1870, emancipated blacks were granted the right to vote, by way of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, and their formal schooling was even less – 1 out of 10 were enrolled in school.

Fast forward to our modern day electorate, and you’ll see over the past 30 years year that states have begun allowing ex-felons to vote, adding nearly 1 million to the voter registration rolls – and studies have shown that incarcerated people are among the least well educated in our country.

And while 9 out of 10 Americans are highschool graduates today; in the 1950s, only 5 out of 10 were. In the late 1800s, it was only 1 out of 10.

So, as you can tell, formally educated voters have not always been part of our democracy, yet it thrived, nonetheless. By contrast, many would say that we are more informed, better educated today than at any time in our nation’s history, yet voter involvement is still at its lowest point.

But if our country’s formal education level is higher today than it has ever been, why is voter participation at its lowest level since World War II? The most recent, 2014 mid-term election, for example, saw only 36 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots.

It could be, for many voters, not so much that they are uninformed (although many are), but perhaps their “give-a-damn” about the issues is broken. And why wouldn’t it be? Most Americans say that elected officials put their own interests ahead of the people’s, and even more say that cannot trust Washington to do what is right – not even most of the time.

More than half of all Americans believe that government is almost always wasteful and inefficient, and most would NOT even like to see their child enter politics as a career.

And can we blame them? From one Executive Order after another, to a nearly open border with Mexico, to continued deficit spending by Congress, to our skyrocketing national debt of $19 trillion, to our federally controlled education standards, and the rising cost of healthcare, not to mention higher taxes on working Americans, and assaults on our religious liberty or the right to bear arms, it just seems that Washington isn’t listening at all to we, the people.

That gives us a sense that no matter what we do, as voters, we’re largely ineffective at policymaking, or making a real difference on legislation that matters – whether it’s in Washington or in Baton Rouge. So, why bother, at all?

Then, here at home, our Caddo Parish commissioners increased their own salaries 170% since 1995, without asking us. And then we matched their retirement contributions to the tune of almost 2 to 1; for every $1 they contributed to their retirement, the taxpayers contributed almost $2. Again, without asking us.

Also, here at home, our Caddo Parish schools are rated worse than any other school system in our state, as the state of Louisiana has declared that 63% of our schools are failed or failing, even though Caddo Parish taxpayers have spared little expense – contributing nearly $500 million a year towards educating our children.

For all these examples, and many others, as well, it suddenly becomes a question of, “Why bother paying attention?”

I can tell you why bother. Because freedom without participation is meaningless. Because we in America do not have government by the majority, as Thomas Jefferson said, “We have government by the majority who participate”. And we must participate.

The Bible teaches us that the failure to do something that one can, and ought to do, is sinful. James 4:17 reads, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

This means we cannot take the attitude of, “to each his own”. Or looking the other way when there is corruption in our community, or remain at home on election day because we’re too busy. And we shouldn’t ride people out of town on a rail because they propose a new tax or a new law, nor because they oppose the same. Instead, we should get involved.

When we stop being a victim of our circumstances, or otherwise convincing ourselves that that there is nothing we can do to make a difference in Washington or Baton Rouge, our lives will change, and so will our country.

And the best part – you don’t need any formal education to figure that out.

During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, Governor John Bel Edwards explained that he was a conservative Southern Democrat, and West Point graduate who was pro-life and pro-gun. At times, though, he seemed almost ashamed to stand with his own Democrat Party, whose party platform represents irreconcilable differences with many of John Bel Edwards’ stated positions.

President Obama even distanced himself from John Bel Edwards during the campaign for governor. The White House would later announce that the President would not endorse John Bel Edwards, at all, even though John Bel Edwards was the only Democrat in the race.

Confusing, I know.

And then presumed Democrat Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton visited Baton Rouge last September, but Democrat candidate John Bel Edwards would not even appear on stage with her, or any of the other Democrat Party officials from around the state, who had assembled that day for Mrs. Clinton’s campaign rally and fundraiser. His reason: “scheduling” issues.

Things are different now, after the election, though. So when Democrat Party officials and President Obama came to Baton Rouge (just this month), Governor Edwards was center stage this time, shoulder-to-shoulder with his fellow Democrats, and meeting with the President privately. The President praised the new governor publicly saying, “I’m just so proud of him, and I know he’s going to do some great work.”

Presumably that “work” will include John Bel Edwards’ support of teachers’ unions, expanding the size of government, increasing public spending, raising taxes, pandering to minority voters, increasing the minimum wage, and keeping an open mind when it comes to supporting Planned Parenthood in Louisiana, accepting Syrian refugees, and establishing sanctuary cities in our state.

If this is the work ahead, the Edwards’ administration has a steep mountain to climb in what is still a deeply conservative state, where voters elected Republicans to a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives – 61 out of the 105 – and in the Senate, where voters elected Republicans to 25 out of 39 seats. Knowing this, John Bel Edwards promised in his first press conference after the election that “we will be very inclusive and moderate.”

Moderate? The “great work” the President praised (and expects) from John Bel Edwards is anything but “moderate”, though. So, which John Bel Edwards will be our governor for the next 4 years? For many, that’s a rhetorical question.

For others, having to ask the question, in the first place, represents an underlying basis for their distrust of politicians, government, political parties, and the election process, altogether. It’s no doubt the main reason that there are more voters registering as “no party” in Louisiana than are registering as Republicans or Democrats, combined.

Consider Jay Dardenne, as an example of how voters come to believe that politics is less about principles and more about illusions, or smoke and mirrors. While he was campaigning as a Republican candidate last year to be governor of Louisiana, Jay called John Bel Edwards’ Obamacare expansion proposal “foolish and insolvent” and that John Bel Edwards was “writing a check Louisiana can’t cash”. He said that John Bel Edwards only proposes “more and more debt” and that his promises represent a “liberal fantasyland,” adding, “he cannot bring all of Louisiana together”.

So now, after he said all of that to the voters, what do you think that Jay Dardenne did next, after the primary election? Well, he endorsed John Bel Edwards, of course.

Then, as fate would have it, Jay Dardenne was then named John Bel Edwards’ Commissioner of Administration – which is the new governor’s chief administrator – and now Jay will be working to turn those “liberal fantasyland” promises into reality for the rest of us.

So did Jay Dardenne not mean what he said during the campaign? Or is it like that Adele song where she says, “just because I said it, doesn’t mean I meant it”?

The bottom line is that until we, the voters, require honesty from our elected officials, and hold them accountable with our votes, and our attention to the issues, throughout the year, the dishonesty will continue. As with any good illusion, the hand is truly quicker than the eye, and without attentiveness, elected officials will continue to lie to us, “for our own good”.

And whether you call it misrepresentations, omissions, exaggerations, denials, lack of transparency, fabrications, cover ups, broken promises, hypocrisy, or bait and switch – it’s not good for any of us, or the legacy that we will leave for the next generation.

Whatever you believe, just be authentic with the voters. Don’t lie to make yourself look better, or conceal mistakes, protect your reputation, deflect the blame, deceive people, or steal the credit. Yes, I know, lots of people lie. In fact, Americans average about 11 lies per week.

But honesty means everything, and it’s not just a “Republican” or “Democrat” thing, it’s a “human being” thing. And we remember someone’s honesty, or the lack of it, long after the details of its subject matter are long forgotten. Lyndon Johnson lied about Vietnam. Richard Nixon lied about Watergate. Bill Clinton lied about Monica Lewinsky. These are just a few examples.

So, to the new administration, and legislature, in Baton Rouge, just know the voters will remember your honesty too, as you serve our state. We can handle the truth, we just shouldn’t be expected to manage our lives – or continue to vote for you – in the absence of it.

Self-blame is one of the most toxic forms of emotional abuse. Psychologists say that it exaggerates our perceived inadequacies, whether real or imagined, and creates an illusory ideal that we simply cannot meet.

In fact, in the Book of James, we are reminded that “we all stumble in many ways” and from the Book of Ecclesiastes, we know “there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins”. After all, we are imperfect beings.

And despite our imperfections, we also know, in the words of Theodore Roosevelt, that “(t)he only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.” This applies to nations, as well.

Now, thankfully, America has never chosen the “do nothing” path of life. From Bunker Hill to the Battle of the Bulge to the Berlin Wall, over 2.8 million soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice in combat, defending our nation’s liberty, and making the world safer. This is America’s legacy.

But when we don’t recognize our own humanity – our imperfection – when we begin to blame (and shame) ourselves when things go wrong. Have you ever seen yourself as the problem when things seem to go wrong in your life? Or blamed yourself?

Well, President Obama and other folks in Washington certainly have, except it’s our country that they blame most often for everything that has gone wrong in the past – and that will be wrong in the future, as well.

Just last week, at an Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House, the President blamed “less-than-loving expressions by Christians” who do not care enough for others, even though he didn’t mention the murders of 147 students in Kenya for just being Christian. No mention made of the 100,000 Christians that are killed annually because of their faith, or the rise of anti-Christian violence in Pakistan, Nigeria and Egypt. If only Christians cared more about others, this wouldn’t all be happening, right?

On the terrorist front, the President says that America is to blame for the barbarism of ISIS, as well. After all, he said, when we send in our military and occupy a country, like we did in Iraq, we “end up feeding extremism.” It’s our fault, says the “blame America” crowd, and don’t forget Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib – we sorta of have it coming to us, they say.

And when Iran says “Death to America”, or its regime shoots its own people in the streets, the President says that this is again, our fault, because the United States “meddled” in their democracy during the 1970s and 1980s, and sided with Iraq, in the Iran-Iraq war. And when Iran gets its own nuclear weapons, and strikes out against Israel, or launches an attack in our country? If you ask the President, that will again be our fault, as well.

While visiting Turkey, Obama expressed his self-shame, on behalf of the country that elected him to their highest office in the land, saying, we’re “still working through some of our own darker periods in our history. Our country still struggles with the legacies of slavery and segregation.” That might be true, but comparatively speaking, how about a mention of the Turkish government’s mass murder of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, as well?

Obama has given countless interviews with international media, self-blaming us all profusely for those times “where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” While in Spain, Obama said our foreign policy has sought to “dictate our terms,” and while on Arab television he shamed America by again apologizing for our “mistakes”.

Think we’re done self-shaming America? Nope. In fact, we’re just getting started.

How about when Obama’s approval ratings declined recently? Well, that is our fault too – it’s because our nation is too racist. Obama explained that, “There’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black President.” Of course, right?

Climate change? That’s America’s fault too, and Obama assured the international community that, “We recognize our role in creating this problem; we embrace our responsibility to combat it.” And that’s good to be so committed, because we’re on our own, it seems, to decarbonize the planet. China is building one coal-burning energy plant nearly every month and they’re spending $275 billion to establish a fracking program, plus they just signed a pipeline deal worth $300 billion with Russia – but America is creating the problem of polluting the environment? Really?

Yes, we do have real issues that need solutions, and not merely words, or a lot of “feel good” hooey. But let’s focus on the bright spots, and what’s working, and do more of that going forward, and less blaming and shaming ourselves for what hasn’t worked in the past. When we do this, we only make room for the opportunities to make a better tomorrow, a stronger America, and a peaceful world.

And yes, as the President said at the Easter Prayer Breakfast, people of faith are often counseled to extend loving-kindness to others.

But Mr. President, couldn’t you extend this same loving-kindness to our own country, and cut us all a break, as well?