Richard Bircher lives in Lebanon.

The notion of a politician advocating policies that are of primary concern to ordinary people is certainly a just representation of democratic ideals and responsibility. In contrast to the media’s often dogmatic disapproval of ordinary working people’s fundamental interests, populism addresses the issues in a no-nonsense, welcoming manner.

Conversely, under the Biden/Harris administration’s DEI directives and sponsorship, these past four years have fostered some of the most dramatic and otherworldly social and cultural phenomena in memory. Promoting scores and scores of newfangled proper pronouns as well as gender options and transitioning possibilities for school-aged children; claiming that a newborn’s sex was “assigned” at birth, implying that other legitimate options were actually available besides male or female; boys are girls and girls are boys through simple “self-identification;” degenderizing civilization tested concepts such as mother, father with “egg producers” and “testicle-having people;” Drag Queen story hour in public libraries; redefining a pregnant woman as a pregnant “person;” all developed in order for society to become morally inclusive, purportedly.

Along with these many gender-themed issuances came the creation of a highly porous southwest border non-policy. One of remarkable negligence and repercussions, ultimately proving to be a gross miscalculation on behalf of the administration. Most of us are willing to extend tolerance and generosity to others, but we also have limits. Starr County, Texas (on Mexican border), having a 97% Hispanic population, for the first time since 1892 voted Republican (Trump) by a 16-point margin. Trump won 55% of the Texas Latino vote overall. Witnessing unprecedented, overwhelming numbers of undocumented migrants crossing the border is an American concern, not a “white” one.

The common most thread tying together the aforementioned issues is best described as mayhem, a destabilizing of society and culture. Working people, ordinary people have been shut out and stranded by the Democratic Party. The party’s multi-faceted assault against the daily realities and personal beliefs held by the ordinary of us, has been highlighted by a wholly subjective, and largely farcical, interpretation of humanity, be it gender-related or large-scale emigration being forced upon us.

Feeling great pride in one’s country is an attribute of social connection abstained of by our higher order of citizens, but foundational to the communal pride experienced by those of a more common nature and destiny. A professional populist is not needed to cut through the layers of social disconnection presented by this contrast.

It’s certainly possible that large numbers of recent emigrants shall remain marginalized, as will contending forces within our present political society continue on divergent courses. So too is it likely that gender identification shall take on more of a cult status, rather than one of basic human physiology and associated cultural traditions.

Do these very diverse, yet interrelated, phenomena of the past few years somehow represent a striking, civilized, evolutionary progression of humanness, or mere social and cultural quackery?