OPINION — If the past few weeks have been any indication, the American political circus appears to be building to its grand finale. Of course, when it does end, few will have reason to celebrate.

It’s outright disturbing to witness the depths of ideological irrationality and sheer hysteria that have been steadily building in our society for the past couple of years. The only thing I can recall that comes close was the growing sense of dread many of us felt throughout the day on September 11, 2001.

With each unfolding calamity we told ourselves, “This can’t get any worse.” And then, somehow, it did.

It’s hard to keep a rational perspective amidst the uproar of shrieking and blame-flinging that surrounds the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. To hear Kavanaugh’s fiercest opponents tell it, his confirmation would put an accused rapist on the nation’s highest court where he would singlehandedly institute a real-life version of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

On the other hand, Kavanaugh’s staunchest supporters fervently believe that his confirmation would somehow slow the decay of the most bloated, debt-ridden and unchecked government in the world’s history. Both are missing the obvious truth that’s right under their noses.

As Jeff Deist explains, thanks to its judicial activism, the Supreme Court has become politicized beyond repair. Centralized judicial power is every bit as dangerous to authentic liberty and proper government as its legislative and executive counterparts.

The fact that our Supreme Court is viewed by the citizenry as a power center which must be lobbied is the strongest possible evidence that our Constitutional republic is in its twilight.

This reality is more than the politically dependent can handle. Some may grudgingly acknowledge that politics has become poisonous and now taints everything it touches.

However, they just can’t stop sipping from the same old bottle they’ve been nursing for so long. As long as there is “the other side” to blame, they manage to persuade themselves that they’re actually doing something.

But are they really? The moral drama playing out before us is not solving a single problem.

It’s not enough to simply criticize what one perceives as unrighteousness. To be an active force for righteousness in the world, we have to be willing to actually live as decent and honorable individuals.

That’s a tall order even in relatively calm times. Few people seem willing to take a stand during tumultuous times when they can feel righteous with no real effort by supporting a political figure who promises them whatever they want to hear.

Thankfully, there are those who have discovered that there is an alternative to simply picking sides in a never-ending blame game that keeps us from affecting any meaningful change.

Brittany Hunter, writing for the Foundation for Economic Education, zeroes in on the solution by asking the question, “What if, instead of complaining, we criticized by creating something new?”

Hunter doesn’t shy away from the fact that unjust and predatory acts are part of the world in which we live. Her solution is to refuse to allow anger, hatred or negativity to become our defining characteristics.

Instead, we should be actively looking for ways to create something better that renders the object of our frustration obsolete. There are numerous examples of folks who have taken this approach.

They include Lysander Spooner whose dissatisfaction with the Post Office prompted him to create his own alternative. Domino’s Pizza has led out on measurably improving communities it serves by fixing potholes with its own money. Satoshi Nakamoto responded to collusion between governments and financial institutions by creating Bitcoin and blockchain technology that decentralizes financial power.

There are examples of this that hit much closer to home as well.

Last week I attended the inaugural Mom Talks event held at Liberty Hall near Ogden.

The event was the brainchild of Kimberly Fletcher, who is a nationally syndicated radio host and writer. It featured notable speakers from across the nation including former NFL star and Super Bowl champion Burgess Owens, State Board of Education member Lisa Cummins, actress and writer Sam Sorbo and St. George superstar Kate Dalley, to name a few.

Like the TED Talks model upon which it was based, the Mom Talks were short but powerful messages of inspiration, hope and personal action. Each speaker related how they found personal purpose in building something new rather than simply complaining or tearing down.

One of the common threads that emerged in most of their stories was the fact that none of them started their efforts with a clear knowledge of what they were doing. They simply dug in and got started and learned as they went.

There’s a great lesson in there for the rest of us.

Stop complaining.

Stop blaming.

Give yourself permission to create something better instead. You’ll be happier and wiser for doing so.

Bryan Hyde is an opinion columnist specializing in current events and liberty viewed through what he calls the lens of common sense. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @youcancallmebry

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