The blizzard of Executive Orders during the first month of the Biden administration always circle back to the same, telling question: How is that expected to work in reality?

The aspirational agenda of the Democrats is often high on rhetoric and short on details, which leads one to wonder how soon the grand designs of Progressive policy can be expected to tragically turn into a fiscal, economic, and societal train wreck of historic proportions.

For example, the nascent national energy policy of the Biden administration is a real concern to anyone who prefers to have heat, light, or a steady paycheck.  Restrictions already slapped on the development, transport, and use of fossil fuels are driving increases in costs to businesses and consumers while tightening energy supplies nationwide.  This will inevitably reduce disposable household income, discretionary consumer spending, and employment in many industries.

This is not much of a surprise.  Anyone with a bit of life and work experience quickly learns that pie-in-the-sky promises rarely work out quite the way their proponents claim they will.

The well-documented Democratic goal of rapidly—some might say precipitously—eliminating all gasoline vehicles seems oblivious to the practicalities involved with creating the electrical grid and generating capacities needed to power this revolution with only windmills and solar panels, which will clearly require yet another Presidential Executive Order that mandates unending sunshine and ceaseless windy days in order for any of this to have half of a hope of succeeding.  Moreover, the promised electrical storage technologies are still to be developed, there is a sadly finite supply of the rare minerals necessary to make this technology possible, and no one has yet to explain how we will dispose of mountains of incredibly toxic electronic waste on the back end of this “Green” energy push.

However, this still all sounds good to those who are ignorant of the incredible—and currently insurmountable—engineering challenges involved in making this Green Dream a reality.  Real life is far more complicated than a mirage posted on social media.

The Biden administration seems to have likewise decided that fantasy is preferable to reality regarding the very dangerous and competitive world that America occupies today.  Joe Biden’s stated desire to reduce tensions by making nice with Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran is a tragic mistake that will erode American power and influence around the globe.  

We are not living in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.  Our foes are well-armed, implacable enemies who are only too happy to take full advantage of our foolish unilateral surrenders.  If we are going back to the Obama-era policy of trading plane loads of cash for a temporary and illusory peace, we are setting ourselves up for unending and embarrassing extortion that will turn America into global patsies and laughingstocks.  

Trying to prove that you’re a tough guy by bombing the rubble in Syria isn’t going to fool anyone into thinking you’ll have a spine when true resolve in defense of our nation is needed.  The harsh reality is that acting tough and actually being tough are altogether different.

If we still entertain any illusion that Joe Biden and his team are a match for enemy nations and terrorist groups, it has been quickly dispelled by watching our new President be rolled by teacher unions over the question of reopening our nation’s public schools. Our children need to be back in the classroom for the sake of both their educations and mental health, yet we are still spinning in circles as yet another school semester in frittered away.  

Rather than take the necessary step of wielding his overworked pen to force teachers to do what police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, and even pizza delivery drivers have been doing every day over the past year—show up for work—President Biden is still kowtowing to the unionized Covid-19 ideologues who prefer that we cower in our homes and desperately haggle over the size of our next handout from the government.  

The same preference for ideology over reality that makes Joe Biden believe fossil fuels are unnecessary or being nice to your enemies will make them love you is driving the insane idea that harsh governmental restrictions that border on imprisonment can provide absolute protection from all harm.  

We live in a world where bumps and bruises (and often much worse) are a sad fact of life.  We need schools to be reopened, we need gas in our tanks, and we need a powerful and ready military.  We need to be bumping elbows in bars and restaurants, we need to be allowed to speak plainly and openly without fear of retribution, and we need to be able to go back into our workplaces to earn our livings.

Ideologues pretending to be our friends and protectors are destroying our nation.

Should anyone have practicable, inexpensive, and unobtrusive ideas for improving our beleaguered nation that do not require a new tax, the creation of yet more bureaucracy, or yet another regulation we likely don’t need, these are certainly worthy of our consideration—whether they come from a Democrat or a Republican.  However, if any new idea that purports to improve our lives or protect us from harm requires us to suspend our connection with reality and sing the praises of ideological idiocy, we should all exercise that most American of all rights—by simply extending our middle fingers with a smile.