COLUMN : Mark Caserta - By Every Standard, Huntington Is Ready for a Change in Leadership

Understand, this isn’t about compassion. Anyone with a heart cares about those bound by addiction, buried in poverty or impacted by crime. We are simply in deep disagreement as to how it should be addressed. And conservatives can certainly love people while not condoning their behavior.

This is in stark contrast to liberals, who have proven themselves incapable of this disciplined approach to life. They equate love with an unqualified acceptance of any lifestyle, regardless of the content. They prove it every time they lash out in disagreement immersed in hateful rhetoric.

I’m convinced the only way we are going to begin winning against the progressive movement is to do so at the local level. National change must begin with individual communities rising to the occasion and refusing to be overtaken by failing, enabling liberal policies.

And the citizens of Huntington are ready to make a change!

Several things must happen sequentially for our city to be returned to greatness. The first, arguably, is understanding the progressive movement and its modus operandi. It will be impossible to distinguish qualified leadership until we’re able to discern their heart and genuine intent. We must be able to hear beyond eloquent verbiage, which while “sweet to the ears”, is venomous to the body.

I’ve spent nearly two decades writing about the progressive movement and how it’s destroying our nation. And while it isn’t complicated, it is resilient. The progressive movement relies upon conservatives being either ignorant of the issues or disengaged from the solution. And frankly, they’ve been working diligently in the schools and in the media, to keep us that way.

And sadly, too often, we’ve accommodated them from the sidelines.

Liberals are in the business of creating controversy, very similar to how a pyromaniac starts a fire. First, they require some sort of accelerate to spark a flame. This is usually something by which they can trigger an emotional response by a segment of the population marinated in questionable behavior, usually outside of the Biblical values upon which our country was founded.

Once the flame of contention has been ignited, they are tenacious about “fanning the flame” by striving to be the voice heard above the fray. They understand that while many people in society lack engagement and knowledge about an issue, everyone has emotions. It’s the emotional response they seek to germinate in the soil of contrariety.

It’s a fact that people will respond more often to an emotional stimulation much more than to an intellectual one. Count on liberals to seize upon every opportunity to leverage “identity politics” to rally troops to the far left. They cannot win in the theater of ideas. Truth will never get in the way of a liberal.

Hence, the promulgation and success of the progressive movement.

There are timely examples of how liberals have used this technique. One example is how they’ve converted “illegal immigration” into an emotional issue about separating families at the border. Another would be how “abortion” is all about women’s health. Every time there is a shooting, liberals use emotions, rather than common sense, to suggest taking guns away from law abiding citizens will reduce gun crime. Still another would be how Christian conservatives “hate” the LGBTQ population simply because we don’t condone their behavior or give them additional “protected” status above and beyond the protections we are all allocated by the Constitution.

The list goes on and on.

Liberals have purchased and now “own” terms like “inclusion, acceptance or tolerance.” Sadly, with the complicity of the liberal media, Christian conservatives have allowed them to do so. With identity politics, they’ve also attempted to purchase African-Americans, woman, Hispanics, LGBTQ and illegal aliens.

The only segment of the population liberals have never been able to purchase is Christians.

The liberal infestation is never going to change on the national level, until states, cities and communities stand up against leaders hell-bent on inflicting their liberal policies at the local level.

I can’t think of a better city upon which to build this change than our own city of Huntington. We are better than this! But we’ll never succeed in our valiant efforts to return our city to greatness under the current leadership.

We must change leadership.

The empty recognition our city’s leadership has received for being at the “forefront” of the fight against opioid abuse is laughable, but it’s also very troubling. We keep doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.

Step outside your door and take off your blinders. Are things really getting better in the city of Huntington? Are their fewer drugs? Is there less crime? Are you making more money? Are you proud of your city? Anyone committed to intellectual honesty knows the answers.

Next steps? Turn the sound down on your television or be more discerning about what you hear. Use our local newspaper to line your bird cage. Begin relying on reliable sources for your information – but there aren’t many.

Beware of “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who outwardly appear sincere and forthright, but are inwardly laden with deception and greed. And people have become savvy to politicians who try to make themselves look better by attacking the opposition. They understand the effort is simply meant to invoke a vote “against” a candidate, versus a vote “for” themselves.

Tearing someone else down doesn’t increase one’s stature or integrity. People are so tired of political hypocrisy and personal attacks. They want to move on and support a better system.

And once you’ve gotten the facts, make sure your voice is heard above the fray. Be diligent, committed and prayerful in your actions.

We will make a difference this election. And as a unified community, we’ll keep it going.

Huntington will, once again, become “The Jewell City."