OPINION:
It’s the time of year when we ask ourselves what we are grateful for, what we got wrong and what we got right after being handed 12 fresh, unused months. For all of us, there are painful answers because what we got wrong has created humanitarian disasters here at home and abroad. What we are getting right is recognizing that we were bamboozled by a political establishment that remains focused on keeping us dazed and confused.
2022 is upon us. The political catastrophe of the 2020 presidential election and the resulting collapse of a coherent COVID-19 strategy have brought a great deal of self-reflection for all of us. We have learned the hard and deadly way that elections and leadership really do matter. The quality of our lives can change on a dime depending on the capabilities and intent of the people who hold the cards.
For Americans of all stripes, after believing it held such promise, 2021 ended up being another annus horribilis. But make no mistake: There are many things to be grateful for in 2021 that were realized from 2016-2020. No doubt to the rage and frustration of the feckless Democrats, we can be grateful that the policies and actions of former President Donald Trump were so strong and consequential they have kept the 2021 disaster from becoming our complete undoing.
We know American strength, safety and security are not just possible; the American spirit guarantees them as long as we have the right leadership. Mr. Trump didn’t just create a robust American economy; he created the best economy the world had ever known. He did this because it was the right thing to do and set people free.
It also happened to be exactly what we needed when COVID-19 struck. Can you imagine the conflagration had the pandemic struck with the current Biden economy and his farcical administration? Mr. Trump’s economic success gave us the security and power we needed to implement what only Mr. Trump could.
I’m grateful for “Operation Warp Speed,” which not only delivered vaccines within a year but also put into motion efforts to develop and distribute therapies and treatments. Securing our southern border enraged the Democrats, but it kept us even safer as the reality of the pandemic became apparent.
In many ways, slashing and burning this country with abandon was the Democrats’ way of “punishing” us for electing Mr. Trump. Once again, they were caught with their pants down, never stopping to think about the repercussions of their actions. What they’re doing hasn’t made us hate Mr. Trump. It reminds us why we elected him in the first place.
Causing such chaos with COVID-19, education, immigration, crime and the economy has been shocking in the immediate aftermath of the historic Trump era of prosperity and security. But it highlights exactly what is wrong with the Democrats: It’s not just their agenda; it’s their attitude and intention that are alarming, all of which are dumb, condescending and designed to fail.
The horror of the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal also is burned into our memory. Our 13 murdered troops, the hundreds of Americans abandoned, the thousands of allies left to the bloody paws of a terrorist gang can never be made right. It remains such a heinous event, a calamity consciously designed by the Biden administration and facilitated by decisions that shock the conscience.
And yet, as small consolation, can you imagine how much worse it would be had Mr. Trump not annihilated ISIS, dispatching monsters like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Qassem Soleimani? His actions have brought this nation and the world a bit more time to reflect on, mitigate and reverse the monumental disaster of the 2020 presidential election.
The optimism and success of the Trump years have kept tens of millions of Americans from completely giving up their belief that the best is yet to come. It is that renewed American spirit cultivated and perpetuated by Mr. Trump for four years and beyond that continues to keep good, hard-working Americans from throwing in the towel.
The good news is that Americans are making it clear that as 2021 comes to a close, we reject what the fringe extremists running this country have decided would be our fate. We deny them their cancerous agenda designed to have us hate ourselves and our neighbor.
One of the main reasons we can take this stand with an expectation that we will prevail brings me to another thing that I’m grateful for: the fact that Mr. Trump and his family have not abandoned us. Despite everything that the cancer of the establishment has done and continues to do to those great patriots, they have not surrendered. They remain steadfast and determined to save this country from a system that sees us as a noisy chattel.
Yes, we have much to be grateful for this year. Many did not survive and would give everything to be here, even with our troubles. Let us move forward in their names, excited to be here to fight and work another day. We will make 2022 a year where the malevolent are kicked to the curb, optimism, generosity and freedom return, and our national renewal begins again.
• Tammy Bruce, the author, host at Fox Nation and contributor at Fox News, is a radio talk-show host.