LENOIR, N.C. – You can put the fireworks away. The party celebrating the nation’s 250^th birthday is over.

Arise! November looms large. November 3 will determine if we even see our 251^st birthday, let alone 250 more.

The King has no clothes on. Deny it if you wish, but it does not change the fact. Indeed, his dwindling supporters know it. They bully and threaten me on social media. Most recently, my articles on Tony Deal’s new book, “But that’s not true” have led some to resort to ad hominen attacks, just as they’ve learned from their king.

That strategy is not going to hold up. The facts are not going unnoticed.

Such as: an illegal, genocidal and costly war; gas pricing soaring; the homeless suffering through record-breaking heat waves, droughts and ice storms caused by the climate crisis; man’s inhumanity to man on full display in our treatment of immigrants and other marginalized people; the middle class, unable to afford groceries, diapers, gasoline and rising energy costs is disappearing as quickly as affordable housing; the Supreme Court generally does the king’s bidding; politicians have hijacked religion, destroying its foundation of truth; farmers are unable to afford the cost of business due to tariffs; an unregulated energy sector is now free to ravage the environment to suit their bottom lines; and, the greatest threat of all are often successful efforts to disenfranchise voters.

Yet … good grief, we are an apathetic, complaining, downcast population of hand-wringing worrywarts. Our parents and grandparents did not raise us to be like this. At least mine did not. Well, my grandmothers were quite involved, though my grandfathers got up and ran during the Great Depression to cowardly disappear forever from our lives.

So, being a slacker is certainly not unique to our times, though it seems we’re on a mission to perfect it.

That is intolerable. I’m with my friend Tony. I’m going to spend a lot of time saying and writing, “But that’s not true” to the lying, self-serving politicians which dominate our governments at all levels.

I turned 70 in April. I do not presume I will turn 71, but I hope to. While I don’t control that, there are things I can do to help myself make it until next year. Despite what I see in the mirror, I arise and keep kicking, believing that is essential to seeing another birthday. And, to keep annoying the killjoys. You can’t let them get you down!

It’s time to arise! Our birthday party is over. Time to sober up, admit what we know is true, and do something about it.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2026.