Thanksgiving used to be the day America took a deep breath. Before the Christmas rush, before the end-of-year chaos, far from the noise of politics, we had one day carved out in the calendar to pause and give thanks. It was our national reset button. And if there is anything this country needs in 2025, more than another round of outrage or another podcast argument, it is a reset.
We complain about America more than ever. Some of that is healthy. Debate sharpens ideas. Debate is what the Founders built us for. But there is a difference between debating and despising, between improving and destroying. Somewhere along the way, the loudest voices in our culture stopped sharpening and started tearing down.
Look at the people we rely on for leadership and guidance. So many of them make a living by telling us what is wrong with America. They can recite every failure, every flaw, every imperfection. But ask them to explain what is still good here, what is worth defending, what deserves celebration, and the conversation suddenly dries up. Gratitude has become rare. Optimism has become suspicious. Thankfulness has become countercultural. All the while, hate has become the new business model.
But gratitude is the very thing that built this country.
You do not get rid of darkness by yelling at it. You get rid of darkness by turning on a light. The Pilgrims understood this. They buried half their community the first winter, but their instinct was thanksgiving. They held a feast not because everything was perfect, but because God had carried them through. Hardship did not cancel gratitude. Hardship grew it.
That spirit shaped every American generation that followed. Gratitude kept families together during the Great Depression. Gratitude sent young men to Europe and the Pacific to defeat tyranny. Gratitude hung flags on every porch after 9/11. Our nation has never been perfect, but it has always been grateful. That is why it endured.
And this is why our modern crisis is not simply political. It is spiritual. We have lost the ability to see the good in front of us.
Real conservative leadership builds instead of destroys. Conservatives build families, communities, churches, businesses, movements, and nations. And you cannot build without a foundation. America has the strongest foundation of any nation in history. The most durable constitution. The freest markets. The widest path for upward mobility. The broadest protection of religious liberty. And the revolutionary truth that our rights come from God, not government.
This deserves not just defense but celebration. Thanksgiving is our reminder that gratitude is not naïve. Gratitude is protective. Gratitude gives clarity. Gratitude strengthens the nation that embraces it.
We are eighteen months away from the 250th anniversary of the United States. Very few nations reach this milestone with their founding documents intact. Even fewer do so with the same core ideals. While other nations rewrote themselves or collapsed under their own weight, America remains. But instead of preparing for a national celebration, we have become experts in diagnosing flaws and blind to blessings. Critique has a place. But critique without gratitude becomes entitlement. Critique without perspective becomes narcissism. Critique without light becomes darkness.
Thanksgiving is the antidote. And it is time to remember the things we should be unapologetically thankful for.
America has the strongest military on earth.
America has the most charitable citizens in the world.
America is the number one destination for people seeking freedom.
America leads the planet in medical breakthroughs and cures.
America produces more food and more energy than any nation in history.
America sends more missionaries around the world than all other nations combined.
America is still the safest, freest, most opportunity-rich place to raise a family anywhere on earth.
The good news is that Americans still want gratitude more than gloom. The numbers prove it. Bible sales in the United States are up 11% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
Volunteerism has also rebounded after the pandemic slump. The latest Census Bureau report shows that 28.3% of Americans — about 75.7 million people — volunteered with organizations between September 2022 and September 2023, up from 23.2% in 2021.
Gallup finds that Americans are increasingly embracing larger families, with 45% now saying that three or more children is ideal, the highest number recorded since 1971. Even charitable giving is rising. Giving USA reports total donations grew to $592.5 billion in 2024, an increase of 5.5%.
All of this demonstrates that the country actually wants gratitude and generosity. The evidence is right there. We just have people in the way who profit from telling us the opposite.
This is why Thanksgiving matters now more than ever. It invites us to disconnect from the noise and reconnect with what is real. And maybe this is the reminder America needs most: you cannot break bread on social media. You cannot share a meal in a comment section. You cannot hug your family between Instagram stories. You cannot laugh until your stomach hurts while doomscrolling. Gratitude happens around real tables with real people.
This Thanksgiving, I’m going to break bread. Hug my family. Hold hands during grace. Tell stories. Let my kids stay up late. Laugh until the turkey comes up. Watch football with people I love. Build memories no algorithm can fake.
I encourage others to, for one day, return to the things that built this country, the things worth defending.
America is divided. Politics is exhausting. The culture feels chaotic. But Thanksgiving cuts through all of that. It brings us back to the basics. It reminds us that a nation built by grateful people will only be restored by grateful people.
So, take the day to give thanks, not just for your family or your blessings but for your country. For all our flaws, for all our disagreements, for all our imperfections, America is still the greatest story of human freedom ever written.
And gratitude might be the most patriotic act left in America today.
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast “We The People.” Follow him on Instagram and X @GatesGarciaFL.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Thanksgiving with family

Thanks And Giving: The American Virtues We Forgot

America

family

Politics

Thanksgiving

There was a time not so long ago when Americans debated ideas around dinner tables, not timelines. We wrestled with differences in living rooms, classrooms, and church halls. But now? We live in the age of &#8220;I don’t believe you. Prove me wrong.&#8221; The default mode of curious conversation has turned into combat.
Scroll through any comment section and you’ll see it: people don’t log on to learn, they log on to win. They enter digital arenas, not classrooms. Social media has turned intellectual inquiry into an Olympic sport of outrage where every disagreement demands a takedown, every nuance is flattened into a meme, and every opponent becomes an enemy. That shift—from curiosity to cynicism—is quietly dismantling the very foundation of a free society: Trust.
Once upon a time, conservatism—and really, American discourse as a whole—was built on questions. Our Founders argued fiercely, but the goal was understanding. Debate was an act of discovery, not destruction. “Teach me” was the posture of a citizen who loved truth more than tribe.
Today, that posture is rare. We’ve mistaken being informed for being inflexible. We say, “I’ve done my research,” but really mean “I’ve read five posts that agree with me.” We talk about “owning the libs” or “crushing the cons,” but what we’ve really destroyed is the middle ground where reason used to live. This new culture doesn’t seek understanding. Rather, it seeks affirmation. The tragedy is that the tools meant to connect us have been weaponized to divide us.
Let’s be honest: social media isn’t a modern-day marketplace of ideas. It’s a slot machine that rewards outrage. Every swipe and tap feeds a machine designed to give you more of what you already like. It’s not expanding your mind; it’s tightening your echo chamber.
As a capitalist, I have no problem with profit. Platforms are businesses, not ministries. Their product is attention—and they’ve mastered the art of keeping it. But when the free market of attention becomes the only market that matters, ideas become entertainment, and truth becomes whatever gets the most clicks. The algorithm doesn’t care if you’re right—it cares if you’re riled up. It feeds you more of what you think you want instead of what you might need. It’s like a spiritual diet of junk food: easy to consume, but hard on the soul.
And look, I get it. I have social media, too. (<a href="https://x.com/GatesGarciaFL">Please follow me</a> before I sound too self-righteous.) But it’s time we’re honest about what these platforms are and what they aren’t. They aren’t designed to elevate ideas; they’re designed to amplify emotion.
At 40 years old, I still remember what life looked like before all this—before the dopamine hits, before algorithms knew our habits better than our parents did. I remember when you actually had to call someone to argue about politics, when disagreement came with a voice, a tone, a relationship. But we’re now raising entire generations that only know a world filtered through social media. And the ramifications of that are enormous. Kids are learning to form their identities in front of an audience instead of within a family. They’re measuring truth in likes, not logic.
The answer, though, isn’t to abandon social media altogether. Like any tool, it can build or destroy depending on who’s holding it. Used well, it’s the most powerful communications platform in human history. It can spread truth faster than tyranny, unify movements for good, and give a voice to people long ignored by legacy media.
That’s the paradox of our age: we have the means to hold the world’s largest conversation, yet we’ve reduced it to a shouting match. Free markets are supposed to thrive on innovation and exchange, but our digital marketplace has become a monopoly of emotion. And that’s not capitalism. That’s chaos.
As conservatives, we should be leading the charge to reclaim these platforms for dialogue, not diatribe. Free speech is more than the right to speak. It’s the responsibility to listen. We should want social media to be the world’s public square, not its virtual food fight.
Imagine if, instead of “prove me wrong,” we started from “help me understand.” Imagine a culture where humility was a virtue again, not a weakness. That’s not naïve—it’s necessary.
Before social media, you couldn’t just parachute into a conversation armed with rage and a Wi-Fi connection. You had to engage face-to-face. There were natural filters: manners, context, tone. You couldn’t just drop a bomb and vanish into anonymity. Those days weren’t perfect, but our debates had weight. They demanded patience, presence, and perspective. Today, our political culture is built for the opposite. Speed over thought. Visibility over virtue. Snark over substance.
We used to shake hands after arguments. Now we block people. That’s not progress. That’s paralysis.
The challenge before us isn’t simply to win elections; it’s to win back curiosity. To remind a cynical culture that disagreement isn’t dangerous—it’s democratic and that the purpose of argument is not annihilation but illumination.
If conservatives want to shape the next generation, we have to model what it means to seek truth, not just victory. We can defend principles and still learn from people. We can hold convictions without closing our minds.
There’s nothing “soft” about humility. Jesus Himself—who held the ultimate truth—still asked questions, still taught through dialogue, still invited people to understand. Maybe that’s the model we need again.
So, here’s my modest proposal: the next time someone says something you disagree with online, try answering with, “I don’t understand, teach me.” It won’t always work. Some people will still argue in bad faith. But if enough of us adopt that posture, we might just start rebuilding the bridges that algorithms have burned.
Because at the end of the day, a nation built on freedom depends on the free exchange of ideas. Not just the loud ones. The honest ones.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go post this on social media. And please—prove me wrong by following me there.
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast We The People. Follow him on IG and X @GatesGarciaFL
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Social Media And Messaging Apps

From ‘Teach Me’ To ‘Prove Me Wrong’: How Social Media Killed Curiosity

Conservatives

Division

Free Speech

Freedom

Liberals

Social Media

If you want to know what the American spirit is, don’t ask a politician.
Ask the dad coaching Little League after a 10-hour workday. Ask the single mom who prays over the dinner table even when she’s not sure how she’ll pay the light bill. Ask the soldier who salutes a flag that too many in Washington now treat like a political prop instead of a sacred symbol.
The American spirit was never about government. It was about grit, grace, and the stubborn belief that no matter who you are or where you start, you can build a life rooted in faith, family, and freedom. It’s the heartbeat of a people who crossed oceans, tilled soil they didn’t own, and risked everything for the promise of something better.
Today, that spirit feels tested — maybe more than at any time in our lifetime. We live in a country where politics has become sport, truth has become optional, and too many Americans are told that our Founding ideals are relics of oppression rather than beacons of hope. Both parties have lost sight of who they work for. Both Democrats and Republicans “govern” like it’s a game or street fight. Somewhere between strategy and survival, the people get forgotten.
I’ll say this clearly: I love America. And when you love something, you’re expected to be critical of it. If you didn’t love your kids, you wouldn’t discipline them. Love doesn’t mean silence — it means wanting the best for what you hold dear. My criticism of America isn’t born of cynicism. It’s born of conviction that we can do better because we are better.
But here’s the thing: the American spirit isn’t dead. It’s just been buried under noise. And if you listen closely — past the headlines, the outrage, and the endless finger-pointing — you can still hear it.
I heard it at a Buccaneers game this past weekend. I was still in the concession area grabbing a beer when the national anthem began. Without anyone saying a word, the entire concourse stopped. Vendors, fans, security guards — everyone froze in place. Hats came off. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. For ninety seconds, the chaos of modern life went silent, and every person stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the direction of a flag they couldn’t even see. That’s the American spirit. Not something choreographed or forced, but something instinctive. Reverence that lives deep in the bones of ordinary people.
The American spirit is defiant and hopeful all at once. It’s rebellious in the best sense of the word. Our Founders didn’t wait for permission to pursue liberty — they acted on conviction. And they didn’t do it for fame or profit. They did it because they believed that human freedom was a divine calling, not a political gift. That belief came straight from Scripture: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” That’s not just a verse — it’s the origin story of the greatest nation on Earth.
Yet somewhere along the way, we traded that conviction for comfort. We let cynicism creep in. We started looking to politicians to fix what only character can. We looked to Washington for salvation when it should have started in our own homes, churches, and communities. We forgot that self-government begins with self-discipline.
When Alexis de Tocqueville came to America nearly two centuries ago, he was astonished not by our government but by our people — by their faith, their voluntary associations, their instinct to help neighbors before the state ever arrived. That’s what made America exceptional. Not that we were richer or smarter, but that we were moral and free.
Who needs to hear this? Honestly, everyone.
The young person taught that America is something to apologize for. The middle-aged voter who’s stopped believing that anything can change. The elected official who’s forgotten that public service is a trust, not a brand. And yes, even the conservative who’s become so jaded by corruption and media manipulation that they’ve forgotten hope is a weapon too.
We need to remember that pessimism never built anything worth keeping. Hope did. Faith did. The American spirit did.
If we can define that spirit, we can reclaim it. And reclaiming it starts with three things: we return to God, we rebuild the family, and we rediscover community.
No nation can sustain freedom without virtue, and no virtue survives long without faith. Our Founders knew this. John Adams said it plainly: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.” They didn’t separate church and state to erase faith from public life — they did it to protect the church from the state’s reach. Reclaiming the American spirit means bringing prayer back to dinner tables, courage back to pulpits, and humility back to our leaders.
Every cultural rot you can name — crime, addiction, confusion, despair — can be traced to the breakdown of the home. A strong nation begins with strong moms and dads who teach their children that life has purpose, that truth exists, and that love isn’t license — it’s responsibility. You can’t legislate that. You can only live it.
And the American spirit thrives in places Washington will never reach: small towns, ballfields, church pews, front porches. It’s where people still look each other in the eye and say, “How can I help?” instead of, “Who did you vote for?”
Reclaiming that isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about survival. Because when you know your neighbor, you’re less likely to hate him. When you serve your church, you’re less likely to feel hopeless. And when you live with purpose, you stop waiting for politicians to deliver meaning they were never meant to provide.
So yes, criticize the left for weaponizing victimhood. But don’t spare the right for losing moral courage. The problem isn’t just policy — it’s pride. It’s thinking we can restore the country through ballots alone without first reviving our souls.
The American spirit was born in defiance of tyranny, but it survived through obedience — to God, to conscience, to truth. It’s not red or blue — it’s red, white, and blue. And it belongs to anyone willing to live by the creed our Founders staked their lives on: that freedom is worth the fight, that virtue is worth the cost, and that faith is worth the ridicule.
We are not finished as a nation. We are being refined. And maybe that’s exactly what the American spirit has always been. Tested, but never broken; humbled, but never hopeless; faithful, even when the world mocks the faith itself.
As we stand on the eve of America’s 250th birthday, let’s take that spirit seriously. We’re a ways removed from the fireworks and speeches of July 4th, but those celebrations will come soon enough. The question is: what kind of country will we be when that day arrives? Let’s make sure that when America turns 250, she’s not limping into it — she’s standing tall, proud, and faithful. Let’s be in the best spiritual, cultural, and moral shape we’ve ever been. That would be the greatest gift we could give to the generations who will inherit her next.
Our anthem says it best: “The land of the free and the home of the brave.” Not the land of the perfect. Not the home of the comfortable. But of the brave — the men and women who choose hope over hate, sacrifice over cynicism, and God over government.
That’s the American spirit. And it’s still alive.
You just have to look around.
Because it’s us.
It’s We the People.
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast “We The People.” Follow him on Instagram and X @GatesGarciaFL.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Crucifix and American flag at garage

Want To Understand The American Spirit? Don’t Ask A Politician.

Baseball

Family Values

Founding Fathers

Fourth of July

At Charlie Kirk’s memorial, his widow, Erika, in front of the world, bearing the weight of a grief most of us can’t imagine, spoke the hardest three words anyone could utter in that moment: “I forgive you.”
Those words weren’t just about her husband’s killer. They were a rebuke to the spirit of the age. They were a declaration of something higher than politics, bigger than partisanship, deeper than revenge.
As C.S. Lewis wrote in “Mere Christianity,” “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” Erika Kirk had something to forgive — the unthinkable — and she chose to do so. That choice will echo long after the headlines fade.
Our society doesn’t celebrate forgiveness. We celebrate rage, retaliation, and resentment. We celebrate scoring points. Forgiveness takes points away.
Just look at the reaction from many on the left after Charlie’s death. Instead of pausing to reflect on the horror of a political assassination, some mocked him, dismissed him, even sneered that he “had it coming.” Now hold those words up against Erika’s: “I forgive you.” On one side, contempt for the dead. On the other, mercy for the murderer. Which one sounds like the path forward for a country in desperate need of healing?
Forgiveness is not weakness. It is a strength.
The natural instinct is vengeance. The natural instinct is bitterness. Forgiveness requires something supernatural. Forgiveness requires faith. That’s why Erika’s words are not just personal — they’re political in the truest sense. They point to how we can live together as a nation again. Without forgiveness, politics becomes a blood feud. Without forgiveness, every wrong is permanent, every scar is eternal, every offense is a weapon.
Make no mistake: forgiving Charlie’s killer doesn’t mean excusing him. He should face the fullest penalty the law allows. But what Erika modeled is something far greater than the courtroom can deliver. She showed that even in tragedy, there is a higher way.
And we should be honest with ourselves: could we have done what she did? Could we look at the person who took everything from us and speak of forgiveness? I’ll be the first to admit I would certainly struggle with it. Most of us struggle to forgive petty slights — an insult on social media, a betrayal at work, a family dispute. Erika forgave murder. That should stop us in our tracks. It should prompt us to reconsider how shallow our own grudges appear in the light of her example.
Here’s a challenge: if Erika can forgive the murderer of her husband, imagine what we can forgive. A friend who wronged us. A sibling we no longer speak to. A co-worker who let us down. A neighbor we’ve written off. Maybe even someone we got in a political argument with? Literally anything. What if her act of forgiveness became a call for each of us to pick one person in our lives and extend the same? What if every American chose just one person to forgive this week? The overnight impact on our country would be seismic. Family bonds restored. Friendships repaired. Communities healed. The culture itself shifted from one of resentment to one of reconciliation.
Forgiveness is not just a private virtue; it’s a public necessity. Families fall apart without it. Churches crumble without it. Nations collapse without it. Conservatism, at its heart, is about conserving what is good, true, and beautiful — and none of that can survive in a culture that cannot forgive.
That’s why I believe Erika’s words will be remembered as the most important of 2025. Not a line from the State of the Union, not a slogan from a campaign rally, not a soundbite on cable news. But a widow, standing in the ruins of her family’s life, saying: “I forgive you.”
History may record Charlie’s work, his speeches, his debates, and his books. But it may well be that his greatest legacy comes through his wife’s example — an act of forgiveness that shines brighter than the hatred aimed at him in life and in death.
If we truly want to honor him, that’s the challenge we must take up ourselves. To forgive those who slander us, those who oppose us, even those who despise us. Not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. Without it, we cannot heal. Without it, we cannot endure.
Three impossible words. Three unforgettable words. Three words that may just save us: “I forgive you.”
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast “We The People.” Follow him on Instagram and X @GatesGarciaFL.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-KIRK-SHOOTING

The Most Important Words Of 2025: ‘I Forgive You’

Charlie Kirk

Murder

Turning Point USA

So, now what?
In the days since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, flags have been lowered, a suspect apprehended, and a grieving widow has bravely addressed the nation.
But again I ask, now what?
We have proven that as a people, we can kill one another. But how long must we wait until it’s proven we can heal each other&#8217;s hearts?
As enticing as it may be to fight fire with fire, taking up arms in rage would prove just as meaningless and ineffective as sitting back and doing nothing. Neither action matches the high moral standards of the man who was murdered.
I did not know Charlie personally, nor are my beliefs necessarily influenced by his own. Nevertheless, this week, I wept. Wept in a way I likely would not have had his death been the result of an illness or accident, because these tears were more than the reaction to a loss of life — they were the recognition that, for a moment, evil had triumphed over good.
Though malevolence is the price we pay for free will, fortunately, evil of this nature never wins. The gunman’s rifle did not backfire, but his nefarious plan, whatever it was, certainly will. The number of Charlie Kirks this action created is beyond measure.
Words seem so hollow now, but we must not underestimate their effect when compounded. The desired change begins in the heart, expands to the family, and then spreads to the community. Only after these three pillars are fortified will our nation persevere.
While we continue to grieve, and ask more questions than we have answers to, one thought draws comfort: knowing that God’s wisdom and His ways are infinitely higher than our own.
As painful as it is to think of a widowed wife and two fatherless children, as revolting as it is to see so many celebrate this heinous act of wickedness, we must remember, death for a Christian simply means a change of address, and Charlie’s new address is a permanent home the likes of which we can barely comprehend.
May God bless Charlie Kirk, his legacy, and the family he leaves with us here on Earth.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION

Charlie Kirk Is Gone. Where Do We Go From Here?

Today is September 11. And in our house, we’re going to talk about it.
Not because it’s easy. Not because I like reliving it. But because I don’t want my kids to grow up as part of a generation that doesn’t know what 9/11 was, how it changed America, and what Americans did the very next day. Too many of their peers were not alive when it happened. For them, 9/11 is a date in a history book, not a memory. That cannot be enough.
So, we talk about it. Because if you don’t understand 9/11, you can’t understand 9/12. And 9/12 may be the most important lesson I can pass on to them.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked by Islamic terrorists. Two were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City. One struck the Pentagon. Another, thanks to the courage of everyday Americans on United Flight 93, crashed into a Pennsylvania field before it could hit the U.S. Capitol. Nearly 3,000 Americans were killed in just a few hours. They were moms and dads, office workers and firefighters, cops and soldiers, priests and business travelers — ordinary people who never came home.
I was in high school that morning. We watched the towers fall on classroom televisions. We were kids at the start of the day, but by the time the final bell rang, we were something else — patriots.
9/11 called an entire generation to grow up overnight. So many of my peers walked out of those classrooms and into recruiting stations. They became Marines, soldiers, cops, and first responders because the attack demanded it. The service members and veterans we thank today? So many of them answered the call that 9/11 put in their hearts.
But my kids’ generation didn’t live through that change. They don’t remember a time when you could walk straight to the gate at the airport, or enter a football game without passing through metal detectors. They don’t know what it was like to carry a bottle of water or a pocket knife in your bag without having it confiscated. To them, the TSA line is normal. Bag checks are normal. “Clear backpacks only” is normal. They don’t know those small freedoms that were taken from them on that day.
So yes, 9/11 gave us a wave of patriotism, but it also reshaped everyday American life. Both things matter. Both are worth remembering.
But here’s why I really want my kids to know the story: because of what happened the next day.
On September 12, America woke up a different nation. Flags went up on porches and front yards. Blood drives stretched around the block. Churches overflowed. Neighbors checked on neighbors. Members of Congress stood shoulder to shoulder on the Capitol steps and sang “God Bless America.”
On September 12, we remembered what it meant to be one nation, under God, indivisible. We were no longer just individuals living separate lives — we were a people united by grief, courage, and conviction. That unity didn’t erase the loss, but it gave us the strength to carry it.
That’s the America I want my kids to know. Not the horror of 9/11, but the spirit of 9/12. A spirit that says when evil strikes, we don’t crumble — we come together. We sacrifice. We pray. We rebuild.
And this is where I speak not just to my kids, but to every young American who wasn’t alive on that day: don’t miss the lesson of 9/12. A moment where we put country above party, neighbors above politics, faith above fear. Right now, too many young people know hashtags more than history, outrage more than patriotism, division more than devotion. We need to show them what unity looks like — not just in times of tragedy, but in the everyday life of a free people.
That’s why we remember. Forgetting dishonors the dead. Forgetting risks repeating history. Forgetting blinds us to what true courage and unity look like.
The heroes of 9/11 weren’t only those in uniform. They were firefighters who climbed the towers, passengers on Flight 93 who stormed the cockpit, cops who ran toward danger, priests who prayed with the dying, and ordinary citizens who found extraordinary strength. That’s the America my kids need to see. That’s the America worth passing on.
So how do we live like 9/11 still matters? We start at home. We teach our kids that freedom isn’t free, that evil exists and must be confronted, that courage is contagious, and that sacrifice is noble. We live it in our communities — by showing up, by serving, by choosing unity over division. And we live it in faith. After 9/11, churches were full because people knew God was bigger than the rubble, stronger than the fear, and the only true source of peace. That hasn’t changed. Our families still need Him. Our country still needs Him.
Why haven’t we had another 9/11? There are complicated answers — yes, our military and intelligence have grown stronger, yes, we built defenses. But the deeper reason is that the world saw what happens when America is attacked: we wake up, we fight back, and we do not forget. The terrorists wanted to break us. Instead, they revealed our strength. They underestimated the American spirit — the same spirit that stormed Normandy, landed on the moon, and rebuilt after Pearl Harbor.
That’s what I want my kids to understand. That remembering 9/11 isn’t about clinging to grief — it’s about carrying forward courage. It’s about being the kind of American who runs toward the fire, who checks on their neighbor, who raises the flag without shame.
Never forget. Not just the terror of 9/11, but the unity of 9/12. That’s the legacy worth passing on. That’s the America worth teaching to our children.
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast “We The People.” Follow him on Instagram and X @GatesGarciaFL.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

9/11 Tribute

Why I’m Teaching My Kids About The Spirit Of 9/12

9/11

Gen Z

Patriotism

Like many of you, I’m exhausted by the endless cycle of outrage.
Every viral clip is designed to shock us, every headline crafted to rile us up. We spend our days reacting to the brokenness of the world instead of daring to imagine something better. Caught in this endless cycle of reaction, we think we’re fighting the good fight. But we’re not. Reaction is not a strategy, it’s a stall.
Giving in to the rage is not enough to save Western civilization. If we really care about preserving what’s good and true and beautiful in the West, then the work can’t stop at identifying what’s wrong. We have to start creating what’s right. And that responsibility doesn’t only belong to content creators online. It belongs to every single one of us, wherever we are, with whatever influence God has entrusted to us.
We don’t need more rage. We need builders.
The Left understands this. Some six decades ago, the American Communist Party wrote a terrifying long-term playbook for cultural change, and Leftists have worked tirelessly to implement it ever since. That’s why we find ourselves here today, in a society that calls good evil and evil good.
The other side may have gotten a head start. But we still have time to write a different story. Doing so will require ordinary people like you and me to courageously decide to live differently from those who came before us.
That begins with what I like to call quiet acts of courage. These aren’t the kind of moments that will make headlines or go viral on TikTok, but the kind of decisions that ripple outward and change the world.
It’s raising your hand in class when your professor spreads propaganda and calmly offering the truth. It’s choosing to go to church on Sunday morning when the culture tells you faith is outdated and pointless. It’s daring to actually fall in love, commit to marriage, and start a family in an age that glorifies hookup culture and selfishness. It’s choosing to seek out real sources of truth online instead of letting yourself be spoon-fed the easy and ever-present propaganda of mainstream media.
Each of these decisions may seem small, but together, they can be revolutionary. They chip away at the lies holding our society hostage. They model for the next generation what it looks like to live with integrity and courage. And collectively, they create a culture worth defending.
That’s where I hope the Isabel Brown Show comes in.
I will always call out evil for what it is. But this show, and this community we’re building together, is about something more than rage or reaction. It’s about sketching a blueprint for a new American Dream — one rooted in faith, family, and truth — that we can pass on with pride.
So, here’s my challenge to you: stop letting the worst people set the agenda. Start living as though your choices matter — because they do.
Let’s go on offense, with quiet acts of courage that will echo for generations. Together, we’ll create a new American Dream.

IB Flag Image

Is The American Dream Dead?

Communism

Isabel Brown

Marriage

For so many Americans, Cracker Barrel is a convenient and consistent place to go for hearty meals, kitschy decor, and Southern hospitality. That is, until this week, when one trend-chasing executive decided to greenlight a logo revision, unleashing a backlash across the nation.
Cracker Barrel, <a href="https://investor.crackerbarrel.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cracker-barrel-says-goodbye-founder-dan-w-evins">founded</a> in 1969 by the late Dan Evins, came to symbolize American heritage. The original logo of an elderly gentleman sitting on a chair while leaning against a barrel epitomized that heritage. By removing the nostalgic imagery, the company seemingly put the final nail in the coffin of a treasured piece of Americana.
When current CEO Julie Felss Masino — who previously served as president of Mattel and Taco Bell — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cracker-barrel-blasted-for-rebrand-that-scraps-beloved-logo-crime-against-humanity">announced</a> the logo change, she explained that her goal was to get Cracker Barrel out of people’s “<a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/cracker-barrel-ceo-julie-felss-masino-new-logo-controversy-what-know">rearview mirror</a>” and to &#8220;make sure that it was something that really resonates with everybody of today and for tomorrow.&#8221; On paper, that may seem like a good idea, especially as the company is facing declining sales and trying to appeal to a younger demographic. In practice, it’s been an absolute disaster that has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cracker-barrel-cbrl-stock-down-200-million-loss-new-logo-change/">cost the company $100 million</a> in market value after the rebrand. 
It would be too easy to chalk up Cracker Barrel’s mistake as just another company gone woke. But the truth seems to be more complicated than that. As Andrew Beck, founding partner of brand consultancy <a href="https://beckandstone.com/about/">Beck &amp; Stone</a>, said during an email interview with The Daily Wire, Masino’s flub was likely the result of heeding bad advice. 
“She clearly values the brand and the customer’s feelings about it,” he said. “I do not think her insights are wrong—but I highly suspect the ‘outside help’ she describes as being brought in advised her team to turn left to ‘modern’ instead of right to ‘nostalgia’ at the fork in the road that every company must: what do we keep, what do we kick?”
Beck added, “It takes deep cultural understanding and tactical skill to actualize such an insight, and when I see who was tasked with the redesign—the firm ‘Prophet’—who tattoos their progressive cultural values on their sleeve, I just can’t see them sharing the Cracker Barrel cultural context enough to execute Julie’s vision skillfully.”
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That disconnect is not unique to Cracker Barrel. In fact, it fits a growing pattern. Companies chasing sleek, modern branding often leave their loyal customer bases behind. It’s enough to inspire eye rolls whenever a company strips its logo of personality to introduce a slick, minimalist iteration that&#8217;s easily lost amongst a sea of similar corporate logos.
“It is a byproduct of a general decline of the customer experience in the Western world for these middle market service companies,” Beck explained. “These rebrands are meant to signal a positive change, but because of the lack of imagination and ingenuity on the part of their consultants who are supposed to be ‘experts’ on these matters, the sanitized, sterile aesthetics of their environments and communications become reminders to the customer that the company’s better days are behind it.”
This is especially true for a brand like Cracker Barrel, whose entire identity is built on nostalgia and authenticity. Strip those away, and what remains? 
“As I tell our corporate [clients] with legacy American brands. ‘Be who you are. If you are American, be American.’ Problems arise when those being relied on to advise the company do not value their client’s heritage,” Beck said. “Often these are folks who come in and want to impose their own vision on a brand, rather than taking up the company’s historic values as their own. It is difficult to not see ideological influence in these decisions,” the strategist said.
For longtime employees, the decline has been obvious. Erik Russell worked for nearly a decade at Cracker Barrel. He says he did every job in the restaurant and even met his wife there. To him, it was more than just a place to work, and he said the customers felt the same way. 
“Cracker Barrel was more than a restaurant to them, it was home. A place where they felt they still belonged, even as the world changed around them,” Russell <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1958602832111685663">told</a> media personality Benny Johnson in an interview.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
EXCLUSIVE: Cracker Barrel Insider Breaks Silence on the Woke Destruction of an American Institution
Erik Russell spent nearly 10 years working at Cracker Barrel. He’s done every job in the restaurant. Erik even met his wife there. To Erik, Cracker Barrel was a place where… <a href="https://t.co/YDolLTs3dW">pic.twitter.com/YDolLTs3dW</a>
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1958602832111685663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
But Russell says the business he once loved unraveled after leadership changes. He described how small changes added up to something big, like when brown menus were replaced, uniforms got more relaxed, and alcohol was introduced despite the founders’ conviction that staying dry preserved the family atmosphere. 
“The logo and store redesign is simply the last step in total brand destruction by corporate vandals who seemed to despise the Cracker Barrel core culture,” Erik said.
He said the antiques on the wall were once curated from estate sales to reflect real Americana, but the remodeled stores are using generic reproductions instead. 
“I felt like I was part of something truly American, full of nostalgia and tradition. Now all of that’s being torn down and replaced with just another bland, soulless corporate chain,” he said.
That sense of loss goes beyond new décor. It’s about what Cracker Barrel symbolized for countless Americans. “Cracker Barrel built up decades of goodwill across the country,&#8221; Russell continued. &#8220;We often referred to ourselves as ‘America’s front porch’ after the iconic long storefront filled with rocking chairs and checkerboards where guests would wait to be seated. Each store I worked in felt slightly different, a reflection of their communities.”
For Beck, the lesson here is for businesses not to confuse modernity with progress. “All management is change management. A business must deal with change constantly. What is valuable and what is not? Misidentifying those value propositions, often because of a cultural blindspot on the part of brand ‘experts’ is often at the heart of the failure to manage change,” he said.
When asked if he thinks Cracker Barrel is having a “Bud Light moment,” Beck disagreed, saying the better comparison is Jaguar. 
The legacy car brand recently rebranded with an ultra-modern, futuristic aesthetic and was mocked mercilessly for it. 
“Bud Light became a meme based on a single can,” he said. “The larger business itself was strong and remains so. Jaguar was a disaster from a business POV. A struggling company with a storied brand but neglected product going through big changes jumping the shark, sealing a fate that was not inevitable, rather than changing it.”
“I fear this is another Jaguar unless there is a course correction on the aesthetics and communications across the board,” Beck said. “Right now it is only confirming what the customer base already feared was happening, not exciting them at the prospect of a revived product. I have high hopes that Julie Masino, who has a good relationship with her board, sees this and will do what needs to be done.”
For now, the “America’s front porch” that Erik loved looks more like just another franchise trying to appease consultants instead of remaining a place where families gather to make memories. The food is different, the atmosphere sterile, and the iconic logo is gone. 
What made Cracker Barrel special is slipping away, and the backlash from customers is proof. The irony is that in desperately trying to get out of America’s “rearview mirror,” Cracker Barrel may have veered straight into a ditch.

Cracker Barrel Redesigns Its Logo

Cracker Barrel Didn’t Go Woke With Its Rebrand, They Were Conned By ‘Experts.’

Cracker Barrel Didn’t Go Woke. They Got Conned By ‘Experts.’

Americana

Bud Light

Cracker Barrel

Jaguar

Woke Culture

Late last month, President Donald Trump signed <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/presidents-council-on-sports-fitness-and-nutrition-and-the-reesetablishment-of-the-presidential-fitness-test/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an executive order</a> re-establishing a program that some people remember fondly, others not so fondly: the Presidential Fitness Test.
According to the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/07/fact-sheet-presidents-council-on-sports-fitness-and-nutrition-and-the-reestablishment-of-the-presidential-fitness-test/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a>, the order directs the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition “to create school-based programs that reward excellence in physical education and develop criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award,” and further “reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test, which shall be administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.”
The order caused some minor controversy, particularly among those for whom, as the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/well/trump-presidential-fitness-test.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>, the test’s resurrection “revives painful memories.” But the order also occasions reflection on the role of physical fitness in the education of an American citizen.
Those who most openly speak of fitness and politics today are often part of the New Right’s “vitalist” movement, engaging with the works of Bronze Age Pervert and other internet “anons” with statue profile pictures.
But there is no reason these <a href="http://americanmind.org/salvo/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-pajama-boy-nietzscheans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“pajama-boy Nietzscheans”</a> need to monopolize the conversation. Amid an ongoing national conversation around civic education for citizenship in the American republic, there are plentiful resources from the classical and American traditions to help us recover the place of fitness in education.
Those who read the history of political and philosophical thought on education today are likely to be struck by the strong and repeated emphasis on physical education. Plato’s Republic famously outlines a program of education in both “gymnastic” and “music,” that is, both physical and intellectual arts. Aristotle praises the Greek city-states for providing for the physical education of their young men in state-sponsored gymnasiums.
Another example of this emphasis on physical education comes from Xenophon, in a section often <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/quotes/comments/3i4xkg/it_is_a_shame_for_a_man_to_grow_old_without/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quoted loosely</a> among fitness influencers. In his Memorabilia, Xenophon portrays Socrates going about his life in Athens, questioning his fellow citizens in short dialogues.
In one memorable portion, Socrates confronts his friend Epigenes, accusing him of being an “amateur” in physical matters — that is, Epigenes has grown pudgy. Epigenes defends himself by saying that he is an amateur; that is, he is not an athlete preparing to compete in the Olympics or any other competition, so he has no calling to physical excellence.
Socrates’ rebuttal to Epigenes takes two distinct approaches. The first is one that we might call civic or republican: Socrates asks Epigenes if he will be physically ready to fight, should Athens be invaded. Here, Epigenes is asked to feel shame at the possibility that he could not protect his homeland and his fellow citizens because of his physical condition.
But the second part of Socrates’ argument is more democratic. Instead of appealing to the duties of a citizen, Socrates argues that being physically fit is just good for an individual. Whether someone is pursuing hobbies or work, intellectual or physical activity, having a body in good shape rather than poor shape is an aid.
This argument is not just a historical curiosity, relevant only for those under threat of invasion in premodern city-states. Being physically fit is both good for those who might need to do the physical duties of citizenship, including military service, and good for those who engage in quite literally any other activity.
In American history, we can see similar threads of the civic and the individualistic concerns around physical fitness. Thomas Jefferson, for example, regularly praised and engaged in moderate physical activity, <a href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-08-02-0319" target="_blank" rel="noopener">encouraging</a> his nephew Peter Carr to devote two hours each day to exercise, “for health must not be sacrificed to learning.”
Benjamin Franklin <a href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-03-02-0166" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offered his own endorsement</a> in his “Proposals Relating to the Education of the Youth in Pennsylvania,” suggesting “That to keep [the young] in Health, and to strengthen and render active their Bodies, they be frequently exercis’d in Running, Leaping, Wrestling, and Swimming, &amp;c.”
It may be that the hardy, challenging life in the early American republic encouraged a level of general fitness. But as time marched on and economic circumstances changed, Americans grew more sedentary and less fit as a baseline. President Theodore Roosevelt confronted this in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strenuous-President-Theodore-Roosevelt-American/dp/1635766125" target="_blank" rel="noopener">very intentional efforts</a> to publicly encourage physical fitness.
In the wake of the Korean War, military officials raised concerns about the poor fitness of those drafted into service. Scientific studies published around that time reflected poorly on the physical state of young people in America and around the world.
In response to these concerns, President Dwight D. Eisenhower <a href="https://odphp.health.gov/pcsfn/history-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, &amp; Nutrition in 1956, the body that later administered the famed Presidential Fitness Test. This test was used as both a measuring tool and an aspiration, later introducing an award for the highest performers in certain physical feats.
Over time, the fitness test itself was democratized, with marketing under the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations aimed at encouraging students to engage in at least some level of physical activity every day and providing awards for consistency rather than excellence. Eventually, the award for excellence was completely excised, and the leveling of the program was complete.
The efforts to democratize fitness among the young have at the very least been unable to keep up with a rising tide of obesity. In other words, while the lowered standards of the fitness test may not be causally to blame for decreasing fitness and increasing fatness, the efforts to get more children more engaged in physical activity at some bare minimum level have not been effective at encouraging or maintaining fitness.
But the concern of those who have historically championed physical education as a crucial component of a complete curriculum is not with bare fitness itself, but rather with the virtues inculcated in those who participate in physical activities, especially competitive and cooperative sporting events.
As an example, take a 1941 <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30186807" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> in The Clearing House, “Physical Education: Opportunity for Teaching Citizenship,” wherein a school principal reports on an observation of a gym class and a conversation between a gym teacher, history teacher, and their supervisor.
In the gym class, the young boys were given a ball and left to their own devices. In time, they formed teams, developed rules, and began playing a quite successful game, even refereeing their own violations of the rules. This, the gym teacher explains, is designed to teach civic virtues of leadership, cooperation, rule-following negotiation, and more. The history teacher and the gym teacher come to agree that truthfully, they aim at the same thing in their respective classrooms: forming good citizens with virtues that will fit them for that citizenship.
Things have changed. The author of a <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/42744102" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2006 study</a> of contemporary physical education proudly announces that older, competitive games have been replaced with more cooperative games that teach virtues including “honesty, kindness, generosity, freedom, equality, and respect.” Lost in this list are those virtues distinctly physical, martial, or civic.
Similarly, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee recently reported on a “listening session” with physical education “experts,” noting that “throughout the session, there was an overarching focus on equity.” Calls for excellence seem to have been replaced with calls for equity without clearly discernable benefits to physical fitness.
This is not to naively glorify all forms of older, more “traditional” physical education. Undoubtedly the gym classes of the mid-20th century left much to be desired. It is, however, to say that there is room to consider how we can call democratic citizens to physical excellence, and the past gives us ample examples for study.
In engaging in “discourse” around the topic of fitness, one risks falling into step with a host of loud public voices making quite different sorts of arguments. But those engaged in the education of the young need not abandon the topic of physical excellence to the vitalists and “Perverts” who have claimed it.
The tradition that gave rise to the American republic, the tradition within which students will be educated should they be given what can properly be called a “civic education,” gives grounds to call young people to physical excellence as a democratic virtue. Such a project would require reform at both the intellectual and curricular level, first in thinking anew of the purpose and place of physical education within a broader educational project, then in restructuring what sort of physical education is offered in service of those aims.
Philip D. Bunn is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, where he teaches political theory and American politics.
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The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Jumping Jacks

Reviving The Presidential Fitness Test Will Help Shape Better Citizens

Donald Trump

Education

Elementary Schools

Gymnastics

Joey Chestnut, the world-famous hot dog eating champion, returns to the Nathan&#8217;s Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition after taking a year off — and is expected to dominate once again.
Chestnut, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hot-dog-legend-joey-chestnut-signs-with-vegan-brand-gets-booted-from-july-4th-competition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">booted</a> from last year&#8217;s July 4 competition after taking a deal with fake meat company Impossible Foods, announced his return last month.
&#8220;I&#8217;m thrilled to be returning to the Nathan&#8217;s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,&#8221; Chestnut <a href="https://x.com/joeyjaws/status/1934612017052336469" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;This event means the world to me. It&#8217;s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life.&#8221;
Although Chestnut did not compete in Nathan&#8217;s 2024 competition, he still holds 55 world records for various eating competitions. According to <a href="https://majorleagueeating.com/eaters/106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Major League Eating,</a> the moderating body behind the hot dog eating contest, Chestnut also holds records for eating 121 Twinkies in six minutes, 390 shrimp wontons in eight minutes, and, of course, 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Chestnut has earned the &#8220;Mustard Belt&#8221; 16 times since 2008, the most anyone has ever won. He holds a strong lead over the competitor with the next highest number of wins, Takeru Kobayashi, who earned six belts before retiring due to health concerns.
Major League Eating <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hot-dog-legend-joey-chestnut-signs-with-vegan-brand-gets-booted-from-july-4th-competition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> Chestnut from the Nathan&#8217;s Famous competition last year after he signed a deal with Impossible Foods, a Nathan&#8217;s competitor.
In a <a href="https://x.com/eatingcontest/status/1800607390636875792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1800607390636875792%7Ctwgr%5Ec0d98868a70172f80ffb323be440b5ea4f586a0d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fhot-dog-legend-joey-chestnut-signs-with-vegan-brand-gets-booted-from-july-4th-competition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> last year on X, the group said, &#8220;We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan&#8217;s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.&#8221;
During his hiatus from Nathan&#8217;s Famous competition, Chestnut set the <a href="https://x.com/joeyjaws/status/1916645992176173327" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record</a> for the most Buffalo Wild Wings eaten in one sitting, consuming 14.4 pounds of wings.
Patrick Bertoletti, who won last year&#8217;s competition with 58 hot dogs, has expressed his concern over Chestnut&#8217;s return. In an <a href="https://www.sportsbookreview.com/picks/more-sports/patrick-bertoletti-interview-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-2025/?utm_content=336287137&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;hss_channel=tw-174346152" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Sportsbook Review, Bertoletti said, “I want to do better so that I can silence [Chestnut].&#8221;
&#8220;My goal the whole time was to do better than last year, and that&#8217;s always been the case,&#8221; Bertoletti said. &#8220;If Joey&#8217;s not there, then I have a very good shot of winning if I do that. And now that Joey is going, it&#8217;s the same thing.&#8221;
Major League Eating celebrated his return to the Nathan&#8217;s Famous competition by <a href="https://x.com/eatingcontest/status/1940470661396259297" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, &#8220;He&#8217;s back. The legend. The GOAT. Joey Chestnut. Watch him dominate once again at the Nathan&#8217;s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. You don&#8217;t want to miss this.&#8221;
The winner of today&#8217;s competition will take home $10,000. The runner-up will receive $5,000, and third place wins $2,500.
Online prediction market Polymarket already has a few bets on the competition live. Fans have given Chestnut about a 90% chance of <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-winner/will-joey-chestnut-win-the-2025-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">winning</a>. They are also more divided on how many hot dogs Chestnut will eat, with most <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/will-the-76-hot-dog-record-be-broken-on-july-4-172" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doubting</a> he will beat his own record.

Joey Chestnut Visits “The Claman Countdown”

Joey Chestnut Returns To Coney Island, Expected To Dominate Hot Dog Eating Contest

Declaration of Independence

meat

Let’s be real: most of us aren’t crossing the Delaware this 4th of July. We’re crossing the backyard in flip-flops to open the cooler. And that’s fine. That’s American, even. But while we’re manning the grill and dodging bottle rockets, we’d do well to remember: this day isn’t just about fireworks and flag-themed cupcakes. It’s about something far rarer — and far more worth preserving.
Because America didn’t just happen. It was made — and paid for.
Two hundred and forty-nine years ago, a bunch of men in powdered wigs looked at the most powerful empire on Earth and said, “Nah—we’re going to try something different. Hold my beer.” They didn’t tweet about tyranny. They fought it. They signed their names on a document that would’ve earned them a hangman’s rope had things gone south. And then they backed it up — starving, freezing, bleeding, and winning, so that one day you and I could argue over gas prices and post pics on Instagram.
They weren’t fighting for tax credits or better trade deals. They were fighting for the radical belief that our rights come from God, not government. And they risked everything for it.
We, by comparison, are just risking the brisket.
But maybe that’s the point. You don’t have to be Washington at Valley Forge to honor the Spirit of ’76. You just have to be intentional. You just have to remember.
Because the truth is, most Americans today couldn’t name five Founders. Some think the Revolutionary War was a Marvel spinoff. And every summer, like clockwork, the usual suspects try to reduce the Founding to a footnote in oppression — something to apologize for, not admire.
But the American Founding wasn’t a mistake. It was a miracle. Were the Founders flawed men? Sure. We all are. But the system they built — this Constitutional Republic grounded in natural rights and self-government — is still the greatest experiment in liberty the world has ever seen.
And it’s worth celebrating.
So, this Independence Day, take a minute — take five — to appreciate not just the fireworks, but the fire that lit the Revolution.
Maybe take some time to think about Jack Jouett. You’ve probably never heard his name. But when British troops were closing in on Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Legislature, Jouett rode through the night, 40 miles on rough terrain, branches slashing his face, to warn them.
He didn’t do it for fame. He didn’t expect a reward. He was just a regular guy who refused to let tyranny win on his watch.
So too were the legions of cold, hungry, bleeding men in Washington’s army who crossed the icy Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776. They marched barefoot through the snow to launch a surprise attack on a Hessian outpost in Trenton. Some died before the battle even began. But the rest fought, and they won. And with that win, the Revolution roared back to life.
These weren’t abstract ideals on parchment. These were men, enduring literal hell so that future generations could taste Heaven’s gift: liberty.
And that gift has only survived this long because, in every generation, regular people stepped up to keep it alive.
That includes you.
John Adams said, “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”
So, if you want to make good use of it, here’s your checklist for a meaningful 4th of July:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Read the Declaration of Independence with your kids. Yes, even if they roll their eyes. Especially if they roll their eyes.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Fly the flag. Not because it looks good on your porch, but because you know what it cost.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ask your kids what freedom means to them. Not a lecture — a conversation. They’re starving for meaning. Feed them something real.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Turn off TikTok. Read a chapter of the Federalist Papers. Or watch The Patriot instead of a reality show about people with fake names and real dysfunction.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Say grace. And thank God you live in a country where you can.</li>
</ul>
And if you’re Gen Z, no one expects you to recite the Constitution from memory. But maybe — just maybe — start asking questions. Read a book. Volunteer. Serve your neighbor. Build something with your hands. Log some service hours instead of screentime.
Because guess what? Next year is America’s 250th birthday. That’s not just a milestone. It’s a moment. A year from now, when the fireworks explode and the flags wave, don’t be the one just snapping selfies. Be the one who knows why it matters. Let this year be your warm-up lap. Spend the next 12 months loading the intellectual cannons. Read the Founding documents. Relearn the history. Equip yourself with truth.
Because if America is going to survive another 250 years, it won’t be because we got more “progressive.” It won’t be because of people like Barack Obama, who infamously said “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”
No, if America is to survive, it will be thanks to people who fought to conserve who we are: a nation under God. A people forged in sacrifice. A Republic—if we can keep it.
You can’t defend a country you refuse to define. And you certainly can’t celebrate one you won’t even elevate.
So, fire up the Weber. Salute the flag. Tell your kids the truth. Thank the ones who served. And say a prayer for the country that lets you do all five without asking permission.
We don’t need more guilt. We need more gratitude.
We don’t need perfect people. We need present patriots.
And we don’t need another political lecture. We need more parents, more truth, more God, more America.
Now, hold my beer. The brisket is burning.
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast We The People. Follow him on IG and X @GatesGarciaFL
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Friends celebrating Forth of July

The Everyday American’s Guide To The Fourth Of July

Revolutionary War

The Fourth of July must be very hard for the British.
I mean, imagine fumbling a sizable chunk of your empire, watching it grow into the greatest country in the world, and then having them celebrate the breakup every year with pyrotechnics? Not even 250 years is long enough to get over that.
So, I don’t begrudge our pals across the pond for finding ways to cope when Independence Day rolls around. Like the good chaps over at JL Partners, who commissioned a poll that found that one in five Americans want to replace the president with the British monarch. Or their fellow expatriate, POLITICO’s Jack Blanchard, who <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/07/03/congress-caves-again-00438202?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=00000155-9c90-dad1-ad7d-fed474bb0000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">printed the poll results</a> in this morning’s Playbook.
“You heard me right,” Blanchard writes. “Polling and strategy firm JL Partners asked 1,000 U.S. voters if they support or oppose replacing the current president of the United States with the British monarch. The survey found 19% of Americans supported the idea.”
This support was “even higher among certain groups,” JL Partners’ James Johnson told POLITICO, noting that “more than one in three 18-29-year-olds back the idea.”
Does Gen Z really yearn for a return to the monarchy? Well, not exactly.
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Johnson confirmed to The Daily Wire that JL Partners collected information through an online, opt-in poll. According to the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/05/online-opt-in-polls-can-produce-misleading-results-especially-for-young-people-and-hispanic-adults/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pew Research Center</a>, these polls “can produce misleading results, especially for young people.”
The issue, it seems, is that young people who opt into these polls and click through quickly, “with as little effort as possible to earn money or other rewards.” The result? “Studies have shown that bogus respondents can cause opt-in surveys to overestimate rare attitudes and behaviors.”
Pew tested this theory by asking online opt-in respondents if they were licensed to operate a nuclear submarine. Twelve percent said yes. The actual proportion of Americans licensed to do? Less than 1%.
In other words, you can pretty much get 18-29-year-olds to say yes to anything, if you ask. This is why there’s still a market for Chappell Roan singles, or nonalcoholic beers.
And Gen Z isn’t perfect. Just <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/692150/american-pride-slips-new-low.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">41% of them say</a> they’re “extremely or very proud to be Americans,” according to Gallup.
But that doesn’t mean young Americans want King Charles to swoop in and hand them a cup of tea. In fact, Gen Z is moving <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/414266/republican-conservative-two-gen-z-young-voter-trumpier-progressive." target="_blank" rel="noopener">more and more to the Right</a>. And why wouldn’t they? We’re entering a new American golden age.
The economy is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-effect-u-s-adds-147k-jobs-beating-projections-for-fourth-straight-month?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Catherine+Maxwell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=TRUMP+EFFECT%3A+U.S.+Adds+147K+Jobs%2C+Beating+Projections+For+Fourth+Straight+Month" target="_blank" rel="noopener">booming</a>. Iran’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pilots-who-bombed-iran-will-come-to-white-house-on-fourth-of-july?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pilots+Who+Bombed+Iran+Will+Come+To+White+House+On+Fourth+Of+July" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the ropes</a>. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-met-the-pope-it-was-amazing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pope</a> is from Chicago. Joey Chestnut’s back at Coney Island.
And what’s happening in England? Rappers are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-dept-revokes-bob-vylans-visa-as-agency-drops-him-and-u-s-tour-is-canceled" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling for jihad</a>, and people are <a href="https://x.com/ByDobson/status/1936014831003615621" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing their minds</a> about the 78-degree heat. Yeah, no thanks.
At the end of the day, you can never trust the polls. They said <a href="https://x.com/ByDobson/status/1936014831003615621" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump would lose</a> in November, and look how that turned out. But we don’t need statistics to know how Americans feel about monarchy. As Americans, we know deep down that we would never, could never have a king. That ship sailed long ago — long before we even declared independence in the first place.
As John Adams <a href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-6854" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> to Hezekiah Niles in 1818: “What do We mean by the American Revolution? Do We mean the American War? The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the Minds and Hearts of the People.”
That Revolution lives on in the hearts and minds of today’s Americans. And, whether they know it or not, it lives on in the hearts and minds of today’s Brits, too.
In <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Freddy-Fredericka-Mark-Helprin/dp/0143037250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freddy and Fredericka</a>, Mark Helprin, one of America’s greatest living novelists, imagines a modern-day Prince of Wales who must reclaim “the colonies” before he’s crowned king. As he crosses the United States to complete his mission, Freddy grows to love and understand the country he’s meant to reconquer, eventually coming to this conclusion:
<blockquote>“America does not need and cannot have a king, for it is majestic in itself as perhaps no country has ever been. And its great majesty is not the splendid landscape or the long and sunny coasts, not the Mississippi or the snows of the Pacific Crest. Its greatest majesty, its gift to the world, is that it has carried out God’s will to make each man a king, subservient only to Him. From the beginning, this has been the underlying force of every footfall, smile, and blink of an eye in this country.”</blockquote>
So, the monarchists can poll all they want, and journalists can print the results. It doesn’t matter to us — we’re too busy not having a king.

Independance day

Dear England: We Still Don’t Want Your King

England

United Kingdom

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