President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” may be one of the best rallying cries in political history. It provides hope and also revives that feeling of American pride. But what makes America great in the first place?
There’s no better day to reflect on this than Independence Day. Our great Declaration of Independence said exactly what makes America great: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
That’s why we’re conservative. We want to conserve what we were founded on — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In short, we are fighting to preserve the American Dream for generations to come. As Ronald Reagan cautioned, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Right now, that warning hits too close to home.
The American Dream is under attack.
Inflation has ravaged our economy and made life unaffordable for average folks like you and me. Democrats’ open-border policies have caused chaos at our southern border and turned every state into a border state. Crime plagues our communities thanks to politicians — and a justice system — that puts criminals over victims. And every day our government finds new ways to violate our constitutional rights.
But should we be surprised that this is where we’re at? The sad reality is that President Joe Biden and the radical Left stand against what this country stands for. They stand against personal responsibility; where law-abiding citizens are punished for doing things the right way, those who cheat the system are rewarded. They stand against justice; where cops are scapegoated, criminals are set free, and the justice system is weaponized against political opponents. They stand against individual liberty; where political enemies are spied on, medical freedom is violated, and firmly held religious beliefs and free speech rights are ignored.
Ultimately, Joe Biden and the radical Left stand against the very concept of absolute truth. They are trying to redefine our society and, in doing so, are tearing apart our country bit by bit.
We cannot let them win.
That’s why I’m running for Congress. I have been blessed to live the American Dream. As the son of an immigrant and the grandson of a World War II Prisoner of War, I know how valuable our freedoms are. It’s why I joined the Marines. Our way of life is under attack, at home and abroad. I wanted to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and serve my country by defending the American Dream from our foreign enemies. During my time in the Marines, ISIS was a direct threat to our country, and I was honored to deploy to Iraq in support of Trump’s Operation Inherent Resolve to defeat and destroy ISIS.
It’s also why I became a prosecutor. Criminals are terrorizing our communities thanks to the toxic anti-law enforcement culture that has been allowed to permeate the Democratic Party. As a prosecutor, it became increasingly difficult to do my job getting criminals off the streets and delivering justice for victims when soft-on-crime politicians were more concerned about coddling criminals than keeping our communities safe. This is a direct threat to the American Dream.
We can’t sit idly by while the radical Left tries to take away our foundational values and rights. We all need to join the fight for the soul of our country.
We have a chance to take our country back in November. We will re-elect President Donald J. Trump and we will expand our House Majority through taking back seats like the one I am running in now. It’s not too late to right the ship, but we must be bold in standing up for what we know is right.
Our country is the greatest country on earth. Let’s keep it that way.
Joe Teirab, U.S. Marine and former federal prosecutor, is a Republican running for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd District.