I know our political landscape is littered with nihilism, cynicism, and resignation. It still bothers me to see people denigrate all politicians as liars and scoundrels. When "A pox on both your houses” seems like the only reasonable response to the craziness.

I understand why so many share that belief, but I encourage you to snap out of it.

Bad actors exist in both parties, but only one party over the past 40 years has worked to make Americans distrust their government. Remember Ronald Reagan and his "Government IS the problem" line?

He knew that administering a system for a nation the size of the United States was nearly impossible without people getting caught in the machinery, so he exploited the horror stories everyone who's ever pulled a building permit or waited in line at the post office knows and turned it into a national meme.

We became united in cynicism, unforgiving, and eager to find blame. We stopped being united and started pointing fingers. Bad actors since then have thrown more fuel on the fire. Lee Atwater started it with Willy Horton, the Swift Boaters continued it by calling John Kerry a traitor, and Karl Rove threw gas on the first with his campaign to make people mistrust election results because of "fraud."

All lies. All with a purpose.

If we roll over in despair, they win. It's time to make connections, elect someone to the city council or the school board, and show little by little that what the Founders visualized CAN work. Only those who want all the cookies oppose the principles they set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution.

Now is the time to fight back, not surrender.