Remember the First Principle
"Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving”-Dale Carnegie
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In Dale Carnegie’s classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, he listed 30 principles. The first was “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.” It’s the only principle that began with a negative. To Carnegie, a guru of communication and interpersonal skills, if you violate the first principle, all other tenets are rendered useless because you cannot win friends and influence others to agree with you if all you do is criticize, condemn, or complain about the other side. Yet, that’s precisely what the Democratic Party and its progressive allies have done for years. On Tuesday, the election day, they paid a dear price for violating this timeless first principle.
The Democratic party establishment has demeaned Republicans with all sort of name-callings, from the “basket of deplorables,” to “fascists.” The progressives who dominated America’s cultural, educational institutions, and legacy media have condemned America as if it’s been the worst country that ever existed; America's founding wasn’t about fighting for liberty and independence but about preserving slavery (see the 1619 project); America has made little progress in achieving racial equality, and America in 2024 is still a colonizer infatuated with systemic racism.
Americans who pointed out open borders leading to rising crime and exhausted municipalities’ resources or have the common sense to question whether a boy should be in a girl’s bathroom have been immediately admonished as “racists” and “bigots” who spread misinformation. This immediate backlash against those who question certain policies or express dissenting opinions is a clear indication of the lack of tolerance within the Democratic Party and its progressive allies.
Worst of all, the progressives’ criticism, condemnation, and complaints against America and more than half of the population in the nation have poisoned the minds of our nation’s youth through the education system. After Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, murdered, raped, and kidnapped innocent Israelis, anti-Israel protests erupted on the nation’s most elite college campuses as American youth openly supported Hamas terrorists who had committed genocide.
The pro-Hamas protests quickly expanded outside of campuses. In addition to attacking the Jewish business establishment and religious institutions, ordinary Americans watched in disbelief as pro-Hamas protestors burned American flags, trashed America’s public institutions, and defaced our nation’s sacred national monuments. Yet, the Democratic Party establishment, liberal media, and educational institutions have largely remained silent. They tolerated these anti-American behaviors either out of fear that they might alienate certain voting blocks or they were in agreement with protestors that America is the leading oppressor against the oppressed in Gaza.
The Democratic Party’s criticism, condemnations, and complaints against American voters climaxed right before the election day. Joe Biden, the sitting President of the United States, referred to Trump supporters as garbage.
Then, former president Barack Obama used his refined oratory skills to admonish a group of black men during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, a must-win battleground state for the Democratic Party’s nominee, Kamala Harris. Obama accused black men who were hesitant to support Harris of being misogynists and sexists. He told them, “Part of it makes me think that you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
Rather than discussing any specific policy accomplishment Harris had accomplished as Vice President that earned her the next promotion, Obama demanded black men vote for Harris as a racial unity, “you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences.” Furthermore, he dressed down black men as being ignorant of the danger that another term of Trump’s presidency presented to them.
Obama’s insult didn’t sit well with many black men. They called him out for dressing them down and argued that they had the right to vote for whomever they deemed fit for office. The election result speaks for itself: Trump won 20 percent of the Black vote this time (the highest level of support by Black voters for any Republican since George W. Bush in 2000), an improvement from 13 percent of the community’s vote in 2020 and 8 percent in 2016. Support for Trump among almost all other demographics also drastically improved.
The Democrats and their progressive allies have failed to realize that most Americans know Trump is not a perfect candidate and America is not a perfect country. But we don’t buy the argument that America is inherently a racist nation and has made little progress in more than two hundred years; we don’t like to witness reverent symbols of our country being tarnished; we don’t believe that we are bigots for questioning whether boys should play and dominate in girls’ sports; we don’t appreciate politicians and liberal media dismiss our concerns for the economy as if we are ignorant and uninformed. The dissatisfaction with the Democrats is palpable, and it’s time for our concerns to be taken seriously.
As the Democrats and their progressive allies conduct their post-election autopsy, they may want to familiarize themselves with Dale Carnegie’s first principle: “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.”
I want to end with a warning for Republicans, too. Winning feels good, but winning can be dangerous because it can quickly breed arrogance and complacency. Yes, some celebration is due, but most importantly, this is the moment to be humble and have the humility that the American people just handed over enormous trust in the Republican Party. America faces many challenges. Domestically, inflation is still too high, our national debt continues to grow at an alarming rate, and people are craving law and order. Internationally, Israel is fighting a multi-front war in the Middle East. Russia continues to fight against Ukraine, thanks to the support of China, North Korea, and Iran. Europe is in a seemingly unstoppable self-imposed decline: its economy has been stagnant for years and it has no military capability to contain Russia on its own.
The incoming Trump administration and the Republican Party should evaluate these challenges carefully and develop bipartisan responses responsibly. Revenge against fellow Americans or another party should be nowhere near any political agenda. We must strive to maintain respectful discourse in politics.
The incoming Trump administration and the rest of Republicans should never forget Carnegie’s first principle, and remember, “Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving” (Dale Carnegie).