I am rarely shocked by anything I see in the mainstream media. But a recent op-ed left me seething. 

In a tone deaf piece entitled “Don’t rant about short-staffed stores and supply chain woes,” contributing Washington Post columnist Micheline Maynard chided American consumers for expecting to receive the things that they pay for. 

“Rather than living constantly on the verge of throwing a fit, and risking taking it out on overwhelmed servers, struggling shop owners or late-arriving delivery people, we’d do ourselves a favor by consciously lowering expectations,” she advised. 

Throwing a fit never solves a problem, unless you’re two years old. It’s certainly wrong headed to take out frustrations on those working to serve you. They are not the problem. 

A spokesperson for the president called it a “high end problem.” You know, it doesn’t affect those lower income people who are spending a disproportionate amount of their income on food, gas, etc.

Her diatribe was written amidst the backdrop of skyrocketing inflation for everyday products like gas, food, and housing, and in response to widespread labor shortages and supply chain issues. The Joe Biden White House is starting to feel the heat and the media is taking notice. A recent Quinnipiac poll revealed that just 37% of respondents, and only 28% of registered independents, approve of his performance as President. 

People that have been paying attention, like the readers of this column, understand  that this elitist attitude is nothing new. Angry that your children can no longer get a decent education in public schools? Shut up and deal with it. Upset about rising crime? Shut up and deal with it. Skyrocketing home prices? Out-of-control illegal immigration? Corruption in the White House? Shut up and deal with it. 

I still remember the miserable stagflation years, when Jimmy Carter told us to wear sweaters and turn down our thermostats in response to the energy crisis. Jimmy was a little nicer about telling us to shut up and deal with it. President Carter must be doing backflips today. He is nowhere near being the worst modern President anymore.

Lately, we have heard so much about trusting experts and “believing the science.” It is becoming painfully obvious that the so-called “experts” in Washington do not have what it takes to solve our problems. But the calls to shut up and deal with it only grow louder. 

I am calling on my readers (and every resident of North Carolina) to do the opposite. Raise your expectations. We know America is better than this.

God has given us dominion over a world with shocking abundance. There are enough resources on planet Earth to sustain every man, woman, and child we could ever create, with plenty left to spare.    We have labored to unlock the fruits of this world since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. God gave us explicit instructions on how to do so: “According to your faith be it unto you.”

The leaders of yesterday understood this. Kids who grew up riding on horseback grew up to invent airplanes and automobiles. Students of one room schoolhouses conceived modern computers and the internet. Farmers who lived in a world that could barely sustain 1 billion people in 1800 invented methods that sustain 8 billion people today. Every great invention or improvement begins with great faith. 

There were plenty of people in history who, like Maynard, whined that it was all impossible. They said that the world would run out of food and oil, or that global cooling would kill us all, long before we got to global warming will kill us all. ‘Shut up and deal with it,’ they moaned. ‘This is as good as it gets.’ It has gotten so much better. 

Raising expectations starts with raising our faith. God has blessed this country tremendously. The future is brighter than we can ever imagine. God has a plan for us. Thank Him every single day for all the He has done and all that He will do. 

The second step is to speak up and take action. When local public schools are failing our kids, go to the school board meeting and make your voice heard. If the school board will not fix it, elect a new school board. We are seeing parents, all over the country, showing up for meetings like never before. How does this administration deal with it? Sending the Department of Justice and the FBI out to deal with these “domestic terrorists.”  Shameful. This attempt to “silence” parents has only made them more determined to be heard.

The current situation will only improve when it is politically and financially untenable for everyone involved. If today’s leadership cannot solve our problems, then it is time for new leaders. It is time to raise our expectations, and I predict that we will by the grace of God. 

Elitists have been doing this for a long time. The mantra has been “give us your money, your guns and your kids” and “shut up and deal with it.” Well, many citizens are “mad as Hell and are not gonna take it anymore.”