Editorial: The Pendulum Has Swung

Political correctness is in the past. Hope is in the air as American society is returning to common sense.

In case you haven’t noticed, a pendulum has swung in American society over the past six months… and I couldn’t be happier.

No, I am not just talking about Donald Trump’s election that will significantly shape and reshape our country over the next four years, but a societal swing that could influence our culture for the next generation or more.

One of the clues that we were on the cusp of a societal revolution came during the summer when polls started showing that a growing majority of Americans favored the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. In June, a CBS News/YouGov poll showed that 62% of registered voters favored starting a new national deportation program. Likewise, a poll conducted in early October by Marquette Law School asked the following question: “Do you favor or oppose deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home countries?

By a whopping 58%-42% majority, registered voters answered with a resounding “FAVOR!”

Meanwhile, a poll conducted by ABC News/Ipsos between October 4-8, 2024, asked respondents, “There are at least 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Would you support or oppose an effort by the federal government to deport all these undocumented immigrants and send them back to their home countries?” The results were 56% in support and 43% opposed.

I am not a paid political analyst (at least not yet), but my take on these polls is that Americans are finally waking up from their slumber and saying loudly and clearly, “Enough is enough!”

A second sign that the societal tide was turning was the ongoing culture wars that pitted Progressives and their radical LGBTQ+ agenda against common sense citizens. Mainstream Americans grew tired of being told that there are more than 100 different genders, that biological men can have babies, and that male athletes identifying as women should have free and full access to ladies’ bathrooms and locker rooms… as well as to their athletic records, scholarships, and awards ceremonies.

Led by Riley Gaines and others, the silent majority finally found its voice and started pushing back… hard! Meanwhile, companies such as John Deere, Tractor Supply, and even Target began to realize that their customers wanted to shop in their stores and purchase their products without being exposed to liberal indoctrination.

Then came the Daniel Penny manslaughter trial. Penny, a former Marine, was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the subway death of Jordan Neely. A schizophrenic with a criminal record, Neely was high on a synthetic marijuana known as K2 when he boarded a train and started shouting death threats towards the other passengers.

Penny responded by using his military and martial arts training to place Neely in a chokehold, restraining him until the police arrived. Prosecutors blamed Penny for Neely’s death, whereas a medical expert called by the defense refuted that claim… and so the case went to a jury.

I trust that the jury judged the case on its merits, taking all the arguments and all the evidence into consideration. However, I think that may have also been an underlying factor in their reaching a not guilty verdict and it is simply this: Americans are fed up.

They are fed up with mobs looting businesses, overturning cars, and setting fire to buildings while supposedly protesting racial injustice.

They are fed up with shoplifters stealing up to $999 in goods, knowing that they won’t be stopped let alone prosecuted, while law-abiding citizens wait in checkout lines to pay full price (and a hidden surcharge to cover loss from theft).

They are fed up with the double standard so ingrained in our justice system, where the rich and powerful get off Scot-free while ordinary Americans feel the full brunt of the law, often unfairly. They are also fed up with victims seemingly having fewer rights than the perpetrators.

Yes, my friends, the pendulum has begun to swing and the tide in America has turned. And if you know anything about tides, once they start to come in, it takes a while for them to go back out.

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Rev. Dale Glading is an ordained Baptist minister who has spent the past 35 years serving prisoners and at-risk youth; first as Founder and Executive Director of The Saints Prison Ministry, and second as Founder and President of Risk Takers for Christ. During his ministry career, Dale has shared the gospel – using sports as a vehicle – with an estimated 500,000 inmates in more than 400 different correctional institutions throughout North America and Africa.

Dale and his wife Deanna have been married for 39 years, and God has blessed them with three adult children and six precious grandchildren. Dale is an accomplished speaker, a published author, and a former two-time candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. His faith-based political blog (daleglading.com) has a strong and growing readership and his biting commentaries are frequently cross-posted on conservative websites throughout the country.

A native of New Jersey, Dale and his family relocated to Florida in 2011 and are happy to call the Sunshine State their adopted home.