“Change Is Gonna Come”… but is this the change we want? – And Why Your Vote’s the Last Line of Defense

By Dean Burnette, Grateful USA Citizen

I’ve been chewing on something lately, and it’s keeping me up at night. Not the price of gas, (thank goodness its hovering around $2.27/gal around here less than half of what it was just a couple of years ago), but something deeper. Something that’s got me wondering if my grandkids will recognize the country I grew up loving.

See, I’ve got friends—good people—who see the world completely different from me. And lately, that difference isn’t just about whether we prefer Coca-Cola or Pepsi. It’s about the very foundation of what America means.

The Great Divide: What We Stand For and What our Vote May Bring 

Let’s break it down simple, no frills. Here’s the scorecard on what binds us together – or tears us apart.

On My Side of the Fence (Conservatives, Republicans, MAGA):

– We believe in: God, family, country—in that order. We support limited government that stays out of your wallet and bedroom. We value individual liberty and free markets where hard work pays off. We advocate for secure borders and strong defense. We promote school choice so parents call the shots.

– Our allies are: The Constitution, the Rule of Law, our Military and Police, People of Faith, Small Business Owners, and the millions of quiet, hard-working Americans who just want to be left alone to provide for their families, and communities that still say “yes ma’am” and “no sir”

– Our morals: Judaeo-Christian values – The Constitution isn’t a suggestion; it’s the rule book. Life is sacred. You earn what you get, and you don’t get what you don’t earn.

• Our standards: Work hard. Worship freely. Speak your mind. Protect your own. Don’t ask the government to wipe your nose. Show respect for the flag. Honor the Founders.

– What We See: A nation being tested. We see our border as a line in the sand, not a suggestion. We see men competing in women’s sports as a farce, not progress. We see Sharia law, socialism, and communism not as “alternative governing models” to be debated in academia. Instead, we view them as existential threats to the liberty our founders bled for. 

On the Other Side (Liberals, Democrats, BLM, Antifa):

• Their allies: Big tech, Legacy media, and Academia. There are unions that’ve forgotten what honest labor means. Hollywood elites and Internet media spin doctors (CNN, MSNBC, you name it) are also allies. The list includes open-borders NGOs and socialist organizations like CAIR with their Sharia whispers. Antifa street fighters and organizations that burn cities while claiming peace are involved. Every NGO that can’t spell “profit” but sure can spell “grant,” along with welfare dependency machines, are also part of this.
• They believe in: Equity (not equality) is the ultimate goal. The Collective is more important than the Individual. Government is the primary engine for justice and the correct distributor of resources. Traditional structures like the nuclear family, national borders, and even biological sex are oppressive constructs to be deconstructed.
• Their morals: Fluid as morning fog—whatever feels right today might be hate speech tomorrow. The Constitution is “outdated.” Borders are “racist.” Gender is a “construct.” Borders should be open. Coal plants need to be closed. Kindergartners require gender fluidity training. The tax code treats success like a felony.
• Their standards: Success is often viewed with suspicion, as it implies privilege and unfair advantage. Standards are fluid, often lowered in the name of “inclusion” or “compassion. If you’re offended, you’re right. If you’re a victim, you’re virtuous. If you disagree, you’re dangerous.

• What They See: A nation in need of a fundamental “reimagining.” They see our border as racist. They see our history as irredeemably stained. They see our police as an occupying force. They often apologize for America’s influence abroad. Meanwhile, they open the door to ideologies here at home that are explicitly anti-American, anti-freedom, and anti-woman.

The contrast isn’t just philosophical; it’s visceral. We’re the people who fix the pothole on our street. They’re the people who form a committee to study the pothole’s root causes. They consider factors like climate change and systemic asphalt inequity. Then, they apply for a federal grant.

Now, I know some folks reading this are already reaching for their keyboards to tell me I’m oversimplifying. Maybe I am. But when you boil it down to the bone, this is what we’re looking at.

The Real Kicker: We’re Being Played

Here’s what really gets my goat: We’re being manipulated.

Legacy media—CNN, MSNBC, even some corners of Fox—they don’t make money when we get along. They profit when we’re at each other’s throats. Every ridiculous headline and every cherry-picked quote are crafted to provoke reactions. Every “BREAKING NEWS” breaks nothing but our patience. It’s all designed to get clicks, comments, and conflict.

And we fall for it. Every. Single. Time.

My liberal friends and I argue on Facebook threads. These are discussions about articles we barely read. The articles are written by people who don’t care about either of us. And while we’re busy calling each other names? The media companies count their ad revenue and laugh all the way to the bank.

They post ridiculous bait – “MAGA are Nazis!” or “Trump’s a Russian puppet!” – ’cause clicks, arguments, and shares fill their coffers. They pit me against you for pennies on our backs. Don’t debate on their threads; that’s their win. Turn it off. Think for yourself. We’re divided ’cause they profit from the divide. They win. We lose.

The Elephant in the Room (And It Ain’t the GOP Logo)

The most damning evidence against their entire worldview has been revealed. We’ve all seen it in the last 12 months. This includes the staggering, eye-watering fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer money. It’s everywhere. Billions vanished into “COVID relief” black holes. NGOs with noble-sounding names funneling cash to who-knows-where. Government programs so bloated and inefficient they’d make a Soviet bureaucrat blush. This, friends, is your preview of socialism. This is the “competence” and “compassion” of big government. They can’t manage a post office. They can’t manage a railroad. Yet, they want to manage your healthcare. They want to manage your energy. They even want to manage your children’s education.

Now let’s talk about money.

Because, sweethearts, the kicker in this whole mess is this: They don’t have any.

They’re spending your money like it’ll grow back on a tree.

Let’s discuss the theft of the American Treasury revealed in just the past 12 months:

– $7.6 billion bled into Ukraine with zero oversight—“disappeared” into arms, not hospitals.  

– $4.2 billion in fraud on the American Families Plan—costs alone exceeded $7 billion to administer.  

– ID.me—$431 million was paid to a private firm. The firm logged hundreds of thousands of felons and inmates into unemployment programs. As a result, THIEVES got free money.  

– $18.3 billion in blank checks were given to WHO by the State Department. This happened despite WHO being caught conspiring with China on the origins of COVID.  

– “Green Energy” boondoggles—$8.4 billion in Solyndra-2 vibes into companies that tech the next day.

And Biden knew? Oh, he knew. His whole administration looked the other way.

And who’s the face of this Great Idiocy? JOE BIDEN. A man so confused, he couldn’t find his own shoes if his henchmen didn’t lace ’em for him.

That’s what socialism looks like. That’s not “care.” That’s corruption and chaos.

It looks like Venezuela: trucks parked downtown with families cooking on the cracked motor blocks for heat.

And yet we’ve got Democratic governors and mayors doing exactly that with our kids’ education. Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit, New York. Schools no better than third world. Staff absenteeism at 40%. And, oh look! Big Donations from Unions to campaigns? Who’d a thunk!  

This is what big government gets you. This is what socialism is. It is a bloated, corrupt system. The people at the top get fat. Meanwhile, the rest of us fight over scraps.

Socialism’s Hall of Shame: Wake Up Call for Liberals

Liberals pushin’ socialism: How’s it workin’ in Venezuela (starvin’ masses), They’ve got more oil than Saudi Arabia, and people are eating zoo animals to survive. Cuba (no freedom, no food), where doctors make $20 a month and people risk their lives on rafts made of trash to escape. Iran (theocracy terror), where women are beaten to death for showing their hair. North Korea (dynasty dungeon), or Zimbabwe (hyperinflation hell)? And yet, my friends on the left keep pushing for it here. “Democratic socialism,” they call it. As if putting “democratic” in front of it makes the poison taste sweeter. 

Advertisers fuelin’ this legacy trash – whose side y’all on?

We’re at the fork: Freedom or fallout. Vote like your grandkids’ future depends on it – ’cause it does. God bless the South, God bless America. Let’s fry up some unity before it’s too late.

Two Tragedies That Opened Eyes

If you needed a wake-up call about where we’re headed, two recent events should’ve done it.

First, the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

A young man, 31 years old, shot dead while speaking on a college campus. Charlie wasn’t calling for violence. He wasn’t armed. He was speaking—speaking—about conservative values. And for that, someone decided he deserved to die.

The response from the left? Silence. Or worse—celebration. I saw posts from verified accounts saying he “had it coming.” Professors, journalists, even elected officials either ignored it or justified it.

That’s where we are, folks. Disagree with the mob, and they think you deserve a bullet.

Second, the death of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota.

The tragic death of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota during a protest turned chaotic. Regardless of the final adjudication, the incident laid bare the dangerous, volatile ground where activist anger meets law enforcement duty. It showed us the faces of the professional agitators who show up not to protest, but to provoke.

These events didn’t happen in a vacuum. They are the rotten fruit of a tree. This tree was planted by years of toxic rhetoric from the legacy media. It also stems from a political left that has abandoned persuasion for demonization. A protester who put herself in harm’s way paid with her life. Tragic? Absolutely. But instead of mourning a loss, the left turned her into a martyr. They did not ask hard questions about tactics and escalation. Instead, her death was used to demonize ICE agents who were just doing their jobs.

These two deaths reveal the same truth: We have enemies within our own borders. They’re winning. Good people are too afraid to call them out.

The Islamic Elephant in Georgia

And speaking of calling things out, let’s talk about Muhammad Akbar Ali. A 21-year-old Muslim politician just won a seat in Georgia’s State House.  

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently celebrated Muhammad Akbar Ali. They praised him for being “young.” They also acknowledged him as “diverse,” “a community organizer,” and “a new voice for Georgia.” Give ’em a medal for existing, why don’t ya?

They forgot to mention: he’s a Muslim elected by a Muslim coalition (Peach State Muslims). This coalition is backed by CAIR. CAIR is known as a terrorist sympathizer group. It was founded to help Hamas and does nothing with secret cash tucked under a bureau.

Five Muslims in the Georgia legislature now.

Forty across the country.

I’m pretty sure that’s what you call infiltration.

They ain’t recruiting carpenters and plumbers. They’re recruiting political operatives, already indoctrinated, already speaking “social justice,” “equity,” “anti-Israel.” These aren’t just representatives of a faith. They’re foot soldiers with Sharia-aligned visions of family, gender, and governance.

Georgia already passed resolutions—SR 318, 319, 375, 471, 472. These resolutions support “Muslim heritage” and “Palestinian Statehood.” They are full-throated “anti-Islamophobia” bills that criminalize dissent.

Say “no” to a hijab regulation in a classroom? You might be charged with “bigotry.”

Want to debate Islamic doctrine in school? You’re “Islamophobic.”

They’re not coming with guns. They’re coming with legislation.

These values conflict with everything we, as Christians, Jews, and Americans, stand for.  

Before you accuse me of Islamophobia, hear me out. I don’t care what religion someone practices. The important thing is that it doesn’t try to replace our Constitution with its own laws..

Sharia law is incompatible with American freedom. It subjugates women. It criminalizes homosexuality. It demands submission, not liberty. And organizations like CAIR—with ties to terrorism and a stated goal of making America an Islamic nation—are backing these politicians.

Georgia has already passed resolutions (SR 318, SR 319, SB 375, SR 471, SR 472). These resolutions inch us closer to accommodating Sharia principles. Most people don’t even know about them. But they’re there.

This is a Trojan Horse, folks. And we’re holding the gate open.

The Math That Should Scare You and YOUR KIDS CAN’T ESCAPE  

Look at the voter rolls: taxpayers who foot the bill are now outnumbered by voters who cash the check. There are now 40 Muslim state legislators nationwide. Five of them are right here in Georgia. Tell me Sharia isn’t knocking while we’re arguing over pronouns. 

If you think socialism is just a college-dorm fantasy, ask Venezuela how that diet is working out. (Spoiler: 22 pounds lighter per citizen per year, and not in a good way.)

Here’s the bottom line, and it’s simple math:

Taxpayers are being outnumbered by people dependent on government handouts.

More people are receiving checks than writing them. And once that tipping point is reached, democracy becomes two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner.

Socialism. Communism. Sharia law. They’re all at the door. And my liberal friends are so busy being “compassionate” and “inclusive” that they don’t see the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

TO MY LIBERAL FRIENDS—YES, I STILL CALL YOU FRIENDS  

I know you love your kids too. But love without borders is just a welcome mat for whatever wolf is hungry tonight. Quit letting legacy media wind us up like a cheap watch every news cycle. The more we brawl on their threads, the more Mercedes ads they sell. Demand better—of them and of yourselves.

A Message to Advertisers

And to the companies bankrolling the mainstream media circus—whose side are you on?

You fund the division. You enable the lies. You profit while Americans turn on each other.

Demand better. Fund journalism that seeks truth, not clicks. Support media that builds up instead of tears down. Or keep cashing those checks and watch this country burn.

Your choice.

The Road Ahead

Change is coming. That much is true. But the question is: What kind of change?

Will it be the change my grandparents fought for—freedom, faith, and family? Or will it be the change that turns us into another cautionary tale? These tales are for history books written in countries that learned these lessons the hard way.

I know where I stand. And I know where my friends stand. The divide is real. But maybe—just maybe—if we stop letting the media profit off our anger, we can remember that we’re all Americans first.

Or maybe not. Maybe it’s too late.

But I’ll be damned if I go down without saying my piece.

CLOSING PRAYER, SOUTHERN STYLE  

Lord, grant us politicians who read the bills before they sign them. Grant us reporters who report. Grant us neighbors who remember we’re all eating the same red clay. And if it be Your will, let the next generation inherit a nation. In this nation, the only thing that outnumbers the flags is the number of mamas. These mamas still get to rock their babies in freedom. Amen.

Now go vote. The road to perdition is one ballot short of a pothole. Vote like your grand-babies’ history books are watching.

God bless America. While she’s still America.

Dean Burnette  

Southern Fried Thoughts  

Savannah, Georgia  

December 27, 2025

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