{"id":1269,"date":"2026-07-02T06:42:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/?p=1269"},"modified":"2026-06-14T11:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T17:21:33","slug":"9-12-2001","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/9-12-2001\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/12\/2001"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2><em>The Day Tribalism Didn&#8217;t Exist<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9-12-new-1024x695.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1270\" width=\"758\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9-12-new-1024x695.png 1024w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9-12-new-300x204.png 300w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9-12-new-768x521.png 768w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9-12-new.png 1522w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list wp-block-latest-posts\"><li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/9-12-2001\/\">9\/12\/2001<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/the-nuclear-family-the-standard-we-stopped-defending\/\">The Nuclear Family: The Standard We Stopped Defending<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/fathers-are-coming-home\/\">Fathers Are Coming Home<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/06\/09\/intrinsic-defense\/\">Intrinsic Defense<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/what-forgiveness-is-not\/\">What Forgiveness is Not<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This is an excerpt from my first book, \u201c<\/em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/a.co\/d\/00mKMdbS\" target=\"_blank\"><em>America\u2019s Greatest Threat: America<\/em><\/a><em>.\u201d<\/em> <em>I\u2019ve updated it to fit more appropriately into today\u2019s zeitgeist<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>I grew up an LSU fan and a New Orleans Saints fan. They were my teams. Even when the Saints were bad, they were my team. I pulled for them when they were bad, terrible, when players got in trouble. It didn\u2019t matter. I pulled for them every Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When they were wearing bags on their heads, I was pulling for them. Unfortunately, we\u2019ve decided as a nation to join a fan club of one of two teams, Donkey or Elephant, and love them no matter what\u2026except they truly do not care about you, only your vote. And it\u2019s not a football game, it\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s play our own game. I\u2019ll give you four quotes. Then I\u2019ll give you four political leaders. You match them up without using any help, such as google or AI. Then see if you\u2019re correct. You will see the answers at the end, so don\u2019t cheat. Give it your best shot. Think about what you think each leader has said and guess accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A. \u201cFreedom is secured every day by our men and women in uniform. We must build a future worthy of their sacrifice.\u201d<\/li><li>B. \u201cNo dream is too big; no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.\u201d<\/li><li>C. \u201cFacts are stupid things.\u201d<\/li><li>D. \u201cI\u2019ve now been in 57 states, one left to go.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>President Obama<\/li><li>President Reagan<\/li><li>Nancy Pelosi<\/li><li>President Trump<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to see how you did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over time, our society has grown into this dark, blinded place where we accept anything and everything that is delivered by our \u201cteam\u201d, regardless of factual efficacy. We just accept it. We gravitate towards the emotion of anger and betrayal long before the emotion of love and understanding. Here\u2019s a smoother and more compelling rewrite:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve somehow forgotten that we\u2019re Americans first. Too often, we lose sight of the basic decency and goodwill that exists in most of our fellow citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of the problem is that the media is built to highlight the extremes, because conflict, outrage, and division make headlines. Ordinary people treating each other with respect, helping their neighbors, or having thoughtful civil discussion simply isn\u2019t considered newsworthy. As a result, we\u2019re constantly shown the exceptions instead of the rule, and it distorts how we see one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The story of the catholic schoolboys and the Native American is a perfect example. The first story that hits is that the boys are taunting and antagonizing the Indian gentleman, Nathan Stanard-also known as Phillips (I choose to call him by the name he used to enlist into the military). Everyone on the elephant team says, \u201cHe did nothing wrong!\u201d Everyone on the donkey team says, \u201cPunch that smirk off his face!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One story, from one camera and one very unreliable news source comes out. No one knows the facts yet, but their team is under attack. Then the facts come out. Turns out, Mr. Stanard was first attempting to get between the Black Hebrew Israelites and the boys. He then began walking towards the kids and began beating the drum in the face of one of the boys. When that particular boy wouldn\u2019t move out of the way of Mr. Stanard, the incident took form. We now know that there were no ill words spoken by any of the boys. None spoken by Mr. Stanard either. Only the foul language and hate-filled words by the BHI, who appeared nowhere in the first version of the story. We also now know that Mr. Stanard was NOT a Vietnam War veteran as was originally claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So now with all the facts, we should be able to properly assess what went right and what went wrong. But there are two huge problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>The first problem is that we ran to judgment in the first place without researching facts. That\u2019s the biggest problem we face as a nation. Delivering opinions soaked in vitriol without even knowing what the facts are. Someone attacked our team so we must defend. We\u2019ve subscribed to the notion that our team is right, regardless of the facts. That\u2019s a GINORMOUS problem!<\/li><li>The second problem could be viewed as worse. After the facts come out, we either ignore them or we\u2019re so angry from what we first believed that we continue to spew hate towards \u201cthe other team\u201d anyway. Facts are just that. Facts. They don\u2019t have emotions tied to them. We cannot simply ignore the facts in order to justify our feelings about something.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a problem on BOTH sides. Neither is better than the other. As a self-proclaimed <em>Republicratitarian <\/em>(yes that\u2019s a combination of 3 political parties), I\u2019m urging you towards a revolution. One that requires you to be honest with the facts. If you are typically conservative, then don\u2019t give Trump or Fox News a pass when they report stupid ideology just because they represent your team. Don\u2019t give conservative leaders and commentaries a free pass when they are wrong. If they are wrong, then they should be called wrong. If you are typically liberal, then call the liberal leaders out when they are wrong. Don\u2019t give Maxine Waters a free pass when she\u2019s clearly inciting violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My request is that we stop blindly following a <em>team <\/em>and start looking at our fellow Americans as Americans and not just on a <em>team<\/em>. Start calling foolish rhetoric foolish, regardless of which <em>team <\/em>it came from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing I\u2019ve learned about all of this over time is that, if we really step back and look, we all want the same thing. We simply have different fundamental ideas of how to get there. Some think the government is the answer, some don\u2019t. Some think all religions should be allowed. Some think none should be allowed. Some believe more laws are the answer to certain problems, some don\u2019t. But what we all want is usually fundamentally the same. A thriving, peaceful country where people take care of each other and flourish in a healthy economy. No one would argue that. But we seem to argue how to get there as if someone slapped our child in the face. It\u2019s just policies. Some work. Some don\u2019t. It\u2019s ok to disagree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Civilly agreeing to disagree\u2026 It\u2019s possible to get back to that, but it\u2019s going to take work\u2026 starting with the man in the mirror. What would that look like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember the day after <mark>9\/11<\/mark>? Remember how there were no Republicans, Democrats, LGBTQ, Pretty people, ugly people, rich people, poor people\u2026NONE of that existed on 9\/11. We were defined by one thing that day. We were ALL AMERICANS. Nothing more and definitely nothing less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 9\/12\/01, the entire country came together. People were hugging strangers at random. There were virtually no fights on subways. Random acts of kindness were rampant that day. Churches that Sunday were overfilled everywhere. No one cared who won in football. The only thing that mattered was that we were Americans and that we were not going to let this tear us down as a nation. We were going to stand together no matter which <em>team <\/em>you were on. We were Americans and Americans don\u2019t back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m fully convinced that if you knew how little your <em>team leaders<\/em> thought about your actual well-being, you\u2019d be less inclined to just follow what they say and defend them without facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leave your current team and go home, look at your family and choose to protect and love the only team that matters. Now, let\u2019s see how you did\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A. 3<\/li><li>B. 4<\/li><li>C. 2<\/li><li>D. 1<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>How did your <em>team <\/em>do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two of those leaders are known as eloquent speakers (Obama and Reagan) and two are known for bizarre rhetoric (Pelosi and Trump). You just never know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we celebrate our Nation\u2019s 250th anniversary of cessation from Great Britain, let\u2019s try to remember that we are Americans. Let everything else fall where it may.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay Classy GP!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grainger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Day Tribalism Didn&#8217;t Exist This is an excerpt from my first book, \u201cAmerica\u2019s Greatest Threat: America.\u201d I\u2019ve updated it to fit more appropriately into today\u2019s zeitgeist. I grew up an LSU fan and a New Orleans Saints fan. They were my teams. Even when the Saints were bad, they were my team. I pulled &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/9-12-2001\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;9\/12\/2001&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[72,6,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1269"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1271,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions\/1271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}