Time to Reopen Main Street USA

Main Street USA is the heart of America.

From big cities to small towns, Main Street USA tells the story of where we came from, where we are going, and who we will always be—holders of the dream.

When the pandemic hit and Main Street USA shut down, our shared heart sank. Shaken yet ever sanguine, we gently sighed, looked to the ones we love, and vowed to carry on.

As Main Street USA boarded up, holders of the dream went to work in their kitchen-schoolrooms, walk-in closet offices, and backyard workshops. For many, the work seemed harder than ever and the reward more distant. But as voices of loved ones long ago reminded us, patience will prevail and morning will come. Holders of the dream tightened their grasp.

Small business is merely an academic word for Main Street USA.

So who is small business?

Just take a moment and think back to all the small business folks you have relied on over the years to help fill the gaps in the average everyday needs of life:

-the sitter who took care of you when mom fell ill

-the music teacher who lit the spark

-the roofer who kept the house dry in the storm

-the appliance repair tech who in mid-July raced to fix the freezer

-the veterinarian who lit candles, played sweet music, and helped you say good-by

-the local pharmacist who gave an inexperienced youth a job as a delivery boy

-the jeweler who readied your bride-to-be’s engagement ring

-the tailor who altered the suit from Goodwill that helped you nail the interview

-the furniture store owner who rushed to make the loveseat for mom and dad’s first visit

-the auto mechanic who traded the car you pushed into his shop for one he had already restored

-the florist who brought the flower-filled beach chair to your best friend’s memorial six states away

-the baker who designed the Princess Warrior cake for a friend who had beaten cancer

Holders of the dream have millions of stories such as these to share. So tragic that many of our leaders don’t care to listen.

The truth is the largest and most successful companies in America started out as small businesses. It wasn’t always this way, but as the Democratic Party moved further and further to the left, the notion that there is intrinsic value in saving Main Street USA was tossed to the wayside.

Now Democrats and their fierce allies in the media are resisting reopening and advocating for the continuation of the lockdown of Main Street USA.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., recently spoke to the Democratic Socialists of America about opposing the reopening of the country.

“When we talk about this idea of reopening society, you know, only in America does the president — when the president tweets about liberation — does he mean go back to work. When we have this discussion about going back or reopening, I think a lot people should just say ‘no’ — we’re not going back to that,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The freshman representative also laid the groundwork for a future general strike.

“The majority of Americans don’t know what a general strike is and so our responsibility is to talk about it, expand consciousness about it, and to actually create the conditions in which working people can generate and really exercise their own power, the power that they already have,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Retail shops, restaurants, and other local concerns in every community across our land have been hit harder than anyone could have imagined. If the shutdown continues much longer, most of the small businesses in our country will simply be wiped out.

Add to this the tens of millions of independent contractors, freelancers, and self-employed individuals, and it becomes apparent that there is a huge number of working folks that are on their last leg.

The manner in which the Democrats and their willing media accomplices are misleading people is cruel and contemptible. They continue to heighten anxieties over the possibility of more COVID-19 deaths, while simultaneously characterizing the reopening of “non-essential” businesses as a reckless choice of money over lives.

What holders of the dream keep tightly in their grasp isn’t about money. It’s about worth.

A little soundtrack: