The Rebirth & Return
https://paultruesdell.com/events
Yesterday was the birthday of Charles James Kirk, known simply as Charlie Kirk, a man who was assassinated for one simple, powerful reason: he spoke boldly about faith, freedom, and the truth of Jesus Christ. He refused to bend to censorship. He stood unapologetically for free speech, traditional values, and the right to think independently. And because of that courage, he paid the ultimate price.
Across the nation—and around the world—people held celebrations of life in his honor. Not moments of silence. Not whispered remembrance. But rather, celebrations, because his life was not defined by fear or victimhood, but by conviction, clarity, and courage.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of serving as Master of Ceremonies alongside a remarkable team of volunteers to honor his legacy. Over 450 residents of Ocala attended, in peace and with the highest degree of respect. And despite the lack of violence, as is so common among leftists, the location where yesterday’s celebration of life took place, required off duty law enforcement for protection of their property and patrons. Knowing this gave me reason to pause and think. Security was required not because 450 lawful, tax paying voters would destructively run wild, no, but rather out of fear of litigation should a rabble rouser or leftists arrive with evil intent.
And so, I thought and pondered. Is living behind bars, in fear of assassination, attack, and malicious doxing, based on fear or laziness. You see, the honoring Charlie Kirk by and among those I was with was not just about looking back, it was about looking forward and being free.
And so, I ask the question now that nearly everyone is afraid to ask out loud:
Will the United States continue to rise, or are our best days behind us?
Some people see the glass as half empty.
They believe America is falling apart.
They buy into the narrative of decline, division, and despair.
I do not.
I see the glass as half full and being refilled.
Because what looks like chaos is actually correction.
What feels like conflict is actually an awakening.
What leftists and the lamestream media call the “end” is the beginning of rebirth.
You see, we have only just begun.
For years, America’s young men were adrift—fatherless, faithless, drowning in distraction, drugs, and digital noise. The culture told them masculinity was toxic, responsibility was outdated, and faith was oppressive. So they checked out. They stopped leading, stopped building, stopped believing.
But something has changed.
The boys are becoming men again.
The aimless are becoming focused.
The lost are becoming Christians.
They are packing churches. They are seeking truth. They are hungry for purpose, for brotherhood, for something real. And they’re not whispering it—they’re declaring it. They’re tired of being numb. They’re tired of being lied to. They’re tired of being spiritually starved in a culture of emptiness.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination didn’t silence them—it woke them up. His death lit a fire. And that fire is spreading.
We are witnessing the beginning of a spiritual and true cultural revival.
According to a much-discussed TikTok trend, men think about the Roman Empire every day. Perhaps it’s because Rome reminds us of mortality—nations rise, grow powerful, lose their way, and eventually collapse. But here is the truth the doomsayers ignore: collapse is not inevitable. Just as often, great nations hit a breaking point, purge corruption, reassert their founding principles, and rise again. The United States is not Rome in its dying gasp. It is America in a period of reconstitution—returning to traditional values, free speech, and substance over performative ideology.
The founders modeled elements of our architecture and philosophy on Athens and Rome, but they intentionally avoided their mistakes. Athens fell to mob rule. Rome decayed under dictatorship. The founders chose representative government, divided power, free enterprise, and individual liberty. For 250 years, this experiment has survived wars, depressions, pandemics, corruption, and internal conflict. Each time, America self-corrected—not by silencing opposition, but by rediscovering its foundational principles.
Today, the fear of decline has re-emerged. Geopolitical tensions are rising. Debts have grown. Institutions have been captured by bureaucrats and ideologues. But let’s be clear: this is not Trump’s doing. And despite all the leftists crying and belly aching about the rise of Trump and MAGA, the truth is, he exposed the rot—the censorship, the double standards, the administrative state acting without consent of the governed. The left imposed lockdowns, silenced dissent, rewrote language, weaponized agencies, and called it “progress.” That wasn’t Athens—it was the Ming Dynasty banning trade. It was 15th-century orthodoxy over innovation. And America, by nature, always revolts against control.
History proves that golden ages are born from openness, risk-taking, and moral confidence. Athens, Rome, Song China, Renaissance Italy, the Dutch Republic—each thrived when they embraced entrepreneurship, trade that was fair to all, innovation, and patriotism . They died when fear replaced freedom. China’s modern rise began with Deng Xiaoping opening markets. Its current stagnation is the result of Xi Jinping’s crackdown on speech and enterprise. When rulers stifle expression, productivity collapses and confidence disappears.
The United States is experiencing the opposite. After two decades of fear—terrorism, war, recession, pandemics, and digital tribalism—the nation is waking up. Lockdowns failed. Censorship backfired. “Expert” manipulation was exposed. Free speech is resurging. People are rejecting bureaucratic overreach. Traditional values—faith, family, responsibility, sovereignty—are returning to the mainstream because they work. This is not regression. It is renewal.
Some argue the West has turned “Spartan”—closed, defensive, intolerant. Wrong. It was the radical left that became authoritarian: cancel culture, corporate coercion, surveillance, political prosecutions, and moral superiority. The right, despite caricature, is calling for open debate, secure borders, honest elections, merit-based opportunity, and protection of children. That is not Spartan—it’s Athenian courage anchored in moral clarity.
The claim that both a “hard nationalist right” and a “radical illiberal left” are equal threats is lazy and false. One side wants free speech; the other wants to punish it. One side supports entrepreneurship; the other wants central planning. One side believes in voluntary cooperation; the other demands compulsory conformity. And let’s address the blatant lie: the Trump movement is not seeking to impose orthodoxy on universities, law firms, or media. It is seeking to remove the ideological stranglehold that already exists. Ending indoctrination is not authoritarianism. It is restoring fairness.
The original article tried to equate the left’s cancel culture with a so-called right-wing “book ban.” Let’s tell the truth. Removing pornographic materials from elementary libraries is not banning books—it’s protecting children. Meanwhile, the left actively banned speakers, fired professors, shadow-banned citizens, coordinated with tech companies to silence dissent, and even celebrated violence against conservatives. When Jimmy Kimmel openly mocked Republicans and defamed Charlie Kirk and his wife, there were no riots. Conservatives didn’t storm studios or burn cities. Why? Because emotional control matters. Those who master emotion survive. Those who weaponize emotion implode.
What we are experiencing in America is a passive social civil war. Not fought with tanks, but with narratives, institutions, and influence. China and Russia use brute force; we use exposure, debate, elections, and law. We don’t collapse into dictatorship because our system is designed to self-correct. And now, the pendulum is swinging back toward common sense. People of every background are rejecting bureaucratic elitism and socialist manipulation. They are tired of being told to obey experts who never face consequences. They are refusing to be divided by race, gender, or idehttps://paultruesdell.com/eventsology. They are demanding substance over form.
Great civilizations do not fall because of external enemies. They fall when they lose their confidence, identity, and willingness to defend truth. America has faced this before—and recovered. Song China lost half its territory, rebuilt, embraced innovation, and became even stronger. Postwar Europe chose free exchange and peace over vengeance. The United States abolished slavery, endured a civil war, industrialized, won two world wars, defeated communism, and unleashed the digital age. Our history is not one of permanent decline. It is one of relentless resurgence.
The United States retains unmatched advantages. Independent courts. A freewheeling media (when not manipulated). A culture of entrepreneurship. A Constitution that limits power. A people who still believe in working, building, inventing, and speaking their minds. Most of all, we possess the one trait fallen empires lacked at the end: the ability to admit failure, remove corruption, and restore moral clarity.
As we approach our 250th year, we face a choice. Not between left and right, but between substance and spectacle, freedom and control, responsibility and dependency. Abraham Lincoln was right: no foreign power will destroy us. If destruction comes, it will be by suicide. But we are not choosing suicide. We are choosing renewal. Traditional values are not being “imposed.” They are being rediscovered. Censorship is not expanding—it is collapsing under its own weight. The “exhausted majority” is no longer silent. It is standing up, speaking out, and taking ownership.
Great nations do not revive by accident. They revive when citizens reclaim their foundations. And that is exactly what America is doing.
https://paultruesdell.com/events
Yesterday was the birthday of Charles James Kirk, known simply as Charlie Kirk, a man who was assassinated for one simple, powerful reason: he spoke boldly about faith, freedom, and the truth of Jesus Christ. He refused to bend to censorship. He stood unapologetically for free speech, traditional values, and the right to think independently. And because of that courage, he paid the ultimate price.
Across the nation—and around the world—people held celebrations of life in his honor. Not moments of silence. Not whispered remembrance. But rather, celebrations, because his life was not defined by fear or victimhood, but by conviction, clarity, and courage.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of serving as Master of Ceremonies alongside a remarkable team of volunteers to honor his legacy. Over 450 residents of Ocala attended, in peace and with the highest degree of respect. And despite the lack of violence, as is so common among leftists, the location where yesterday’s celebration of life took place, required off duty law enforcement for protection of their property and patrons. Knowing this gave me reason to pause and think. Security was required not because 450 lawful, tax paying voters would destructively run wild, no, but rather out of fear of litigation should a rabble rouser or leftists arrive with evil intent.
And so, I thought and pondered. Is living behind bars, in fear of assassination, attack, and malicious doxing, based on fear or laziness. You see, the honoring Charlie Kirk by and among those I was with was not just about looking back, it was about looking forward and being free.
And so, I ask the question now that nearly everyone is afraid to ask out loud:
Will the United States continue to rise, or are our best days behind us?
Some people see the glass as half empty.
They believe America is falling apart.
They buy into the narrative of decline, division, and despair.
I do not.
I see the glass as half full and being refilled.
Because what looks like chaos is actually correction.
What feels like conflict is actually an awakening.
What leftists and the lamestream media call the “end” is the beginning of rebirth.
You see, we have only just begun.
For years, America’s young men were adrift—fatherless, faithless, drowning in distraction, drugs, and digital noise. The culture told them masculinity was toxic, responsibility was outdated, and faith was oppressive. So they checked out. They stopped leading, stopped building, stopped believing.
But something has changed.
The boys are becoming men again.
The aimless are becoming focused.
The lost are becoming Christians.
They are packing churches. They are seeking truth. They are hungry for purpose, for brotherhood, for something real. And they’re not whispering it—they’re declaring it. They’re tired of being numb. They’re tired of being lied to. They’re tired of being spiritually starved in a culture of emptiness.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination didn’t silence them—it woke them up. His death lit a fire. And that fire is spreading.
We are witnessing the beginning of a spiritual and true cultural revival.
According to a much-discussed TikTok trend, men think about the Roman Empire every day. Perhaps it’s because Rome reminds us of mortality—nations rise, grow powerful, lose their way, and eventually collapse. But here is the truth the doomsayers ignore: collapse is not inevitable. Just as often, great nations hit a breaking point, purge corruption, reassert their founding principles, and rise again. The United States is not Rome in its dying gasp. It is America in a period of reconstitution—returning to traditional values, free speech, and substance over performative ideology.
The founders modeled elements of our architecture and philosophy on Athens and Rome, but they intentionally avoided their mistakes. Athens fell to mob rule. Rome decayed under dictatorship. The founders chose representative government, divided power, free enterprise, and individual liberty. For 250 years, this experiment has survived wars, depressions, pandemics, corruption, and internal conflict. Each time, America self-corrected—not by silencing opposition, but by rediscovering its foundational principles.
Today, the fear of decline has re-emerged. Geopolitical tensions are rising. Debts have grown. Institutions have been captured by bureaucrats and ideologues. But let’s be clear: this is not Trump’s doing. And despite all the leftists crying and belly aching about the rise of Trump and MAGA, the truth is, he exposed the rot—the censorship, the double standards, the administrative state acting without consent of the governed. The left imposed lockdowns, silenced dissent, rewrote language, weaponized agencies, and called it “progress.” That wasn’t Athens—it was the Ming Dynasty banning trade. It was 15th-century orthodoxy over innovation. And America, by nature, always revolts against control.
History proves that golden ages are born from openness, risk-taking, and moral confidence. Athens, Rome, Song China, Renaissance Italy, the Dutch Republic—each thrived when they embraced entrepreneurship, trade that was fair to all, innovation, and patriotism . They died when fear replaced freedom. China’s modern rise began with Deng Xiaoping opening markets. Its current stagnation is the result of Xi Jinping’s crackdown on speech and enterprise. When rulers stifle expression, productivity collapses and confidence disappears.
The United States is experiencing the opposite. After two decades of fear—terrorism, war, recession, pandemics, and digital tribalism—the nation is waking up. Lockdowns failed. Censorship backfired. “Expert” manipulation was exposed. Free speech is resurging. People are rejecting bureaucratic overreach. Traditional values—faith, family, responsibility, sovereignty—are returning to the mainstream because they work. This is not regression. It is renewal.
Some argue the West has turned “Spartan”—closed, defensive, intolerant. Wrong. It was the radical left that became authoritarian: cancel culture, corporate coercion, surveillance, political prosecutions, and moral superiority. The right, despite caricature, is calling for open debate, secure borders, honest elections, merit-based opportunity, and protection of children. That is not Spartan—it’s Athenian courage anchored in moral clarity.
The claim that both a “hard nationalist right” and a “radical illiberal left” are equal threats is lazy and false. One side wants free speech; the other wants to punish it. One side supports entrepreneurship; the other wants central planning. One side believes in voluntary cooperation; the other demands compulsory conformity. And let’s address the blatant lie: the Trump movement is not seeking to impose orthodoxy on universities, law firms, or media. It is seeking to remove the ideological stranglehold that already exists. Ending indoctrination is not authoritarianism. It is restoring fairness.
The original article tried to equate the left’s cancel culture with a so-called right-wing “book ban.” Let’s tell the truth. Removing pornographic materials from elementary libraries is not banning books—it’s protecting children. Meanwhile, the left actively banned speakers, fired professors, shadow-banned citizens, coordinated with tech companies to silence dissent, and even celebrated violence against conservatives. When Jimmy Kimmel openly mocked Republicans and defamed Charlie Kirk and his wife, there were no riots. Conservatives didn’t storm studios or burn cities. Why? Because emotional control matters. Those who master emotion survive. Those who weaponize emotion implode.
What we are experiencing in America is a passive social civil war. Not fought with tanks, but with narratives, institutions, and influence. China and Russia use brute force; we use exposure, debate, elections, and law. We don’t collapse into dictatorship because our system is designed to self-correct. And now, the pendulum is swinging back toward common sense. People of every background are rejecting bureaucratic elitism and socialist manipulation. They are tired of being told to obey experts who never face consequences. They are refusing to be divided by race, gender, or idehttps://paultruesdell.com/eventsology. They are demanding substance over form.
Great civilizations do not fall because of external enemies. They fall when they lose their confidence, identity, and willingness to defend truth. America has faced this before—and recovered. Song China lost half its territory, rebuilt, embraced innovation, and became even stronger. Postwar Europe chose free exchange and peace over vengeance. The United States abolished slavery, endured a civil war, industrialized, won two world wars, defeated communism, and unleashed the digital age. Our history is not one of permanent decline. It is one of relentless resurgence.
The United States retains unmatched advantages. Independent courts. A freewheeling media (when not manipulated). A culture of entrepreneurship. A Constitution that limits power. A people who still believe in working, building, inventing, and speaking their minds. Most of all, we possess the one trait fallen empires lacked at the end: the ability to admit failure, remove corruption, and restore moral clarity.
As we approach our 250th year, we face a choice. Not between left and right, but between substance and spectacle, freedom and control, responsibility and dependency. Abraham Lincoln was right: no foreign power will destroy us. If destruction comes, it will be by suicide. But we are not choosing suicide. We are choosing renewal. Traditional values are not being “imposed.” They are being rediscovered. Censorship is not expanding—it is collapsing under its own weight. The “exhausted majority” is no longer silent. It is standing up, speaking out, and taking ownership.
Great nations do not revive by accident. They revive when citizens reclaim their foundations. And that is exactly what America is doing.
https://paultruesdell.com/events