Do this

I received a notice from the local Republican party on Facebook.  I responded that before I do or support anything, I'd like to seem them, you know, do something.  I reminded them that when the Christopher Columbus statues in Columbus were Talibanned, they boldly declared that they would swoop in, grab them, and set them up around the state.  Where are they?  Right now the pro-choice machine is pushing Issue 1, which would enshrine abortion as a constitutional right in Ohio.  Already I've seen weeks of commercials, flier handouts, promotions and interviews pushing the issue.  I have yet to see anything from the opposition - either pro-life organizations or the GOP.   Our bishop is the only one I've seen pounding the table on resisting this. 

Too often that is how the resistance to what we call 'The Left' tends to be.  Always next year, then the resistance.  Someday we'll stake a stand.  We won't take much more of this.  By golly, one more and that will do it.  And yet we've gone from 'why can't a man and woman have sex outside of marriage' to 'you're damn right we'll alter the bodies of your adolescents and we'll use the State to prevent you from stopping us.'  Yet where is that fabled resistance?  What line is it we're waiting for them to cross?  Murdering our kid?  Gas chambers?  Just what are we waiting for?

This came to my mind because that particular GOP message was sent after this weekend.  If you're a college football fan, then you've probably heard about the post game interview with OSU coach Ryan Day.  Ohio State won a nailbiter of a game on Saturday.  Underdog to the Fighting Irish, it looked for most of the game like the predictions were accurate.  We would lose. So far this year our team has looked lackluster, and that included the first three quarters of the game Saturday night against Notre Dame.  We started the season with dueling quarterbacks, which is never good. And the quarterback we chose has been under-impressive, to be blunt. 

Despite Ryan Day being, in terms of percentages, one of the winningest college football coaches of all time, the big games have eluded him. True, the game against Clemson was lost on what I admit is the single worst call in football history.  But he's lost other big games as well.  And worse for any Buckeye fan, he has now lost two games in a row against Michigan.  That makes him the first OSU coach since John Cooper to do so. Therefore, no matter how pretty the stats, there has been a cloud over his tenure.  And in Ohio State Buckeye Fan parlance, that is translated as 'fire him, fire him now.'  

That wasn't helped going into this week, when most pundits and analysts concluded Ohio State didn't have a chance.  None other than legendary Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said we weren't just going to lose, but we were going to lose because we aren't physical enough. We're soft.  Which is why we can't beat the big teams.  For OSU's fabled football program, that hurt. 

But again, most of the game looked that way.  Then, in the fourth quarter, with minutes left, down by four points, and seemingly unable to do anything well, the team hunkered down for some serious bump and grind football that would have made the late Bear Bryant proud.  Our new and sheepish quarterback completed one clutch pass after another, completing some in ways that were unbelievable.  We pushed our way down, overcoming perhaps the most convoluted Grounding call I've ever seen, and ended up on the one foot line.  Three seconds left, and we shoved our way into the end zone for a game winning touchdown. 

After the game, the obligatory interview with the winning coach took place. If we weren't ready for the heart-pounding victory that night, we were flabbergasted when coach Ryan Day responded to the reporter's question:

For context, Day has developed the reputation of being a rather 'blah' coach in interviews.  It's as if he's so scared he'll say anything, he usually ends up saying nothing.  Some reporters have called him the anti-Woody Hayes.  I'll admit, though I typically enjoy after game reporting, I've often ignored or just turned off the broadcasts because he hasn't been worth listening to.  It's all so - dull.

But my, oh my.  Naturally not everyone is happy, including detractors who have responded with the usual 'how dare you talk back to us after we called you losers.'  Some Buckeye's aren't either, but then Ohio State fans are a notoriously tough audience to please no matter what you do.  But not a few people - Ohio State fans and otherwise - have perked up and said it  was nice to see.  It was nice to see Day come out of his shell.  It was nice to see a coach be honest and passionate.  And most Ohio State fans  I know are tickled pink.  It's been since Woody Hayes that we've seen that much raw energy or intense support for the team.  

All of this came to my mind with that GOP post.  Whatever you think about Day's coaching interview above, that is exactly what people who see the crumbling of our civilization want from those who are supposed leaders of the resistance.  Whether politicians, pundits, activists, religious leaders, or whatever, that's what we're waiting for.  Why do we think so many Americans keep clinging to Trump?  

What we want is someone with the above passion, without feeling like we are compromising our values.  Someone who can clearly, honestly, bluntly and passionately rally the troops to stop what we're seeing.  We want leaders who will, like Day, stand up and defend our values, our heritage, our faith, our history, our heroes and ourselves.  Give us that, oh local GOP, and we will follow you anywhere.  The same goes for our bishops.  The same goes for anyone who will stand up to resist the madness and the coming darkness.