Course Plotted, Destination: Washington

All stories consist of three main parts: beginning, middle, and end; however, stories do not distribute focus evenly among all three. Often, the beginning of a story is engaging, drawing you in, demanding your attention. The end of a good story is climactic, building to a crescendo of emotion and bringing you the “ah-ha” moment that ties up all the strings that had you paying attention in the first place. But, any great storyteller knows that the middle is where a story transcends to greatness.

This past weekend wrapped up the beginning of a great story. Minnesota CD7 has demanded that we must look back to move forward; we will return to the founding principles of our nation, and we will renew our commitment to life, liberty, and our pursuit of happiness. This is an appropriate beginning, but the middle awaits us.

The middle-voyage doesn’t possess the same turmoil of a ship leaving harbor, navigating shallow waters, rocking on the breakers. It doesn’t carry the emotional payoff of first spotting land and triumphantly bringing a ship to port. What it does is test the endurance of a captain, and the tenacity of his crew. It is the relentless pursuit of a distant goal that ends in disaster, or victory. It is the specialty of America. America is the pursuit of the top, the individual seeing a dream and working to achieve it. America is a free people wanting something better for the next generation. America began as a dream; America is far from its conclusion. America, by definition, is the journey.

We are past the breakers; we have hit the open sea. Thank you, Minnesota CD7 for a fantastic beginning. Now we are faced with the middle-voyage where many great stories will flounder. We will not. We know the history of America, and we know that the middle is the proving ground that will temper our excellent start and forge it into a conclusion worth telling. Twice American means first seeing your destination, and then having the fortitude to make the journey. We are all Twice American, and the middle is where we do our sailing.