Consider this month's tempest, June 2025, when Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that fiery voice from New York, stirred a storm over America's strikes on Iran's nuclear sites. While President Trump trumpeted victory, AOC took to X, decrying the action as "imperialist" and demanding funds be spent on healthcare instead. Her posts sparked fury—X users cried she was plotting to weaken America's sword, perhaps to rally her progressive flock or cement her star status. By June 22, Newsweek noted the clash, with X amplifying her words into a grand conspiracy. Yet where was the service? Her rhetoric, bold as it was, offered no plank to bridge the nation's divides, only fuel for the fire. A true elite, like my friend Adams, wrestled for liberty with reason; AOC wrestles for applause, her ethics bending like a willow in a gale.

Contrast this with a soldier I read of, Captain Sarah Nguyen, who led her unit to secure a Syrian village from ISIS remnants, saving dozens without fanfare. Her elite rank shines in lives spared, not likes gained—unlike the political elitist, who tallies success in retweets, not results. I'd wager my bifocals most congressfolk would faint at a musket's crack, let alone serve as Nguyen did.

Why this decay? Governance was once a craft, not a carnival. We debated in taverns, aiming to build. Today's politician sees office as a stage, not a trust—witness the stalled budget talks this June, where posturing trumped progress. The elitist seeks power without the plow, serving self over state. But this is one shade of the malaise. Next, we turn to the press, where ink once enlightened but now inflames, goaded by the same thirst for clamor. Ponder this: "Many a politician promises a bridge, but builds only a mirror."

Keep your vote sharp,
Your humble servant,
B. Franklin