How Many Lanterns Do We Need If the Enemy Is Already Here?

Paul Revere warned America about an approaching army. Who warns us when the people attacking our freedoms are already in charge?

What would Paul Revere do today? Ride through Santa Barbara shouting “They’re already in City Hall?”

I was talking with my children about American history and mentioned, “One if by land, two if by sea.”

Blank stares.

History Is Such an Inconvenient Subject

My children went to Santa Barbara public schools, where about half the students are not proficient in academics. But don’t worry, there’s time to discuss gender identity.

Maybe there’s another reason history is not taught.

Same Plantation, Better Public Relations?

Democrats started a bloody war and seceded from the nation to preserve slavery and defy federal laws. Looking around our nation, this feels very similar today.

Then Democrats gave us Jim Crow laws. Another proud chapter in their history, which of course is ignored.

Look around at people openly defying and interfering with federal law enforcement.

Despite the protesting against our laws none fight against the abuse undocumented workers suffer; vulnerable to sexual assault, violence, wage theft, and exploitation. Same plantation. Better public relations.

People protest arrests under laws strengthened by Bill Clinton. Barack Obama was dubbed the “Deporter In-Chief” using Clinton’s laws and today Democrats now protest those very Democrat laws and methods. Hypocrisy or just blindness? Democrats had full control of all three branches of the government and chose not to change any laws.

Ask Salud why not.

Compassion Looks Different From a Freeway Exit

Exit a Santa Barbara freeway. There’s a man with a shopping cart and a cardboard sign. Couldn’t he hold a construction Stop sign, pick crops, or clean streets? But dare ask that question and you’re labeled unsympathetic to his plight. Apparently suggesting someone get a job is considered cruel.

Then I see someone clearly struggling with addiction or mental illness. My heart goes out to that person. Welcome to California’s version of compassion, the home of “free range homeless”; leave people on the streets foraging for food and shelter, exposed to violence, rape, and drug dealers. And call it humane.

In fiscal 2023–24, $112 million in Santa Barbara went toward homelessness. Meanwhile, the number of homeless continues to rise. Decades of studies, millions spent, and our humanitarian crisis keeps getting worse.

But let’s keep voting for the people who know how to spend tens of millions each year with no meaningful results.

Maybe we can build another train to nowhere while we’re at it.

No Kings! Just Dictators

Then come the “No Kings” signs. I have to laugh.

In January, the City Council imposed a rent freeze to address a 135-year-old housing problem.

Did citizens get to vote? No.

Could it be because California voters rejected rent control in 2018, 2020, and 2024. Apparently, our tyrants know better than to ask the people.

Never mind a Stanford study finding that San Francisco’s rent control reduced rental supply by 15%. Or that 33 states prohibit rent control.

Now over 9,100 Santa Barbarians signed a petition demanding a referendum, because our public servants apparently forgot whom they serve.

“No kings,” they shout. Apparently, dictators are fine.

Ukraine War

“Defend democracy in Ukraine!” they shout. Yet Ukraine has stopped all elections. Zelensky refuses to let Ukrainians choose their president. So much for democracy. Do Democrats even hear their own arguments?

Strange Bedfellows

Then there’s “Queers for Palestine.” Have they read Gaza’s law? Homosexual activity is prohibited by law carrying up to ten years in prison. Quite the alliance.

October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered 47 unarmed American civilians, in total around 1,200 unarmed people, women and children, in their homes and businesses.

Do you find it interesting that Americans defend those murders?

My Body, My Choice. Whose Body?

The woman chooses to have sex, chooses what she eats, and chooses her healthcare. Her body, her choice.

But the unborn child isn’t her body. It has DNA distinct from its mother’s. Science recognizes the fetus as a unique living human life.

It takes two to make a baby. Does the father get a vote? No. Does the baby get a voice? Of course not; we know their choice: life!

And where are the churches and Christians defending God’s children? Perhaps it’s no surprise Barna ranked the Santa Barbara region among America’s most post-Christian communities.

I know the next excuse. What about rape? A 2024 study found rape and incest combined accounted for just 0.4% of abortions. Nice try to justify ending an innocent life.

In 2025, 1,126,000 babies were killed by abortions in America. And the Democratic Socialists of America demand free abortion on demand and the repeal of all legal restrictions on abortion access.

How Many Lanterns Before America Wakes Up?

Oh, and as a reminder of where Santa Barbara politics are headed, our county ranked fourth in California for juvenile arrests in 2023, at twice the statewide rate.

Perhaps there’s a reason history is being forgotten or rewritten. America was founded with Christian morals deeply woven into its history. Look at your dollar: “In God We Trust.”

Now look at what we’re embracing. Unless, of course, you think America stands for jailing homosexuals, killing unborn babies, and exploiting slave labor. Is that your value system?

We know politicians are masters at twisting the truth. But Jesus gave us a simple test: “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16, KJV).

It’s okay. America is still a constitutional republic, with freedom of speech and the right to vote.

For now, anyway.

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV).

One if by Land, How Many if by City Hall?