AGENDA: A list of things to be done; a set of goals or plans that guide one’s actions.

We all have agendas. They are an integral part of our lives. Each time we set out to accomplish a planned task we are following an agenda. We are also affected by the agendas of others, ones that we cannot control. Laws, rules and regulations are three examples of how the results of other people’s agendas shape our activities.

Whenever we are subject to the outcome of another’s agenda it is useful to know whether or not the person’s stated agenda is their actual agenda. This is tested in politics when we compare the promises a person made while they were running for office, or seeking confirmation to an appointed post, to the actions they take once in power.

A very simple, nearly always accurate “agenda check” is based on the philosophy of Occam’s Razor, that whenever there is a problem to be solved the simplest solution available is most often the best solution. Generally speaking there are no complicated answers, only complicated reasons to not use the simple solutions at hand.

The caveat is that as members of a civilized society we must take into account morality, ethics and the rights of our fellow citizens when we set out to solve a problem.

If a person pursuing an agenda is observed to be following any path other than the simplest legal and ethical one available then you can be certain that their stated agenda is not their true agenda. What they are doing is similar to a stage magician employing misdirection, getting you to watch the right hand while the left hand is creating the magic.

A few examples can be ripped from the pages of current events. Among the problems facing our nation we find the surge in illegal border crossings, the rise in illegal drug trafficking, election fraud, rising energy costs, out of control inflation, politicization of law enforcement, the pandemic responses, passage of reckless spending bills, weaponization of domestic terrorists, destruction of the military and a complete loss of national influence and stature on the world stage.

Each of these problems needs to be solved and recent history informs us that each has the same simple solution, that of merely reinstating all the policies that were in place one year ago. However implementing the simple solutions becomes complicated when you factor in that each pathway toward having a successful country runs counter to the true agendas being pushed by the current administration.

And so the simple solutions will continue to be ignored and the lies, obfuscation and downright lawlessness will continue until those in power are either booted from office or they have succeeded in totally destroying this great nation only to resurrect it from the ashes as a dystopian third world banana republic. Which of the above would you prefer be done?