If I were President of the United States, I would begin with a whisper:
“This is us.”
Not the noise.
Not the division.
Not the fear.
Us.
The quiet strength. The neighbor who shows up.
The teacher who stays late.
The farmhand who works two jobs.
The nurse who listens.
The veteran who still believes in something worth serving.
We are not the slogans of political parties.
We are not the tools of cable news.
We are not the pawns of billionaires or bureaucrats.
We are the people.
And in that truth—if we can remember it—is a power greater than any president, stronger than any empire, more enduring than any ideology.
This series began with grace.
A word we’ve nearly forgotten.
But grace is power—just not the kind we’re taught to crave.
Grace changes hearts.
Grace forgives.
Grace lifts.
It doesn’t dominate.
It doesn’t punish.
It doesn’t seek revenge.
And yet—it’s what has always made this country great.
When we think about American greatness, we often think of battles and buildings.
But I don’t.
I think of lunch counters.
I think of schoolhouses in Selma.
I think of Standing Rock.
Of Rosie the Riveter.
Of the farmers of the Dust Bowl, unbroken by wind or despair.
Of a people—flawed, complicated, diverse—who keep showing up.
That is greatness.
That is us.
History gives us a warning.
The rise of the strongman—the illusion of salvation through domination—has always ended the same way:
In silence.
In sorrow.
In war.
Nations do not fall when people argue.
They fall when people stop caring.
When the truth is traded for loyalty.
When cruelty becomes law.
When power replaces principle.
And we are standing on that edge—right now.
But we still have time.
Time to remember that the most radical thing we can do is believe in each other again.
Not just to vote.
But to think.
To listen.
To forgive.
To take back the power that has always been ours—not to destroy, but to create.
If I were President, I wouldn’t tell you to believe in me.
I’d tell you to believe in us.
Because we don’t need one person to fix everything.
We need millions of us—to stop giving our power away.
We’ve done this before.
The Solidarity movement in Poland.
Mandela’s long walk to freedom.
The quiet resistance of Czech dissidents.
The mothers in Argentina, marching with pictures of their disappeared children.
The students in Tiananmen Square, who stood in front of tanks armed with nothing but truth.
Power doesn’t live in palaces. It lives in people.
And when that power meets grace—it becomes unstoppable.
This is the moment.
Right now.
To lay down the swords of our divisions.
To reject the strongman.
To end the spectacle.
To stop pretending that the worst in us is the most authentic.
And to remember:
What makes America great—what has always made us great—
is not power alone.
It’s power and grace.
It’s us. Together.
Let’s stop waiting to be saved.
Let’s save each other.
Let’s save this country.
Not by being louder.
But by being stronger—
In character. In kindness. In courage.
This is us. Together.
Let’s go be great the only way we ever have—
By believing in us again.
Thank you for walking with me.
You can reread or share any episode from this series by visiting This-Is-Us.org or u-pac.org.
👉 Your voice still matters. Let’s use it—together.
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