OPINION:
Mr. President,
My friend’s last act on earth was voting for you. At 3 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2024, while you finished your acceptance speech, 94-year-old Indiana farmer David Long Sr. slipped into heaven with a smile. You were both headed home.
God spared you in Pennsylvania to return you to Pennsylvania Avenue “for such a time as this.” While celebrities threatened to leave, Farmer David’s focus was on citizenship, here and hereafter. He preferred barn wood to golden trim. Your policies and backbone attracted him.
The dream needs to be stronger than the struggle.
Late into David’s last night, his TV blasted election results. Days later, as Mar-a-Lago bustled with appointments, his massive funeral brought together Armani suits and camo vests, those who stand for the national anthem and bow for Almighty God.
David’s challenge lingers: Never forget when to stand and when to bow. You’ve been championed for religious freedom from Kurdistan’s inaugural National Day of Prayer to the Middle East. Noble dreams cull first-rate energies for first-rate causes.
David wanted a commander in chief recruiting leaders who command respect. Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House border czar Tom Homan freeze foes of our republic. Eyes are on Zion, where the U.S. Embassy finally resides.
Like David, you wear many hats and always put them back on the same head. He saluted your red MAGA cap as you turned the nation red. You’ve inspired throngs to join our armed forces. The turnaround is astounding.
Evil lurks in bombs and books. Help employ constitutional common sense. Teach students to discern the slide from Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” to “The Age of Reason” — from God to godless, from the American Revolution to the French Reign of Terror.
David’s funeral crowd came because he took bold actions for what was right. Though sometimes bullheaded, he followed God’s prompting, buried with two Bibles. When appropriate, he’d ask forgiveness, humbly. That hasn’t been your strength, but there’s hope in your self-effacing humor.
When informal power joins formal, possibilities are endless. May you gaze west from the West Wing toward Indiana fields, thinking of a farmer who plowed rows that bore good fruit.
Your motorcade recently stopped at the Museum of the Bible, David’s final bucket list trip. Unlike Bishop Mariann Budde’s politically agendized homily, no sermon countered your speech on religious freedom. The museum displays your family Bible alongside others from the Oval Office.
Trust the sacred book. The Bible that the first lady held reads: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.”
Mind the mission above any messenger. David spent years on missions in Peru. You’ve spent a decade on a patriotic mission at great sacrifice. Support meritocracy, such as the farmers’ code. DOGE uprooted expensive weeds to plant productive crops. Principles, not popularity, will leave the best legacy.
David was 5 feet, 6 inches tall, driving weathered equipment. You are 6 feet, 3 inches tall, the size of Abraham Lincoln, whose Indiana farm was the size of David’s farm 200 years ago. Steady the plow. Stature is remembered by the ability to “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Continue seeking your Faith Office’s insights on what’s “Right! Right! Right!”
Refute that socialism endorses free speech. Millions of graves counter. Dispel the absurdity that distribution is sustainable while disincentivizing production. As David preached, “You reap what you sow.”
Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is losing his foothold. Always pursue long-term, humane ends. Be “wise as a serpent.” Through divine intervention, we have the capacity to do good and recognize it.
Never lean long against the ropes in this fight. Heed Alexis de Tocqueville’s warning against those “trying to bribe the public with the public’s money.” May Attorney General Pam Bondi’s work and the Department of Government Efficiency’s lessons protect us. Socialism abolishes prosperity; capitalists, not communists, create wealth.
Keep close the image of you on that Butler, Pennsylvania, stage — the picture David saluted. Follow his verse: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Your family stood loyal throughout. David passed with his children standing tall.
Endorse patriotic arts and education. David’s family includes teachers, farmers and veterans enjoying Lee Greenwood’s “Proud To Be an American.” Let your roots produce fruits called freedoms.
Be both president and garbage collector, commander in chief and McDonald’s worker. Bring cuff links and Carhartts together. May your presidency have sustained value, bonded by Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance and Kristi Noem. The border is sealed. Gas prices are down. New jobs are up.
David believed the measure of a man is what’s done in private, manifest in public. May David’s life echo in this season’s planting, and your prudence be in its harvest. With the right leadership, America’s best days are ahead.
David saw you as President Theodore Roosevelt’s “man who is actually in the arena,” already “marred by dust and sweat and blood.” You’ve helped patriots accept that consequences trump candor and that President Trump’s candor brings consequences.
We salute you for one clear message: The dream needs to be stronger than the struggle. Especially, the American dream.
• Jerry Pattengale, Ph.D., received Indiana’s highest award, the Sagamore of the Wabash. He is a founding scholar of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University and the author of dozens of books and hundreds of columns.
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