If any of my fellow conservatives hear that I’m down for the revolution they may think I’ve lost my mind. I better explain.

First, I believe in fundamentally changing America – at least the parts that limit freedom and independence. We need to reduce government regulation, cut taxes, increase school choice, and release the entrepreneurial spirit of our people. That would make for fundamental change.

Second, I believe Black Lives Matter. That’s why I stand with great Americans like Frederick Douglass who fought against slavery. That’s why I stand with Martin Luther King Jr. and his non-violent struggle for equality for all Americans as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. That’s why I stand with Alveda King in opposition to abortion, which has devastated the minority population of our nation.

Third, I believe in changes in how the police operate in our major cities. They clearly need greater funding, more manpower, and better training. They also deserve our heartfelt thanks for doing a job that would scare the average suburban soccer mom straight out of her yoga pants.

Fourth, I deeply admire the four most radical, nonconformist, revolutionaries in our nation’s history, who are carved in stone on Mount Rushmore.

George Washington risked his fortune and safety and spent the better part of his life in dire danger to help create a nation where the population could determine its future rather than having it imposed by a king.

Thomas Jefferson wrote perhaps the most elegant description of freedom ever penned: The Declaration of Independence.

Abraham Lincoln maintained the union and freed the slaves and for that was shot dead in a theater.

Teddy Roosevelt was a leader of integrity and great vision, the only person to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Nobel Peace Prize.

These four remarkable men had something in common that all of the so-called revolutionaries of 2020 lack; they wanted to build the nation, not tear it down. They didn’t want to diminish one group for the benefit of another; they wanted a better life for all. Unlike today’s “revolutionaries,” they didn’t sit in their comfortable homes and fund others to subvert and destroy; they were in the front lines of the battle risking everything for our nation.

Nobody who has ever walked this earth was perfect (with one notable exception). Past heroes were flawed, today’s leaders are imperfect, and tomorrow’s trailblazers likely will stumble on their journeys.

The same is true of America, an imperfect union but one built on a stronger and more moral foundation than any other nation in the history of the planet. We will be a better nation by building on the best we have, remembering our history, and improving to become even greater.

By the way, I’m generally opposed to toppling statues, especially those who depict historic figures of importance in the building of the nation. In recent days, we’ve witnessed the desecration of the person who discovered the New World, a couple great leaders of faith, and people who fought for the end of slavery.

The young thugs who tore down those tributes to the past might better spend their time in history class learning how foolish they have been. And maybe they should have a conversation about that statue of Lenin in Seattle.

In the meantime, I will continue to be down for the revolution, the revolution of 1776.