The election of 2024 will go down in history as one of the worst abuses of rhetoric ever used in American political history. As bad as they were, the abuses of rhetoric were not limited to political candidates or pundits in the media; instead, they found their way into some of our most sacred government institutions. For example, following the presidential election on November 5 someone working for the United States Selective Service posted on the agency’s online X account a message suggesting the United States was now turning into 1936 Nazi Germany. The FBI is investigating the post. Rhetoric of this kind is not only false, but it is inflammatory, unprofessional, divisive, and morally wrong.

When I reflect on what Americans should take away from the election of 2024, what comes to my mind first of all is that American’s are not stupid and they do not like to be told what they must believe. The election of 2024 was marred by so many lies, half-truths, and personal attacks that it forced voters to walk away from all of the meaningless rhetoric and to think for themselves, and they did just that. American voters no longer listened to or cared when political candidates were cast as a racist hate-mongering bigots, as Hitler-like dictators, or even as convicted felons. These kinds of personal attacks no longer work in American politics.

What the election of 2024 so aptly demonstrated is that the American people are done with identity politics. Gone are the days when American voters will vote for or against a person on the basis of who they are. Voters don’t care about skin color or sex, nor do they care about what their favorite actor, television personality, or musician has to say about political candidates. Labels no longer matter. The election of 2024 effectively liberated the American people from the stranglehold of identity politics that the mainstream media has imposed upon them for the past 50 years.

The election of 2024 was won on the basis of policy rather than personal identity or meaningless rhetoric. In the final analysis, the majority of American voters decided who to vote for based upon each candidate’s policy platform. This time around, the wild passions of the heart had to yield to the facts of reality and give way to those time-tested and common-sense solutions which work best for restoring prosperity, reducing inflation, curbing out-of-control crime, and preventing World War III. In short, the presidential election of 2024 was won because one candidate stood out as better able to articulate good common-sense solutions to the kinds of problems that Americans want fixed.

The situation was no different here in Nebraska, especially in regards to the Unicameral Legislature. Voters in Nebraska voted to retain a filibuster proof-majority for Republicans in the supposedly non-partisan State Legislature. Overall, voters in Nebraska refused to listen to the meaningless campaign rhetoric which flooded their mailboxes, newspapers, television sets, radios, and the Internet, and chose instead to vote for State Senators who would best grow our state’s economy, keep our people safe, protect our constitutional rights, and uphold our traditional values.

Nebraska was not immune to controversy this year. For example, voters passed ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana, to repeal school choice, and to protect women and children. Regardless of where you might stand on such controversial issues, my hope and my prayer is that we can all learn to discuss and debate these kinds of policy matters in respectful ways without resorting the kinds of meaningless rhetoric and personal attacks which marred this year’s election. So, when you gather with family and friends this year for Thanksgiving dinner, remember that the only identification that really matters is that the person you are conversing with at the dinner table is a human being created in the image of God.