O Come All Ye of Little Faith: Hope for New Jersey
A special Christmas message from the Founder and Publisher of CJN
Like many of you, I was gravely disappointed, maybe even angry about this year’s election.
Who am I kidding? I just was straight up pissed off. Not just with the results themselves, but with everything - voters, strategists, consultants, candidates, and myself.
Pour some egg nog and I’ll explain why— and who can fix it.
An origin story.
Back in October of 2022, a lot of life happened at once. (Yes, we’ll go with that). I packed up my car and drove home to New Jersey. It was the only thing I could think off. (Not entirely what happened, but sure). I quit a job I loved, but left myself unfulfilled after a series of setbacks in my personal life. I cashed in my 401k, stayed with a dear family friend, reunited with old ones, and decided to form my own public affairs company catering to New Jerseyans.
If I could tell my former CEO, a gentleman by the name of Ryan Coyne, one thing right now it would be some amalgamation of curse-laden expression frustration that goers with starting a company: lost races, failed vendors, difficult clients, and the general stress of it all. Knowing Ryan, he’d respond with a smirk and a chuckle telling me that this is how anything good starts. He isn’t wrong, and he has four of the foremost authors of life to back him up in this regard.
For two and a half years, I essentially had a free MBA by shadowing Ryan. He’d be the first to tell you that CEO life is difficult, and he’s in good company with some of my other mentors who have said the same thing (oftentimes at the top of their lungs). Out of the chaos of my own life, my company was born, and I’ve never been happier as I found my purpose.
Fast forward to 2023.
We had this in the bag.
The Monmouth and FDU polls with overwhelming support for parental rights, the Orsted failure, the school funding debacle, the Board of Public Utilities letting the gas stove ban coming to fruition, the veteran’s death report— this was the red wave for New Jersey, but that voice in my head kept saying “remember the red wave last year?”
Not only that, but losing Ned Thomson’s seat in the 30th District, Brandon Umba’s seat in the 8th, and even Ed Durr’s in the 3rd (although that may be an outlier in candidate quality)? This was a monstrous failure.
Many New Jerseyans are packing up their car and heading for higher ground like I did. This was largely the impetus for the STAY NJ law, a bait and switch power grab for Democrats that preys upon seniors looking to spend their golden years in better-run states like Florida. Another two years of this—with a Democrat supermajority? Hell no.
This story, so far, is a lot - unmitigated chaos, setbacks, and epochs of despair forcing folks to expend their faith and move?
Sounds familiar to me.
The greatest story not yet told involves us-
-but unlike me and a bunch of senior citizens, we have to stay put for now.
Ignore the pomp and circumstance of Christmas and look at the context of the holiday. God did not decide to come to us in a time of peace - quite the opposite. God came into a world of chaos. The Roman empire was not some utopia, Jewish tribes were not necessarily the most peaceful among each other, and the Pax Romana between the two was no more than a parchment guarantee.
Did God come amidst the thunder of trumpets and the opening of the heavens? No, but when that time comes, our time is probably limited and running away won’t help us.
He came as a child, in a cave no less, after the Holy Family was shut out of every available inn. Even before that, St. Joseph wanted to - get this - leave Mary (Mt. 1:18). Guess we’re in good company there. It took the fear of God for him to stay, and look what happened.
After the birth of Christ, King Herod wasted no time in decreeing that all infants be put to death so as to capture God, forcing the family to flee in advance of the genocide (Mt. 2:16).
The Holy Family traversed a wasteland one that we find ourselves in.
Unlike a fed-up thirty-two-year old, they had no choice but to leave for Egypt. Some folks could argue that awful legislation and authoritarian edicts out of Trenton are forcing them to leave— made worse only by a failed election effort this past November. As far as dealing with a Herod goes, while Gov. Murphy and the Democrats may not be openly adopting a policy of pure infant murder, becoming a sanctuary state for abortion and transgender surgeries on minors is a pretty close second. (Sorry, had to sneak that in there).
The flight into Egypt was rife with marauders and murders. Hell, we even have some of those in our midst making plays for power while brokering a peace with our own Herod. Nevertheless, they ventured across the unknown.
We, friend, are in the unknown. I don’t know what’s going to happen next year, or the year after. I didn’t know what was going to happen when I left DC, but if the Christmas story is any indication— we’re in a good spot, we just need to have faith.
What’s the point of all this?
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” You’ve probably heard this line before. It’s even weirder to reflect on it while we all sing O Come All Ye Faithful today and tomorrow. Christ showed us his glory in brokenness and confusion, both as a baby in a manger and as an adult aboard a ship battered by supernatural weather (Mt. 14:31).
Nothing worth creating or fighting for is born out of comfort—it’s born of of despair and losing ourselves. I think it’s safe to say we’ve lost that in New Jersey. We can only win when we stay put, embrace the brokenness, and see who among us will step up to the plate, address our grievances, fight for our people, and save our home.
Is some politician going to save our souls? No, that’s the entire point of Christ and Christmas., indeed the entire purpose of life. But like Christ in a manger, full of innocence and promise, someone should embrace the better of our communities and our leaders and move us out of this wasteland.
I have to believe that someone or some group will break the still rock of despair we’re stuck in and bring forth water to replenish us. They can demand the freeing of our people to the powers that be. Their hopes and dreams for a better New Jersey could be childlike and innocent, as is it for anyone who dreams, but their call to serve could come from the better angels of our nature as Lincoln described- and just like Christ swaddled in a cave in Bethlehem, their birth will split time itself where we only know life as either Before of After them.
I don’t know who among us is up to the task, but I entreat all of you to take a hint from Christmas, my own foibles, and our shared struggled: have faith and whatever hope you have lost, allow for it to be reborn within you.
The best is yet to come. Merry Christmas.
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Very well written Mike. Many people have lost hope for our beloved New Jersey. I still believe there is hope for this state. Many people laugh at me when I tell them that. It will take some time, but remember to keep the faith. Merry Christmas.