By Mark W. Fowler

“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than knowledge.” —Charles Darwin

The world has not come to an end. Donald Trump has not jailed his opponents or destroyed democracy. The border is closed. The worst of the illegal immigrants are being deported. It is possible that Trump may bring a more secure peace in the Middle East through commerce and comity. It appears that Trump is doing what he can to drag Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to the bargaining table. Maybe we will see peace in Ukraine. Military recruitment is up. The price of eggs is coming down. The Dow Jones index is up.

Our political system will do better when political parties contend for votes by offering competing policy alternatives. But that presupposes meaningful comparison, hence this note to the national Democratic Party. So, Democrat leaders, listen up. Put down your chardonnay, send the limo home, and get out of the echo chamber. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid.

First, ignore The Squad, Maxine Waters, Jasmine Crockett, Bernie Sanders, and Nancy Pelosi. They are not respected outside of your echo chamber. None of them is offering meaningful dialogue. The only thing AOC ever said that was effective was when she discouraged Amazon from putting 20,000 jobs in New York. Cursing and demeaning reporters by uttering obscenities at them and railing against “evil white men” isn’t going to impress flyover country voters.

Do not nominate any of the following as the Democrat nominee for president: Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, or Tim Walsh. Harris is deemed unqualified by just about everyone in flyover country. She had her chance, and she blew it. Newsom has led the way in pushing California, and specifically San Francisco, to third-world status, not to mention converting a budget surplus to a multibillion-dollar deficit. Your bench has no depth. My suggestion is to come to West Tennessee and find (if you can) a business owner who has to make payroll, satisfy customers, and can build a floating duck blind from scratch without plans. That person can appeal to the working families in flyover country. Seriously.

Put Americans and America first. You are not going to find much sympathy for MS-13 members, Tren de Aragua, and illegal immigrants who have killed, raped, and robbed Americans among flyover voters.

Protect real women. Unlike Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, most Americans can identify a woman as a female member of the human species. As a matter of simple courtesy and common sense, women and girls deserve and should have private restrooms, dressing rooms, and spaces to compete against real girls, not deluded males. For hundreds of years, this system has worked well. Keep it going.

The deficit is a cancer in our economy. Form a select bipartisan committee, roll up your sleeves, and get rid of wasteful spending. It will be hard work, but it should have been done decades ago. Every voter wants to see this happen.

Get some serious therapy for your Trump Derangement Syndrome. It’s not working for you, and you need to get over it. He won. Elections have consequences, remember? Find it in you heads and hearts to collaborate with the president on the broken immigration system; ending birthright citizenship; securing the stability of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; restoring the infrastructure of the Air Traffic Control System; and repairing our roads. Real Americans will love you for it.

Remember that half the country is not your enemy. We are not garbage (Joe Biden) or deplorables (Hillary Clinton), and we rightly cling to God and, if necessary, guns rather than progressivism or Barack Obama’s vision.

Hamas leaders are not heroes. “From the river to the sea” is code for the elimination of Israel. You are on the wrong side of this. Israel has a right to exist and self-defense if for no other reason than the Holocaust, and that is more than sufficient. Condemn the lunatics who call for the destruction of Israel.

Finally, get a grip on the notion that this country — the United States of America — has been and remains a beacon of hope and freedom to the world. If you cannot do that, if you cannot or will not follow this advice, plan to wander in the political wilderness for 20 years.

Mark Fowler is a board-certified physician and former attorney. He can be reached at mwfowlerjdmd@hotmail.com.