By Bethany Evans | News & Views
I’m conservative. I’ve always voted that way, argued that way, and have defended that way in more discussions than I can count- so believe me when I say this news caused me to pause.
On Monday, Oct. 19, the President of the United States posted on Truth Social that New Mexico should “immediately” change its name to New America. Not a meme this time. Not a map. A statement, complete with a promise that home values and incomes would rise, and a swipe at the “Crooked Elections” New Mexico is supposedly known for, which, he said, might become honest again. (Evidence offered? None.)
Why say it? Why even go there?
Let’s Be Fair
This isn’t his first rename. There’s the Gulf of America, there’s Lake America, and back in September he posted a map of New Mexico with “Mexico” crossed out. Some people see branding, patriotism, a President who loves poking the bear and watching the whole country take the bait (and honestly, it works, because here we all are talking about it). Others see a distraction. The truth is often somewhere in the middle, and I’m not here to tell you what he meant.
But I can tell you what he can’t do. A President can’t rename a state. New Mexico has been New Mexico since the 1500s, long before there was a United States to be proud of, and its Democratic leaders said so right away. Even a Republican running for Congress there put some distance between himself and the idea.
So the name isn’t really the point. The point is what happens next.
What Happens Next Is on Us
What do we do when a leader labeled “conservative” says something that makes our stomachs drop? Do we say “that’s not right”? Or do we shrug, change the subject, and tell ourselves it’s just joking or politics?
Blind loyalty doesn’t announce itself. It never says, “I’ve stopped thinking.” It sounds more like “well, he’s OUR guy.” It sounds like “the other side is worse.” It sounds like silence in a room where one honest voice might have changed the conversation.
That’s why I am writing, and here’s the part I need you to hear: this isn’t about one man, or one party. Every side has people who will defend anything, excuse anything, and cheer for anything, as long as the right jersey is on it. Every cause has followers who stopped asking questions the day they started waving the flag. History is full of what happens when enough good people decide that loyalty means never ever saying no, and never, ever, questioning anything.
Here’s a simple test. If the OTHER side did this exact thing, would you shrug? If the answer is no, then ask yourself why you’re shrugging now.
Support is not silence. You can believe in a person, vote for a cause, stand behind a movement- and still say out loud, “this one is wrong.” That isn’t disloyalty. That’s the whole job of a citizen.
Think. Question. Speak up. Then do it again.
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