Luck, the saying goes, is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
That's good luck. What about bad luck? It's the opposite.
Bad luck is what happens when lack of preparation meets an ongoing threat.
We're watching this play out now as fires tragically turn large swaths of Los Angeles' most valuable real estate to ashes, with a massive price paid, including human lives.
We're just starting to read about dry fire hydrants caused by water shortages resulting from dumping water into the ocean to protect smelt fish. Operations budget cuts at the Los Angeles Fire Department, approval of a bloated union contract and LA fire chief Kristin Crowley announcing DEI as a top priority. Stopping work to upgrade power lines adjacent to where fires now rage to make them fire- and wind-resistant because the work threatened an endangered plant species. And, in addition, dangers caused by fires ignited by the sprawling presence of LA's homeless.
Most of us know about this phenomenon. Something bad happens and after the fact we wonder why we ignored taking care of a problem that should have been obvious.
It is this sense of foreboding that played a major factor in the 2024 election, reelecting Donald Trump and making him the second president in U.S. history to return to the White House for a second non-consecutive term.
The most powerful message people send is voting with their feet. This we see in the annual one-way rental survey issued by U-Haul. U-Haul lists the top states that people have left and the top states to which they have moved.
Recommended
Number one in the country in departures was California. People started leaving California even before L.A. started burning. The next four in departures were Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Four of these five states voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. Top states as destinations were South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. All five went for President Trump in 2024.
In 2024 Donald Trump captured 49.8% of the popular vote compared to 46.9% in 2020 and 45.9% in 2016.
Trump succeeded in a historic recapture of the White House riding on a pervading sense among the American people that things are not right. And a pervading sense that without attention to the problems staring us in the face, we're in for trouble. And that the way to ignore it all is to leave Democrats in charge.
We know what these problems are. We just endured four years of a Biden administration that has been looking right through them.
This should be time for fastening seat belts. Donald Trump's return to the White House will not be like his first election. There is no learning curve. Trump hits the ground now knowing how Washington works and how to get things done. And no one doubts that Donald Trump wants to get things done.
We are facing a bloated government, a nation filled with illegal immigrants, a military that cannot meet recruitment quotas, a Navy short of ships, government agencies strapped by DEI policies, our kids across the nation forced to attend public schools controlled by left-wing teachers unions peddling moral relativism and secular humanism, and a dangerous world where we have clear enemies -- Russia, China, Iran -- that want to undermine American values and influence.
For sure our 47th president enters office with an acute sense that there is no time to waste. And that is a good thing. There is no time to waste.
As Republicans go right to work to extend the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in Trump's first term, and deal with the border and energy, the American people should step up 100% behind them.
Those that think there is time to waste might re-focus on the horror sweeping Los Angeles.
Bad luck is what happens when lack of preparation meets an ongoing threat.
Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Her recent book, "What Is the CURE for America?" is available now.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member