Fifty years ago the Heritage Foundation planted its tentacles into the hallowed grounds of the US, in the same turf that gave us Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, and thousands of men and women in the arts, the sciences, and industry, as well as the multi-millions of patriotic Americans in the Armed Forces. If we had been paying closer attention we might have seen that the foundation group lacked doctors, engineers, scientists, writers, teachers, nurses, psychologists, and other achievers notable by their open-mindedness.

In contrast the Heritage group consisted mainly of washed-up politicians, Bible-toting renegade preachers, and an assortment of non-achieving followers such as ICE rogues—all outside the mainstream of US life. On even closer observation we would have observed that they fit a closed way of thinking that psychologists and others call “close-mindedness.” It is a term used to identify those who have acquired their truth, handed to them by authority figures, with the expectation they would behave exactly as they were told. That was an easy expectation. They had a strong “need to belong” on Maslow’s Scale, and were not advanced enough yet mentally or psychologically to question their leaders. They are now approximately one-half our population. And they vote.

In contrast, the open-minded achievers were not bound together at all but were an aggregation of free-thinkers with a common objective: to protect this land and all who honor it in the celebration of life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice. They, too, represent about one-half our population. They are achievers, even over-achievers, and they get things done.

The two groups are not polar opposites implied in the terms “right” and “left.” Closed-minded means they believe they have found the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth—all handed to them on a platter. Open-minded means this group is open to a lot of new ideas, but they accept only those that make sense after careful analyses, syntheses, and evaluations. They don’t accept anything that comes rolling in without a lot of supporting evidence.

This narrative is not a condemnation of either closed-mindedness, nor its followers. Both conditions are changeable upon more and more education, at all levels, by those who either by choice or by chance find themselves in the grip of the Heritage Foundation’s principles and their practices. In terms of political contests, however, it is good to know the essential motivations of those who have and will likely continue to vote to end democracy in favor of dictator rule. They are too closed-minded to know any better. Unfortunately, later is too late.

More than 40 years ago, I wrote and defended a doctoral dissertation about these two different personality types. Personally, I am not in any way, shape, or form ready to accept a dictator as my president, nor to any other high political office. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Nor should you be ready to vote for one of their group. My goal is to get this book into the hands of 1 million Americans who will register to vote, and who will vote for the do-ers, the achievers, those who can think for themselves. Not for those who follow the Heritage line of gibberish.

And, by the way, I am an independent voter, and an independent thinker, with no party affiliations.