It’s been a few years now since pee-wee sports instituted the everyone-gets-a-participation-award policy that has weakened the impact and achievement of winning.

But now we, as American conservatives and Christians, find ourselves at a brand new breaking point. The one where we have been given a condescending participation trophy, while the real winners have taken home the massive all-star cup—and thrown themselves a pizza party to boot.

To clarify, we’re talking here about the various companies and government officials who have shown up, played hardball, bent the rules while the ref wasn’t looking, and made us all look like we’d never heard of sports before, let alone played the game at hand. They’ve laughed at us and bullied us, and most of us have laughed right along, acknowledging how silly we were to even compete.

Now, that’s not to say there haven’t been conservatives abandoning the companies, cities, brands, and habits dominated by leftist ideology and policy—certainly we’ve seen a rise in people pulling their kids out of schools, switching to EveryLife Diapers, running for office, and making the jump from discriminatory brands like Sephora to makeup brands and stores that don’t fire influencers for their religious and political views.

But there are still a lot of us tied to the big machines, feeling like we have nowhere to go.

What Counts As Competing?

So let’s ask some very important questions here: Why support a company that actively comes out in favor of causes you’re against? Why give your money to companies that donate to candidates you’d never ever vote for, and spend millions on woke commercials? What is the threat against you if you don’t stick with these companies?

More importantly, when it comes to our children, the freedoms afforded us by the Constitution, and our very autonomy as God-created humans, will we bend and break as normal?

Or will we show up and compete for what is right, honest, beautiful, and true?

It’s been said a thousand times: if we give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. When we instituted the participation trophy rule, and when we decided not to seek out alternatives to companies that hate us, we made the statement that it was OK to just put the uniform on, it didn’t matter if we actually won. But it’s time to actually play the game with a decent amount of skill. Because, for some things, not winning is not an option.

And you can’t win if you don’t compete.

For example:

Putting Your Money Where Your Values Are

Brands have us wrapped around their little fingers to the point where we literally cannot imagine living life without them. We go along to get along just because we feel we don’t have anywhere else to go. But the truth is, if you look hard enough, there are plenty of options. They may not be quite the same, but that’s probably because they haven’t gotten the attention, support, and revenue that the bigger (meaner) companies do. They need us to vote with our dollars.

Don’t want to support Disney’s insane agendas? Seek out alternative kids entertainment.

Hate that schools can’t seem to focus on real education? Send your kid to a Christian private school or homeschool.

Angry with companies that made their employees get the Fauci Ouchy (as Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire calls it)? Do a deep dive to find local, America-first companies.

These solutions are not always the most practical, but they are possible. With a little effort, we can all put our money where our values lie instead of blindly and slavishly supporting the companies that hate us.

Creating Something New Instead of Settling for What Already Exists

This goes hand-in-hand with the above point. Settling for what already exists—even though it might be amazing—is part of what got us in this mess to begin with. A huge part of the American spirit is the drive of the entrepreneurial passion that builds things anew when something fails. Well, big (mean) companies are failing us. It is time to build something new.

If you can’t find a company that makes what you need while supporting what you support, dedicate some time to learning a hobby that will help you dodge the big conglomerates. You might not be able to turn it into a business, but you’ll be able to provide for yourself so you don’t have to settle for companies that don’t align with your values.

Check out Louise’s list of beauty brands and products that don’t donate to Planned Parenthood here, shop etsy, find a local makers market and check out the vendors there. There are men and women building anew, and you have the power and skills to join them; it might just take a little effort and a small sacrifice of what we’re used to.

If we can be a part of and improve what’s already there, then we should. But sometimes the old needs to fall in order for us to have good things again.

Focusing on What Matters Most

Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

C.S. Lewis said: “Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.”

Building solid foundations at home, going back to your roots, and focusing on what matters most, is more important than anything else. Live your values at home and raise your children to be independent thinkers, teach them to be steadfast in their beliefs, honest in everything they do, and knowledgeable, hard workers.

Sit down to family dinners, make time for quiet moments, meditate on your faith, and ignore the noise around you whenever possible. Step away from the chaos of the world to create a haven of support, love, and real foundational values at home.

Running for Political Positions

This is sort of the opposite of the above, but can be a very powerful course of action. No more sitting around saying: “I hate our choices for [insert political position].” Stand up and take action. Like Phyllis Schlafly, April Carney, Quisha King, and many more, know that your actions can make a huge difference if you get out there and take a stand in the political sphere. Sometimes, conservatives don’t have a great voice, you can be that better voice.

This doesn’t mean you have to be the next state senator either. We’ve learned over the past few years (with the pandemic, CRT, transgender indoctrination, etc.) that local government positions matter just as much, if not more, than federal or state. Some positions you can run for might be on the school board, city council, community college board, or even as fire district representative. All of these positions play a part in preserving our freedoms, so you can make an impact on any level.

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It’s time to decide what we are willing to sacrifice on the altar of a cup of coffee, an hour or so of entertainment, or the next Kardashian makeup palette. And I think we’d all agree that our values and faith should be stronger than a craving for something worldly.

It’s time to build something new.

It’s time to show up and compete.

“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

Show us how you’re competing! Become an AmericanMom contributor today or tag us (@weareamericanmom)  in your Instagram Stories to let us know where our money and values can align, a great way to focus on what matters, or who is running for political office on a platform we can all get behind!

Starting your own company or brand? Let us know so we can be your biggest cheerleader!

#ShowUpAndCompete