“The Line It is Drawn, The Die It Is Cast”

By James Banakis

June 5th, 2026

Bob Dylan was only 22 years old in 1963 when he wrote his anthem of culture shift. The Times They Are A-Changin’ has always represented a call to awareness regarding shifting and changing social orders. Keep in mind this song was written before the Kennedy assassination which most historians identify as the tipping point between the passive 1950’s and the turbulent 1960’s. The assassination was a point of no return in our historical evolution. The Dylanologists have always obsessively suggested that his song was the beginning of Dylan the prophet and clairvoyant. I’ve never been part of this dumpster diving mentality, but I do appreciate Dylan’s poetic gifts. I also believe in cultural shifts that change us forever.

Once we become aware that there has been a transformational change in our lives, it’s then easy to become Monday morning quarterbacks. It’s always easy in hindsight to see where the momentum shifts. Much like looking back on any relationship gone bad. In real time it’s difficult if not impossible to identify the instant it starts to unravel. This is especially true if one is not capable of self-awareness, or in denial. However, in time and irreversible passage of events, we are finally able identify the tipping point.

Where am I going with this? I believe that we are at a point today of historical, tectonic shift in our national identity and purpose. Perhaps the most significant since 1860. For the last 30 years, we’ve been told that every national election is the most momentous of our lifetimes. They have been on an ever-increasing upward trend. For better or worse, this November’s midterms are going to be the beginning of that shift. Then, the 2028 national election will seal our fate one way or the other.

Victor Davis Hanson refers to the New Democratic Party, as the party of socialism and Islam. He said that they all behave like elite, pampered, insolent adolescents. He warns us that when those on the left tell us what they are going to do when they get into office. We must believe them.

When Susan Rice and James Carville scream and threaten to destroy companies and organizations who have worked with Trump once they return to power, believe them.

When Mayor Mamdani threatens to capture by force, private property and private business, believe him.

When Hakeem Jeffries screams and yells about how they intend to change the rules in Congress, impeach Trump for a third time, and eliminate the filibuster, believe him.

When they say they will eradicate the Electoral College and make Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. deep blue states, believe them.

When they say they will pack the Supreme Court with as many justices as they feel they need, believe them.

When they say they will open the boarders and eliminate I.C.E. thereby allowing all illegal people to vote, believe them.

When they say they need to dismantle the Bill of Rights because it is no longer relevant, believe them.

Why you ask would they do all these things, and the answer is they don’t care about our shared values and traditions. Their sole purpose is their absolute power and complete government control over our lives. The elimination of individual liberty. The absolute abolition of all opposition.

Hanson warns us that we saw an unvarnished preview of their governing methods during the Biden administration. Having states take opposition candidates off the ballot, so we can’t vote for them. Raiding the homes of opposition candidates. Using lawfare in five separate cases to ultimately incarcerate the opposition. Installing the candidate of their choice without a primary and then accusing the opposition of destroying democracy. Hanson calls the New Democratic Party autocratic fascists. He warns that if they regain power this fall this will have been just a preview of what they intend to do.

We know all the Democrats core beliefs poll against them 80 to 20 percent. They know if they run, and say for example we’re for open boarders, and giving government assistance to all that would enter the country, they lose the American people. Most sane politicians would change their policy to align with the prevailing norms. Last week Democrats released a flawed but self-initiated autopsy on the 2024 election. They ignored and attacked it by tossing it aside. Why would they do this instead of correcting apparent mistakes? Because the ideology is their religion and these people do not compromise with their faith. You’ve witnessed this repeatedly, believe them.

Their apparent campaign strategy is to simply and savagely attack Trump, the death of democracy, and ignore the issues. Then appoint a politician who is being used as a puppet, who aided by a sympathetic press will simply fail to address any of their unpopular policies until they get in office.

It’s a strategy as ancient as Homer and the Trojan horse. We saw the blueprint with first the Biden and then Kamala Harris’ campaign.

We now find ourselves at what I believe is beginning of that paradigm shift in history. We are a country of racially dissimilar people who have always assimilated and lived together in the past under legal and canonical documents. The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence have bound us together even when the nation has proved itself to be imperfect. That’s because those documents have sustained us as a people. They lay out the founding principles of liberty, equality, the pursuit of happiness, the separation of powers, government by the consent of the governed, and basic human rights. This is what makes us unique in all the world. This is why Europe finds itself falling victim to their own socialist Islamic left turn. Without our founding principles, most importantly, our Bill of Rights, they may be doomed.

Bob Dylan’s universal anthem of transformation has withstood the test of time because its warning, while now addressing another generation, still delivers a notice to wake up or be left behind. The time has come to ask ourselves what type of country do we want to be?

I think we want to be a nation that defends our ancient heritage, our individual God given liberties, our shared values, and live up to the principles that have passed as a torch from generation to generation for the last 250 years.

-30-

Jimmy Banakis is a life-long restaurateur.  He was an honorary batboy for the White Sox in 1964. He attended Oak Park River Forest High School, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Chicago-Kent Law School.  He claims the kitchen is the room he’s most comfortable in anywhere in the world. He published an extremely limited-edition family cookbook. He’s a father and grandfather, and lives in Downers Grove Il.

Comments 41

    1. Excelent Mr. Banakis. Our Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence are what can save us from the socialist Dems. That’s why they want to destroy our core values. Always enjoy your take and meaningful writing. Thanks.

  2. Taking council of your fears always leads to a panicked and unbalanced view. Yes, times are changing. The Reagan coalition collapsed after Bush’s reelection in 2004, but the Obama administration failed to establish a new one. We’ve been in a political limbo [divided country] since. The last one lasted from 1968 [Johnson calling it quits] until 1980 [Reagan’s victory].
    The greatest and the silent generations are effectively gone, boomers like me are retiring or retired with gen-xers soon to follow. It will be the millennials show soon. They grew up in a different world with different problems and priorities and they are [mostly] in mid-life/career now.
    The full fever dreams of the radical Dems can’t occur unless they have both houses of congress, the presidency, and control of 35 states. It’s not going to happen! The census of 2030 and the subsequent redistricting to follow with no need to fix minority districts as per the Voting rights act with shift at least 10-12 [perhaps double that number] of congressional seats [and electoral votes] from blue states to red. The end result? Four years of Trump followed by eight years of Vance/Rubio. The 80s again.

  3. The 2040 Census [should I live to see it] would likely continue the trend. The Roosevelt coalition lasted from 1933 to 1968, 36 years. Post Civil War Republicans dominated from 1865 really until 1933 [except when they split allowing Cleveland and Wilson]. We could be looking at another long period of consensus.
    Europe, Russia, and the Far East are looking at a demographic collapse. Africa and the Mid East could be turbulent, but no real threat. The Americas and S. Asia could be looking at boom times. Looking at problem and worry after worry always makes things look bad, a broader perspective is more accurate.
    The US can feed itself, supply all its energy needs, has 90% of the resources it needs, possesses secure borders, and has two big oceans as a moat. Its population is still growing and its military and universities are still the world’s best. It has no major problem it can’t fix [the debt included]. I won’t live to see the Tricentenial, but it will come!

  5. With both sides of DC swamp aisle pandering to their extremes in pursuit of power, the middle-of-the-road Americans will continue to be ignored and lied to. Both sides deploying cheap & easy “divide & conquer” campaigning, dividing the country. The presidential race will continue to be that of voting for whoever stinks the least. Any real presidential leader would work to unite the country with real deeds, beyond just words (aka sound bites). Luckily our American system is still strong enough to hold together and be a beacon despite the bruising it takes from self-interested politicians.

    1. You are correct, and you identified one of the biggest problems the electorate faces – one which Kasso is profoundly familiar! The “working press”!!! It is sadly unnerving to attend a speech or presentation done by a candidate that is fulsome, interesting and coherent, only to come home and watch the clips the “press” has deigned to use on the evening news! With the demise of the great daily newspapers and their lack of ability to give us the “long form” of what the person said, we will be faced with a serious and growing problem. The ability to get ‘good’ information is exceedingly difficult, and the problem is exacerbated by the complexity of the issues. As a retired “politician” (albeit for local office) I can honestly say there are more than a few who are not as self-interested as one might think. It is true, however, that the self-interested (and just plain crooked ones!) get the “ink” and the air time.

      1. Most legacy newspapers, the “working press”, are almost bankrupt. The Internet has made the “working press” almost irrelevant. Sure it’s not exactly convenient but you can now access those original sources – those speeches in full – on line if you spend a little time.

  6. James,

    This is another great column you have written. Those who embrace socialism will regret it. A one party country becomes The Party which leads to tyranny.

  8. 1860 Absolutely as I have been saying all along. The greatest news I could have received today, that even Victor the Stanford has been able to come full circle – may his farm bear fruit as my Planting Founding ancestors’ farms did, that fruit being all three founding documents

    1860, when Seward bragged “I can ring a bell and have a man imprisoned in Ohio, I can ring another and have a man in New York imprisoned – can the King of England do this”

    There was no government in 1860, poof, gone. And if that weren’t bad enough, there was no government once again after the impeachment of Andrew Johnson and the illegal, forced into being at gunpoint, 14th amendment.

    So for someone as illustrious as VTS to have finally seen the light, may his sun continue to set over the Pacific, and rise over the mountains!

  9. Everyone needs to heed these warnings. Mr. Banakis I wish for this essay to be read by many. We have to save our country. “The 5000 Year Leap,” should be required reading . It describes the 28 principles on which our constitution was written. It is the foundation of our great country.

  11. Thank you James.
    Which side are you on, Graham Platner or Spencer Pratt?
    At least the muddy political waters are becoming clear and the Democrats are revealing their true inner demons, whether in Maine, NYC, Michigan or California. It is ours to lose,

  12. Right wing media uses the expression “TDS” Trump Derangement Syndrome, to describe Americans who are morally/fundamentally opposed to a pedophile in the Oval Office, one who depicts himself as Christ, obsesses over late night talk show hosts while wasting billions on a war he is losing, and dozes off during cabinet meetings. I’ve never understood it. Isn’t TDS descriptive of the inflicted who STILL support him??

    What part of the current “American Renaissance” are you enjoying??

    Conspiratorial health claims? The lurch toward Christian Nationalism? Cash pay outs to violent insurrectionists? American farms foreclosing at a record pace? 5 dollar gas? Grocery costs? Affordability? Millions w/o health care (still waiting on the day 1 plan..) Ice goons body slamming 90 pound grandmothers while old white stand by and nod approvingly? The CONSTANT stream of lies? Inflation? Epstein? The celebration of ignorance and bravado as American virtues? The garish North Korean style ‘war’ arch? The erosion of the free press into a government controlled mouthpiece where ‘difficult’ questions shall not be tolerated? The division? The insults? The death of decorum?

    November can’t come soon enough.

    1. I watched a recent travel video on YouTube from an englishman who goes by the moniker of “Bald and Bankrupt”. He went to present day Venezuela. In a coffee shop sat an older man, maybe seventy. He stared vacantly into space. Broken is what he looked like. He looked like he couldn’t believe the change that his country went through in his lifetime. From prosperous to poverty. Destroyed. People eating out of dumpsters. Not where he thought he would end up. That’s what the Democrat Party has in store for our future. Let that sink in..

    2. Is it my imagination or has the Democrat Party become the party of weirdos and Nazis? We have a weirdo here in Texas running for congress and then there’s the sitting purple haired sitting member crazy grandma congresswoman. The skeez hunting Nazi from Maine running heartily endorsed. Not to be forgotten, accused molester, Mickey Finn dosing Eric Swalwell from California. All endorsed quite healthily from fellow Democrats. What a rogues gallery of nuttiness…and criminality!

      1. You are referring to Rosa DeLauro, who has a Masters from Columbia. Donald Trump is a pedophile, but yea, not nearly as egregious as Mrs DeLauro’s hair do…

        1. If you are a fool when you get to college you’ll still be a fool when you graduate. You’re just a better educated fool. Eric Swalwell along with his fellow Democrat congressman Gallego went to Latin America where they visited numerous brothels in order to free the women sex workers there. Numerous woman working there benefitted greatly from his and Gallegos efforts. Swalwell has also helped numerous Asian females working in his very own office after being forced into working there by the Chinese government. God bless him, the world is a better place with Democrats like these guys…

      2. Comically false equivalency, but an effective scare tactic among the MAGAs. BTW, didn’t we JUST invade Venezuela?? And people are “eating out of dumpsters??” Hmm..

        1. So everyone who disagrees with you is merely using a “scare tactic amongst the MAGAs.” Got it. Sort of like labelling anyone who disagrees with the Democratic Party hymnal as being Islamophobic, transgenderphobic, racists. What happened to your pledge for “respectful discourse”, Tony?” Remember that? Here’s a hint. Rather than your snark, maybe consider “respectful discourse” via rational argument. Ya think?

          1. Oh Bruce, what’s a tinge of snark between old friends? Regardless, I promise I will never stoop to the hateful rhetoric Trumps spews via Truth on a nightly basis, I would never belittle myself that way, you have my word.

            No, not “everyone” who disagrees with me Bruce, stay on topic. The “Venezuela” as a future Democratic USA trope is well known and established in right wing media circles, I believe Tucker was the first. My comment is exclusive to that trope.

            BTW, I WHOLE HEARTEDLY agree with you about former VP Pence. I don’t align with many of his beliefs, but there is no doubt he stepped up as a REAL patriot when the need was critical. History will remember.

            Peace.

      1. Agreed. History has the final word. Unless the Trump administration gets a hold of the history books and erases the entire section, and replaces it with conspiracy theories around ‘stolen’ elections. (:

  13. Right on; and especially true about the importance of the next two elections. The thing that scares the hell out of me is that whatever your opinion of the President is, there is no denying the polls that have him in the toilet. This will give an overwhelming advantage to the Democrats, even if their most left leaning members are the candidates. Do you really believe the Russians voluntarily signed up for decades of repressive communism in 1917? All they knew is they hated Czar Nicholas II, and anything else had to be better.

  14. Jimmy,
    Spot on. And as I’ve said so many times to anyone who’ll listen, elections have consequences. If you stay home and remain apathetic, you end up with a know nothing-do nothing mayor like Johnson, and a governor who never had a job. Socialists who want to control us! Wake up folks, get your butts out on election day, and vote as if your lives depend on it – because they do!!!!! Talk to your kids as well, seeing as how so many teens are now of voting age. The “freebies” advertised by the socialists are imaginary. It’s simple math, the taking from someone to provide for someone else! As Margaret Thatcher admonished – “socialism works right up until you run out of other peoples’ money!!” Nuff said….

  15. I agree with you Jimmy in the sanctity of our founding principles and documents. But that is one reason why I am politically homeless. Both parties view our core principles as mere suggestions rather than the “law of the land” and the heartbeat of our Republic. Sure, the Democrats are a true threat to our republic but look at Mr. Trump. Check out Truth Social in December 2022. He wrote “massive fraud” regarding the 2020 election “allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution”. No event – ever – should allow one person to terminate our core principles (three cheers for Mr Pence who understood that). Never. Ever.

    1. Bruce, Pence was rewarded with scorn, ridicule, and irrelevance. He is a true conservative and should have been the nominee. I really think Massie got a bad deal too. MTG? You speak out, you get slapped down, or worse. Look at Charlie Kirk. You think Trump is really running things? If he goes against the real power, the next mope won’t miss.

      1. Yes, Robert, Mr. Pence is a true conservative, as am I: Free markets, Free people, Limited government, the Declaration and the US Constitution. That said, Mr. Trump is a disrupter unlike any other POTUS since FDR. I believe he is in fact “running things”, although he does seem very sensitive to market fluctuations.

        1. JFK was quoted as saying that he wasn’t sure he was running the country. I didn’t mean that Trump is any more or less in power. The Deep State, the swamp, CIA, Pentagon, big donors, have the real power.

          Congress is feckless and venal to the core as well. There are no true conservatives in government.

          The 40 trillion dollar debt is evidence of this.

  16. Well said, Jimmy. Your remarks were spot on, and consequently spooky. I do believe what the quoted Dems have said, and consequently, I will immediately start praying over the results of the midterms and the ’28 election.

  17. Fantastic column and cautionary tale.

    I’ve found myself using the Maya Angelou quote a lot lately: “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

    The dems have morphed into something unrecognizable from the party of JFK, but they have certainly shown us who they have become, and we better believe them.

  18. Great column Jimmy. In another life, you could have competed with Kasso, “the paper”. I agree the Dem party is ridiculous, but how many people agree with their practices and policies? I mean to say there is a disconnect between what the vast majority want and what government does. This goes for the red team too.

    The oligarchs have psy opped us into a false binary with the design of keeping us divided. I firmly believe this. They are using this opportunity to rob us blind. Manufacture crises, with a profit motive always non mind.

    Bob D also wrote Blowin’ in the Wind, Chimes of Freedom, and Masters of War. I firmly believe if the power brokers had their way, we’d have a million man army in the Middle East right now.

    1. When ‘the people’ go to the polls this November, remember they always vote their pocketbooks. And that means GOP will get hammered big time. I bet the GOP loses the House and Senate then begins the impeachment years.

  19. Jimmy you certainly are a talented writer very inciteful and your column produced several interesting comments.
    John Kass News has certainly become the place to hear and read diverse points of view.
    I myself was a Chicago democrat until the Party left me I didn’t leave it.
    But as we all know times change. It will be interesting to see how things change.

  20. Let’s hope that Americans see what is happening in Europe, understand that is exactly where the Democrats want to take them, and vote red. If Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton can make it this far in “deep blue” CA (gerrymandered), there’s hope.

  21. Excellent column Mr Banakis, you are a talented writer. It mystifies me how when most Democrat policies are the 20 of the 80/20 American public opinion they keep winning elections. Especially here, in Chi Metro. It is not possible for so many of the voters to be “in on it” (government union employees, public works grifters, recipients of gov largess, etc.) and vote against their own best interests. We need to scream this from the rooftops!

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