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It is impossible, of course, to see immaterial things. But sometimes the intangible is so vibrantso pronounced and so real that it’s as if you can really see it.
I had that experience. I was in Washington, DC for the inauguration activities – and I saw an intangible thing. This was enthusiasm.
I saw the beginning of that enthusiasm when I was president Donald Trump was chosen. Many people I know – and many others I don’t know – have approached the administration (directly or indirectly) with the question: How can I help?
President-elect Donald Trump arrives to attend a rally the day before his inauguration for a second term, in Washington, DC on January 19, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
The people I know (and probably those I don’t) are extremely talented – and wanted to move to DC immediately to work for free in whatever capacity their skills could be most productively applied. The broad coalition that carried Trump to victory, combined with stunningly good early nominations, fueled an outpouring of ambitious idealism.
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This ambitious idealism was essentially visible in on the eve of the inauguration. It was best summed up by a visionary thinker and health policy leader whom I met at one of the events. He told me he had been reading books about the New Deal—and explained that learning about the young men who flocked to Washington to work on President Franklin Roosevelt’s vastly ambitious plan was the best way to understand what was happening now.
This enthusiasm is particularly marked by the contrast on the democratic side. There seems to be no enthusiasm for anything there. I can’t think of a single policy, let alone a coherent set of policies, that Democrats are now enthusiastic about – with the possible exception of abortion, which is now a state issue.
It’s hard for them to even think of anything they are now passionately opposed to. The day after Trump’s inauguration in 2017, half a million people came to Washington, DC, for the “Women’s March.” I wasn’t there this year on January 21st – but I didn’t see a single protester or even a protester over the weekend.
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Trump’s inaugural speech, which articulated the views and policies that drove his campaign, talked about border enforcement, deporting illegal immigrants, eliminating the federal government’s DEI, and recognizing that there are only two sexes. Even very recently, the mention of any of these things by a Republican official was met with accusations of racism (even “systemic racism”), un-Americanism, transphobia, and even comparisons with the Nazis.
Now, seemingly nothing. Perhaps this is because many Democrats now at least appreciate the importance of a hard border, understand that DEI can at least encourage disabling victimization, lead to division and breed hatred itself, and that gender-confused policies can marginalize women and cause lasting harm to children caught up in their mania.
Is enthusiasm, which is of course just a feeling, important? The answer to that question – like the answer to almost all questions – is in the Torah.
In the early Exodus, God decides to enter history directly to free the Jews from Egyptian slavery and show the world the truth of ethical monotheism. He could have done it either way. However, he decides to appear in the burning bush. Ten chapters later, he leads the Jews out of Egypt with a “pillar of fire.”
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In Deuteronomy 9:3, Moses says we will be ready to enter the Earth when we know “that the Lord your God is he who goes before you like a consuming fire.” In 1 Kings 18, God “answers with fire.” And in Daniel 7, God’s throne is described as “flaming.”
Why does the Author of the Torah want us to associate God with fire? The 19th century sage Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson (known as the Rebbe Rashab) explains that the persistent use of fire teaches us that performing righteous deeds requires a burning heart.
The rabbi said, “Between coldness and heresy there is an extremely thin wall.” Carrying out the commandments coldly, teaches the Rebbe Rashab, will lead us far from piety and bordering on heresy.
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John Woodenwho was rightly named the greatest coach of all time by Sports News, would agree. His UCLA basketball teams won 10 national championships, including seven straight (1967-73).
What contributed to its astonishing success? There are many things – but it all starts with something he began to develop as a 24-year-old coach in 1934. That was his “Pyramid of Success”. The elements of the pyramid have changed over the years, but one thing hasn’t. This was “Enthusiasm”.
Enthusiasm, as Coach Wooden knew, is a predicate of both inspiration and persistence—twin qualities for significant achievement. The fact that Democrats don’t appear to be enthusiastically opposed to Trump, his policies, or his appointees creates room for enthusiasm to be shared with Republicans. One possibility is health.
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Democratic enthusiasm for reducing tobacco use has resulted in a stunning decline in cigarette smoking. They deserve all the credit for this life-saving public health achievement. This enthusiasm can be revived and combined with the enthusiasm of RFK Jr. and his assistants in order to direct the federal policy in accordance with the science of healthy diet and life.
The consequence for Americans, on that point alone, would be extremely beneficial to American health—and further proof of the biblical imperative of enthusiasm.
