Foundation - We The People with Joshua Rush

30/05/2026

16/05/2026

It's amazing to see the length some Americans and Kansans will go to in justifying this. Just check the comments to know who they are.

05/04/2026

Happy Easter from Viv and me

02/04/2026

Boy's and their dad.... Also, the Poncho goes on a rotisserie this weekend.

17/03/2026

A quiet song about loving someone enough to respect the silence.

Sometimes the truest things we feel are the quietest.

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞
Acoustic Demo
Written & Performed by Joshua Lynn Rush
Written March 5, 2026

Songwriting & licensing inquiries:
[email protected]
© 2026 Joshua Lynn Rush

13/02/2026

09/02/2026

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐅𝐋 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰.
𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐅𝐋 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭.

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓 100 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
𝑨𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 4.5 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

Last night wasn’t really about music. It wasn’t about choreography, outfits, or ratings. It was about whether we can still sit in the same room, watch the same moment, and allow multiple stories to exist without feeling threatened by them.

The NFL halftime show did exactly that.

It didn’t ask anyone to abandon their 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬. It didn’t erase 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. It didn’t shame anyone for who they are or what they believe. What it did was create a shared moment that reflected the reality of modern America. 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬. 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲.

That is 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

🎯Green Day challenged people to think for themselves.
🎯The national anthem reminded us we still gather together.
🎯America the Beautiful asked us to love this country honestly.
🎯Lift Every Voice and Sing reminded us to remember truthfully.
🎯Lady Gaga affirmed that belonging is not conditional.
🎯Bad Bunny closed the night by showing what America looks like today, confident, diverse, and unapologetically present.

None of that required agreement. 𝑰𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚.

Then there was the alternative broadcast.

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘁. Instead of inviting people in, it drew lines. Instead of honoring something bigger than individual grievance, it framed patriotism as a rebuttal. That is not education. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.

It’s also important to acknowledge context. 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐔𝐒𝐀 is a 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, not an entertainment brand, and we are heading into a 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. In that environment, parallel cultural moments often function as signal tests. Not just how many people tune in, but how motivated they are, how they react, and whether opposition framing still mobilizes a base. That’s not a conspiracy, it’s standard political strategy.

Honoring blue-collar workers is good.
Honoring faith is good.
Honoring tradition is good.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞, 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

The numbers tell the story. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑻𝑷𝑼𝑺𝑨?

🔥𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓 100 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
🎭📉𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 4.5 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅.

People are free to choose either. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚.

But let’s be honest about what each choice represented.

One said, this country is big enough for all of us.
The other said, only some stories count and we picked which one.

That’s not a debate about music.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞.

And last night, the answer was clear.

07/02/2026

“𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚” 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚
I don’t think this is James Brown’s version.

Living in America captured an energy.
Confidence. Visibility. Freedom of movement. The “Dream” during the Cold War era.
An America where showing up felt safe and opportunity felt assumed.

That 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 what everyone is living today.
How many times have you heard or said, “𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐞,” or “𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦”
?

I also hear this one a lot:
“𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐮𝐩? 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.”

My gut reaction is simple.
𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

Now let’s talk about reality.

For many of us Midwest folks, we grew up believing we were far enough from the noise that it didn’t reach us. That the 80s to early 2000s mentality still applies. Work hard, keep your head down, raise your family, and things mostly take care of themselves.

That assumption no longer holds.

Enter the 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭
And more importantly, enter intentional, fear-driven political theater courtesy of DJT.

Want to know how you destabilize a democracy without tanks or war?
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝.

You create fear.
You terrorize communities.
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤.

You make the basic, safe, free route to work, the grocery store, church, or dropping kids off at school feel dangerous. When that happens, “𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚” 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

It becomes life-threatening.

When you can do that in the heartland, where most humans on this planet know we are more cowboy farm boys who can lift a Dodge and have 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨 Yeah, you accomplished your mission.

And yes, this is happening now.

Want to know how I know this, and how I can prove it?

I have already found myself sitting around leadership tables discussing how to provide a safe work environment for employees. Not because of a global pandemic this time, but because of 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

Yeah, imagine that.
Protecting employees from America.

This week, I was not the only leader having these conversations. Peers across industries are finding themselves in the same rooms, asking the same questions. How do we cover shifts and onsite visits when someone with legal status, or even an American citizen, no longer feels safe coming to work because they are the wrong shade?

That is real.
That is happening now.

And when 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 arise, employers are legally required to provide safe, harassment-free workplaces and to reasonably accommodate where appropriate. That phrase makes some people uncomfortable, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 It comes with legal exposure, insurance implications, and operational costs that 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬.

Is this getting real yet?

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭.
The human cost.
The moral cost.
The cost of trying to build a good culture while fear eats at the foundation.

When employees are afraid to go to work because of how they look, it is no longer someone else’s problem. These are 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. The people who break their backs so businesses can succeed.

My heart sinks whether it is a Native American, someone on an H-1B visa, or an American of Latino descent. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥. My own daughter is 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 If she cannot live the same life I can as her father in a Midwest town of 4,000 people or less, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠

At that point, silence is not neutral.

It becomes approval.

And yes, this is how elections get stolen 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 (Or in our case, 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝). You scare non-white communities away from public life. You make them 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 to show up, 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝to be seen, 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 to stand in line at a grocery store, let alone near a 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐱.

No action and inaction are the same thing.
“That’s not my problem” is 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

And it is the 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞.

My integrity and accountability are on the line every day. Whether it’s 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐍, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧.
The mission is clear.

Use my voice.
Stand up for those who cannot.
𝐃𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

If you won’t, who will?

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
— Edmund Burke