Jr. Patriot Report - February 2026

John Stumpner

The Emperor's New Car

Have you heard the story called the “Emperor's New Clothes?” Two tailors come to a town selling wonderfully fashionable clothes. These clothes are so marvelous that only the smartest and most important people can see them. According to the two con men tailors, if you couldn't see the clothes, you were stupid and people should ignore you. The emperor, wanting to be smart and important, bought a set of these clothes. All the people, also wanting to be smart and important, kept talking about how wonderful the emperor's new clothes were. Finally, a small child blurts out, “How come the emperor is walking around in his underwear?” The emperor and all the people realized that, out of fear of being called stupid and unimportant, they allowed themselves to be conned into believing a lie.

While no one is trying to sell magic clothes anymore, in our times we have some influencers and media types that are trying to sell other lies. One of these lies is that the smart and important people all know that to prevent global warming we must all drive electric cars. This lie is bad for many reasons. Some climate change is almost certainly occurring, but the climate has been changing for the entire time planet Earth has been around. Using the least polluting and most efficient way of work is always a good idea, but battery powered electric devices are not always the best things to use. Electric cars still need steel, plastic and paint, all of which create pollution to make. The electricity to charge the batteries still mostly comes from coal fired power plants.

Groups like ABATE of Wisconsin are like the child in the story, pointing out the lies of the influencers and other media types. As new and better batteries are made, electric cars, trucks and motorcycles will be a better choice. Other new types of engines and ways to produce electricity will be developed that are better than what we have now. And when these technologies become available at a cost everyone can afford, they will replace what we have now. That day is not today though. Some countries and even states in the United States have passed laws requiring people to use only electric motors in their vehicles and other equipment by a certain date, even if they can't afford the new equipment or if it doesn't work for them. ABATE of Wisconsin is asking our state government to pass a combustion engine protection law. This protects the citizens of Wisconsin by insuring we will always have the vehicles and equipment that best suits our needs and budget.

A famous author, T.S. Eliot once wrote, “Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important.” Bikers are often looked at as being stupid and unimportant, but this doesn't really matter as we expose the lies and harm being done by others and work to preserve the freedom of the road.

John