So what exactly are the “gifts” that enabled president-elect Trump to “execute one of the biggest upsets in political history,” and how can they be harnessed in leading the nation now that he has been elected?

There was no pretense, no hint in this election, about the ideal of America aspiring to be a “shining city on a hill,” the phrase of Christian pilgrim John Winthrop, often referred to by President Reagan. If the discourse of this election reflects what is happening in our nation, we have lost touch with our principles and ideals.

The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan — ambassador, senator and presidential advisor — once observed that “you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.” To a sober, rational individual, this seems sensible.

The real discrimination taking place is taking education choice away from black parents and forcing black children to remain in failing schools. It’s a rare day when the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post are of one mind.

The theme is consistent. It is the left, operating under the pretense of fairness and freedom, that is the force of obstruction and intimidation. It is the left that works, usually starting from the office of the sympathetic president, to shut down dissent and alternative points of view.

Whether we’re talking about state governments or the federal government, it’s time to move government programs into the 21st century. This means giving individuals control over their own lives and resources through private ownership. This will create individual wealth and solve our government fiscal crises.

A recent event I attended on Capitol Hill opened my eyes. It was hosted by the Endowment for Middle East Truth and the subject was “Exposing BDS: The Movement That Seeks to Destroy Israel.” BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions. It is a movement trying to conduct economic warfare against the state of Israel by encouraging, through these actions, severing global economic relations with the Jewish state.

Earlier this year, Wal-Mart canceled plans to open in two new locations in the nation’s capital, partially because of labor regulations. If we really care about low-income workers, let markets be free, let businesses create jobs, and let’s fix our schools so poor kids can get an education and move up the ladder.

The story of remarkable Simone Biles, America’s new record-breaking Olympic gymnast, serves up a powerful elixir for America’s troubled soul. We need only take a close look and learn. Today’s dire situation in much of black America reflects more than a half-century of trying to solve problems with government rather than with Christian values of love, family and personal responsibility.

The new secularists relate to government less as a source of protection and more as a tool of aggression, as a battering ram to force others to accept and live with values they reject. We have had government redefine our ancient biblical institutional of marriage. And now we are witnessing the use of government power to obliterate all sense of appropriate sexual behavior.