The last time I went to the circus, my preschool nephew, who refused to take off his Superman pajamas, held my hand. We had seats just five rows from the action. And, there was a lot of action. Three rings worth of action. Yet, a clown in front of us pulled us completely into his influence by his antics. The clown noticed my nephew and mimed classic Superman messages directly to him. Meanwhile, scenes changed behind the clown. Horses came into one ring, two men on high-wire act got themselves into position, the lion-tamer issued three tigers and a lion into the center cage.

I remembered of this while I had lunch with my longtime friend this week. Inevitably, our attention turned to what’s going on in the country. Our President revels in our attention every day. He sees what we care about and distracts us in outrageous ways. In the meantime, big changes take place right behind him. Orchestrated by Hillsdale College, The Heritage Foundation, Concerned Women for America, and a host of other Conservative Organizations: authors of “Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, the Conservative Promise.” 

Donald Trump said he didn’t read Project 2025. I believe him. And yet it mentions Trump 243 times. The writers of Project 2025 surely had Trump in mind as their next conservative leader. Trump keeps close counsel with many of the writers and contributors. Trump didn’t need to read it to sign on to the goals and objectives.

Project 2025 was copyright by the Heritage Foundation in 2023. In 2024, I made it my mission to read it. Every page. It’s very long and not that easy to read. Still, it’s divided into digestible parts. Before the election, I encouraged people I know to pick a subject of interest: Maybe it’s energy, or OSHA requirements; Maybe it’s education or healthcare. 

“Just read one section,” I implored. “And you’ll know how to vote.”

“Ahh, that’s just a bunch of people with some ideas.” I got brushed off by a close relative. “That doesn’t mean any of that will get implemented.”

The Playbook explains the need to accomplish as much in the first 180 days as possible. After that, it gets tougher to get things done. Legal briefs get filed, judges stop action, people start to demonstrate. 

Trump’s presidency is just a little over 50 days old. According to the Project 2025 tracker I found, the administration accomplished 42% of the agenda.

I implore you, pick a category and dive in. How about Education?

I have several teachers in my family. The administration accomplished 50% of the Education objectives in just over 50 days.

“We were asked to eliminate language that explains how the country benefits from immigration,” my friend who works for a text book company told my husband. “That or lose our funding.”

Yikes!

It’s easy to dive in and see the detail. There’s so much going on for education that it took me three screen shots. Still, it’s all very visual and easily digestible. RusticaGorilla even provides a reference page number for Project 2025.

There’s an orchestrated effort to dismantle or change every aspect of our lives. 

Some things might surprise you. I know I was surprised that “weaken regulations on baby formula” is under the Department of Agriculture. “Increase logging” is in the same category. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the process of being eliminated.

There’s a goal to eliminate Head Start is already in progress.

You can also search by category. I searched ‘energy’ and found that the Departments of Energy, Interior, and Environmental Protection all had energy objectives. That’s how I found that “Eliminate energy efficiency standards for appliances” is already in progress.

It’s our job to stay informed and take action when necessary. The Project 2025 Tracker is a good way to get started. 

While the President is keeping our attention occupied, the circus is happening behind him. Perhaps, like my young nephew, we need to refuse to take our Superman suit off.

“There is a superhero in all of us. We just need the courage to put on the cape.” – Superman

You can find out more about the Tracker and buy RusticaGorilla a well-deserved cup of coffee for their efforts. I did.