IM-1776: Our Generation's War

My interview with Joe Kent

This week I had the honor of interviewing Joe Kent for IM-1776—aptly titled “Our Generation’s War.” Kent is a Republican Congressional candidate for Washington’s 3rd District, and recently beat incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler in the district’s jungle primary. He will be facing off against Democrat Marie Perez this November.

Kent’s victory earlier this month was hard-won. Weeks before the primary, an anonymous super PAC pledged $723,943 to fellow Republican challenger Heidi St. John, followed by a deluge of outside money in support of Butler from both Republican- and Democrat-affiliated PACs. On election night, with Kent slightly behind Butler and with more than 75% of precincts reporting in, many observers triumphantly declared the end of Kent’s candidacy. But within days, Kent recovered and Butler was forced to concede.

Once again, Joe Kent defied the odds and silenced the naysayers.

As a veteran myself, who returned home from the War on Terror and found a nation in chaos, I was eager to learn how Kent reconciles his patriotism with years of lies and betrayals from Washington’s ruling elite. I also hoped he would address our generation’s role in this bitter fight for truth and offer a little perspective to young people who feel disillusioned and powerless.

Thankfully, Joe didn’t disappoint.

An excerpt:

Lafayette Lee: I’d like to ask you a question I was asked recently. As a veteran, how do you reconcile your patriotism and love of country with what is happening? How do you deal with this feeling of free fall? And what do you say to other veterans who are struggling with this?

Joe Kent: That’s why I got into politics. I look at the direction we are headed, and I know if we don’t take action now, we are not going to be able to answer that question for our kids. Of course, when we were over there fighting the War on Terror, there was a point when I realized we were all dancing to the tune of the Military Industrial Complex and our ruling class. But initially, especially after 9/11, the country really came together. There was a reason we were going overseas and fighting. That motivation right there is the same reason guys kept signing up for multiple deployments year after year. People were still joining the military at the height of the surge, all because they believed in their country. That is what built this nation. It’s the same spirit our forefathers and grandfathers had. And so what do I say to our generation, the GWOT generation? I say our fight’s not over. We thought our war would just be overseas and that we would all come home and finally relax a little. But that’s just not the case. Our country is in a downward spiral, and we have been given a special gift of clarity. We saw things clearly in 2020 with the COVID lockdowns and the riots, especially the riots and the violence. Thankfully, most Americans don’t have much experience with violence. But violence is a very real feeling to those of us have experienced it. We especially know how political violence unfolds. And so I think we need to use the clarity we gained overseas and help steer our country back on course. The stakes are just too high. And it’s true that our generation already did a lot of heavy lifting in their 20s and 30s, but here’s the deal, it’s still on us. These other generations, by no fault of their own, just don’t have the life experiences to equip them for this fight. They just simply don’t. So older millennials and Generation X, this is on us.

I hope you enjoy this interview, and please feel free to drop your questions or feedback in the comments section below. If you would like to donate to Kent’s campaign, you can do so here.

And don’t forget to follow IM-1776 for more great content.

Best,

Lee