“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.” - Sun Tzu

The Bud Light boycott was powerful in many ways. It was one of those "proof a god can bleed" moments that made other corporations sit up and take notice. It showed that when conservatives and Americans really wanted to, they could actually boycott a brand and send it into such a financially hazardous situation that its recovery — if it has one — will take some time, and many people from the top to the bottom can and will lose their jobs along the way.

All-in-all, it was America telling corporations in no uncertain terms to "FAFO." 

But one thing I never anticipated was the complete destruction of Bud Light, nor the incredibly lofty goal of some to collapse Anheuser-Busch, its parent company. While it was fun to talk about, it wasn't exactly a realistic goal given A-B's size and scope. The complete destruction of Bud Light was not on the table because even with the boycotts, Bud Light still had customers, deals, and brand recognition and A-B was never going to let one of its most popular brands just die. 

So, this prompted me to ask the question of what victory for the Bud Light boycott looked like. For me, the answer was simple: 

What would be more useful is to force A-B to adopt a new strategy and create a roadmap to work for and win back the hearts of Americans, or at least as many as they can. This means embracing the average American, not defying them. Its partnership with the UFC is already a step in this direction, but perhaps it needs to go a bit further. A UFC partnership is hardly good enough. 

A-B needs to put time, money, and focus on working with the average American. It needs to be very open and proud about how much it works to support our nation's veterans. It needs to help support American farmers, law enforcement, and first responders. 

In effect, it needs to return to being an all-American brand that doesn't even think of getting into socio-politics. It needs to be terrified of the mere thought of it.

I don't know if anyone at Bud Light was reading my article...but it did exactly all of this. In fact, when you zoom out, it's done all that and more. 

Not only has it risen to assist first responders and their families, military families, and even farmers, but it chopped the figurative heads off of those responsible for its disastrous ad featuring the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, replacing them with people who have no compunction to deviate from its customer base and push messaging antithetical to it. 

It also teamed up with the UFC, won the confidence of Kid Rock back, and now has hired conservative-friendly comedian Shane Gillis to be its new representative for his comedy tour. 

If that's not Bud Light doing an about-face and marching to the beat of America's drum, I don't know what else is. This is A-B saying that it's learned its lesson and will now make Bud Light the all-American beer it was supposed to be from the beginning. America wins. In fact, it's safe to say that conservatives, in particular, have won. 

The boycott should rightfully end now. 

Why? 

For a few reasons. For one, as I stated earlier, the complete destruction of Bud Light and A-B is unrealistic and increasingly so as time goes on, and besides, total destruction is a bad tactic. Why destroy the tool of your enemy when you can use it against them? Why kill off an army willing to fight for you? Why eliminate something when its resources can be better used to assist you? 

You are in a culture war and destroying a company willing to help you fight it in various ways after it made a mistake it now regrets isn't wise. 

Moreover, what kind of message does it send to other corporations who also want to turn back to the right path and begin doing right by the American people and their customers? That they will find no forgiveness for their mistakes? That will only send the message that there's no point in appealing for the forgiveness or allyship of conservatives. 

Better for conservatives to forgive and move forward in order to show that being on our side, the side of a majority of Americans, has rewards and benefits. This doesn't necessarily mean conservatives should forget, and Bud Light should be made aware from time to time that they remember. 

There are groups of conservatives out there who want Bud Light destroyed completely still, and to them, I say...you did it. Your enemy is destroyed, because the only way to truly destroy your enemies is to make them your friends. 

Bud Light is signaling, in no uncertain terms, that it wants to be our friend. So let them be. 

"One need not destroy one's enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage." - Sun Tzu

If conservatives or American-minded individuals who still value sanity want something to destroy culturally, socially, and politically, then there are much better targets at this point. Take a look at RedState's front page and you will find a myriad of them at any given moment. In fact, RedState delves into these targets with depth and analysis quite often. As the 2024 election heats up, you can bet it's going to be a target-rich environment. 

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