Patriot’s Side

A few dozen courageous men gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776 to sign the Declaration of Independence, a bold statement for individual liberty that placed their lives, possessions and honor on the line. In all, 56 men signed the document, the greatest treatise ever written declaring that a higher power had given men rights under the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God, and that a government derives its power “from the consent of the governed.”

Penned by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, the Declaration is essentially the mission statement of American Exceptionalism. It defines our nation and its founding concepts as unique in all history. It establishes a nation conceived in liberty, recognizing emphatically that rights of Americans are God-given, therefore inalienable – unable to be separated by the power of government.

John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776: “(Independence Day) will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America… It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty…”

Our Founders recognized that only virtuous, religious, knowledgeable people could maintain their liberty. Thomas Jefferson put it this way: “If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.”

But Americans of today do not read the Declaration of Independence, know it or study it. Many are not taught the reason for this document’s existence, how it came into being. Students today are not taught that this single page (in the original) defines and proclaims WHO we are as Americans and WHY we are unique among all people.

TODAY is our Independence Day, the “Day of Deliverance” as John Adams described it. (Imagine the push-back today from secularists and progressives if the date we celebrate was the “Day of Deliverance”!)

This July Fourth, our “Day of Deliverance,” please read the Declaration of Independence, so you can teach your children WHO we are as “Americans” and WHY we are so exceptional. It matters.

Originally Published July 4, 2016

Patriot’s Side

Allied troops amassed in southern England on June 5, 1944 in preparation for the greatest invasion in history, an invasion of northern France in World War II codenamed “Operation Overlord” – D-Day.

In the wee hours of June 6, 1944 the largest amphibious assault ever attempted headed across the English Channel to the French coast, accompanied by hundreds of aircraft to drop paratroopers behind German lines. Long-range gun batteries on battleships and heavy cruisers began to pound German fortifications along the coast at dawn, hoping to make it easier for the landing craft to unload their weapons, tanks and troops on the beaches of Normandy.

Five beaches were targeted for landings by amphibious craft carrying American, Canadian, British and French troops, but most U.S. forces landed at two of them: Utah Beach and Omaha Beach.

U.S. forces landing at Utah found themselves 2,000 yards south of their targeted zone but quickly secured the beachhead. But the men hitting Omaha weren’t as fortunate as those on Utah.

Rough seas, fog, land mines, barbed wire and heavy barrages from the guns in the German bunkers overlooking Omaha Beach took their toll. Many GIs and Marines perished at landing, shot while wading through the surf. Some units at Omaha reported 90% of their men killed or wounded as the Americans struggled to take the beachhead under heavy fire.

But take it they did, steadily pushing the German forces further inland. Their faith, fortitude and heroism legendary as they pushed on to victory. As President Ronald Reagan described them, decades later:

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or the next.

By the end of that day, D-Day, 155,000 Allied troops had landed. The Normandy beachheads were secured and Europe was on its way to liberation. This day, June 6, we honor the men who took Normandy in 1944, for their courage, valor and sacrifice.

Originally Published June 6, 2016

Patriot’s Side

I find it odd that the state-run media thinks it’s more important to have the endorsement of a popular basketball coach, who knows little about the national or international issues that would face a president, rather than any organization representing a portion of the voting populace; say, the NRA or VFW or FFA.

What does a famous coach know about national security? What does he know about a rapidly crashing culture and the steps needed to rescue it from oblivion? Can the coach voice his beliefs in the virtues of smaller government, reduced spending to match tax revenue, military preparedness, or welfare and entitlement reforms? Maybe.

The coach is a celebrity because, as many believe, he was a legend in his field of endeavor. Extremely proficient at what he did, in this case coaching a formidable sports team, he remains beloved and revered among Hoosiers. In the eyes of those who treasure the game of basketball he is an icon. And Donald Trump is fortunate to count Bobby Knight as a friend.

And Donald Trump’s acceptance of Bobby Knight’s endorsement simply means Donald likes basketball. That’s it.

Where I will part company with some who believe in “celebrity endorsements” is in the realm of voter education. There are those who say, “If Bobby Knight votes for Donald Trump, why, that’s all I need to know. I’ll vote for Donald too.” That’s a problem unless you know the coach personally.

Electing officials based on their expertise and proficiency, to represent citizens in their local, state or federal government, should not be based on celebrity endorsements. If I were on the Left, I would not cast my vote for Hillary Clinton because George Clooney “endorsed” her candidacy.

I didn’t hear news of any endorsements of candidates made by the VFW, the FOP, American Legion, or other organizations that represent the beliefs and values of their members, and would vouch for a candidate who shares those… Maybe I missed them.

We have enough “celebrities” in America without making them acceptable spokesmen for presidential candidates.

Originally Published May 2, 2016

Patriot’s Side

As the 2016 presidential primary election season unfolds, it’s amazing how many American voters don’t understand the primary election process of either major political party.

Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire presidential primary election for the Democrat Party, but Hillary Clinton grabbed the majority of delegates. She will continue to build her lead, whether in elections or caucuses, because of the loyalty of her pledged “super-delegates.”

Republican Party presidential primary candidate Senator Ted Cruz captured delegates in Wyoming and Colorado by convincing fence-sitters at state conventions to pledge to his candidacy. These legal actions, performed by candidates throughout Republican Party primary history, were met with shouts of “Foul play!” and “Unfair!” by candidate Donald Trump. His supporters, when interviewed by the state-run news media, were certain the “system is rigged.”

Of course it’s “rigged.” The leadership “establishment” in both major political parties has long manipulated delegates in a system designed to deny outsiders who challenge the party hierarchy’s hold on power and prestige. The 2012 RNC National Convention rule changes to favor Romney are an example. Candidates such as Trump, Cruz and Sanders are not supposed to be the presidential nominees of their parties.

Pamela Adams, writing on April 19 at Constitution.com asked, “We complain about the system but what have we really done to stop it? We moan and whine about the establishment running everything but what have we really done to change it?”

If you haven’t been paying attention or understand the process, you think it’s rigged. If you feel that way but don’t change the primary election process of your party, don’t bother complaining.

In his Farewell Address of 1796, President George Washington warned Americans of “the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party”… groups seeking power at the expense of the common good and the rights of others. Once more, we have not heeded the warnings of our Founders.

Originally Published on April 25, 2016

Patriot’s Side

Reviving and defining the concept of Patriotism

While speaking in Paris during the month of April in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt examined his thoughts on the meaning of “patriotism” and how he viewed that concept in an ever more connected world.

Even though he was beginning to develop a progressive ideology, he managed to define the importance of “patriotism” in a very straightforward way:

I believe that a man must be a good patriot before he can be… a good citizen of the world.

Experience teaches us that the average man who protests that his international feeling swamps his national feeling, that he does not care for his country because he cares so much for mankind, in actual practice proves himself the foe of mankind; that the man who says that he does not care to be a citizen of any one country, because he is a citizen of the world, is in very fact usually an exceedingly undesirable citizen of whatever corner of the world he happens at the moment to be in…

If a man can view his own country and all other countries from the same level with tepid indifference, it is wise to distrust him, just as it is wise to distrust the man who can take the same dispassionate view of his wife and his mother.

However broad and deep a man’s sympathies, however intense his activities, he need have no fear that they will be cramped by love of his native land.

Now, this does not mean in the least that a man should not wish to do good outside of his native land. On the contrary, just as I think the man who loves his family is more apt to be a good neighbor than the man who does not, so I think that the most useful member of the family of nations is normally a strongly patriotic nation.

So globalism is nothing new; as we see Teddy Roosevelt recognize the nascent eruption of a “family of nations” at the advent of the 20th Century. Roosevelt addressed the importance of patriotism in a world context and was very direct in his clear understanding of the concept of “patriot” and “world citizen,” and the difference between the two.

People can have that understanding once more – IF we teach patriotism.

Originally published April 18, 2016

Patriot’s Side

Vacationing with his family in Cuba the week before Easter, the president interrupted his press conference in Havana to give a 51second response to the March 22nd massacre in Brussels, Belgium earlier that week. The attacks were perpetrated once again by jihadists of the Islamic State (IS), killing 32 and injuring 270.

President Obama paused praise of the Castro Brothers, commenting from Havana, “The world must unite… We must be together regardless of nationality, or race or faith, in fighting against the scourge of terrorism.”

Possibly unaware that four Americans had lost their lives in the Brussels airport and subway attacks, he did not mention their deaths at the hands of the Islamist butchers of IS. He was concerned with, “Can’t we all just get along?” and… climate change.

Not even a full minute passed, dealing with Islamist attacks in the capital of the European Union and headquarters city of NATO, when he returned to apologies for U.S. oppression toward the people of Cuba.

He waxed poetic, ruminating about the “Two brothers that have been estranged… Cuba built by slaves… as was America.”

Communism enslaved Cuba and turned the former island paradise into a human dungeon. But that was the fault of the U.S. – according to Barack Obama.

When the president commented on “what the Cuban people built… we call it Miami,” he intentionally ignored the fact that Cubans in Miami had been refugees from Fidel Castro’s gulags. These Cubans fled, barely escaping with the clothes on their backs.

Living in Key West, Florida in 1970, I saw the rafts up close, cobbled together with twine, wire and prayers to make it across 90 miles of open ocean to the Keys. These were desperate people fleeing for their lives, not the workers who built a glorious Marxist success story then exported their skills to build Miami. Most perished during the journey, seeking freedom at any cost.

After visiting his comrades in Cuba he tangoed in Argentina, then returned to the U.S. The “Wish you were here!” postcards of President Obama, in front of posters of Che Guevara, will be in your mailbox this week.

Patriot’s Side

In 1947, Communist-led rebels were making ready to overthrow the governments of Turkey and Greece. Both nations’ attempts to resist needed help, so they came to President Harry Truman for assistance.

On March 12 of that year President Truman approached Congress, asking for $400 million as he laid out his policy to assist foreign governments to fight takeovers.

Known as the “Truman Doctrine,” parts of that pledge are reproduced below:

At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one.

One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.

The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.

I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures…

The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died…

If we falter in our leadership, we… surely endanger the welfare of our own nation.

Nearly seventy years later, WE have become a nation Truman described in his policy plan. Abandoning Truman’s first “way of life” by apathy and indifference; we are gradually losing our cherished liberties to suppression by a leftist oligarchy comprised of leadership in both political parties.

Truman’s “second way of life,” a minority forcing its will upon the majority, by force through a corrupted court system, a controlled press and election fraud, is here.

It’s time we turn this policy inward, to resist subjugation from forces within the U.S., before our choice is “not a free one.”

Originally Published March 14th, 2016.