Veterans have fought and died in many wars to guarantee the freedoms of all Americans. Have citizens done their duty while soldiers were away fighting? Photo courtesy Law Enforcement Today.
I recently read a comment from a military veteran that said:
“I was once willing to give my life For what I believe this country stood for. Today I’d give my life to protect my family From what this country has become.”
How many other Veterans feel this way?
“While we fought for the American way of life – defending our Constitution, we were being infiltrated by Godless Communists (under the guise of being “Progressive”). Don’t be fooled. If this government control continues then we’ve lost this nation. The Worst Part??? Veterans did our job, but citizens let us down.” — Veteran Peggy Edwards on Facebook
If you don’t take time to vote, next time you may not have the option to vote.
Did you do your civic duty and take time to vote? In Lexington County, SC, there are 40,096 registered voters. Out of those voters 4,383 took time to cast a vote! That’s a total of 10.93%! In other words 10 out of 100 people went to vote in the election just passed! The veteran above said “That’s pathetic… I’m saddened by the apathy of Americans in General.”
Lots of folk like to say “freedom ain’t free” when speaking about the military commitment, but sit at home on their big wide sofa waiting for somebody else to do their duty of safeguarding the electoral system and actually voting. We ask the military to go and fight battles to keep America free, but what are those still at home doing to keep our citizens and government free?
Unfortunately it seems most citizens just don’t care. They like enjoying the benefits but don’t want any of the responsibility in maintaining a republic. United States citizens like the fact that they haven’t had to carry ration card papers to enter a retail or grocery store, show government approval to buy tires, get on a waiting list to purchase a car or a water heater, they haven’t had to ask permission to speak or practice their religious beliefs, or peacefully assemble to speak to their elected representatives, etc. But, those days are rapidly disappearing with the current regime in Washington.
Over the past almost two years many of the freedoms Americans have taken for granted have come under control by state, local and federal government agencies and magistrates. Who would have dreamed two years ago that any government official would call for a mandated “jab” in the arm with an experimental gene therapy or lose your job?
Who would have dreamed that American billionaires, or an American of any kind, would have called for “Shrinking the World population” or depopulating the majority of American citizens as so much dead weight that needs to be rid of? It seems that the billionaire who profited off of your hard earned money cares little for your breathing ability.
Image from “My Civic Duty Bucket List“
Just two years ago who would have dreamed that your state governor would have called for your church to shut down and for you to stay at home? The governor all but said out loud, “Forget God” and your obeisance to him.
Who would have believed that government run public schools would be declaring that parents are ‘terrorists’ and teaching Communist Critical Race Theory?
Would you have dreamed two years ago that the governor would demand you shut down your business or the one you worked for until he gave you permission to open again? It happened across the country, and most people obeyed like lemmings! They didn’t think twice about what country we live in, or the rules established long ago in this land and who is the sovereign in this country. Did you?
Most just did as they were told. Understandably, most people were scared and concerned for their neighbor, but with rare exception did anybody buck the unlawful order. Pastors, business people, and employees followed the lead of the piper and his tune.
But, take comfort if you want to live under Communism, it’s always been that way. Ask someone who has fled from Cuba, Venezuela, Hungary, Poland, China, or a host of other Communist countries. None of those who fled wants to go back to the misery and horror of Communism.
At the American Revolution only approximately 3% fought against tyranny, most willing to accept either side victory. We will never have the majority of the people on our side because most are lazy, apathetic, cowardly or don’t have the mental outlook to fight for anything, much less freedom. These people are content to sit back and let somebody else do their duty, while they play golf, fish or whittle their time away doing anything but what is required of good citizens.
That leaves the rest of us to do the heavy lifting! That means we the 3% do all the heavy lifting while all of the people benefit from our work! Definitely not fair, but the freedom is infinitely worth it to us all. Unfortunately, when the scales are tipped against ‘We the People’ then those of us who actually get involved in the fray come up short because the majority of people didn’t show up for their duty spot.
President Theodore Roosevelt. Photo courtesy Encyclopedia Britannica
In France 1910, Theodore Roosevelt said in his “The Man in the Arena” speech that
The question must not be merely, is there to be peace or war? The question must be, is it right to prevail? Are the great laws of righteousness once more to be fulfilled? And the answer from a strong and virile person must be “Yes,” whatever the cost. Every honorable effort should always be made to avoid war, just as every honorable effort should always be made by the individual in private life to keep out of a brawl, to keep out of trouble; but no self-respecting individual, no self-respecting nation, can or ought to submit to wrong.
Finally, even more important than ability to work, even more important than ability to fight at need, is it to remember that the chief of blessings for any nation is that it shall leave its seed to inherit the land. It was the crown of blessings in Biblical times, and it is the crown of blessings now.
Roosevelt goes on to speak of the importance of character, morality and property in maintaining this land. He said “He is no good citizen unless he has the ability which will make him work hard and which at need will make him fight hard.”
He continued that “if [the citizen] grow to condone wickedness because the wicked man triumphs, they show their inability to understand that in the last analysis free institutions rest upon the character of citizenship, and that by such admiration of evil they prove themselves unfit for liberty.”
In this speech “Teddy” also said,
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
I repeat all this to say that there are many among us who lack morality or character, who are unwilling to fight for their family, much less their country, and who President Theodore Roosevelt calls “cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat”. Don’t be one of those people!
Thanks to many of you not being one of those who knows neither ‘victory nor defeat’! That takes a certain high level of morality and character. I’m glad to know you are a patriot!
Thank a veteran for doing his or her part!
Michael Reed is Editor and Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online, and TheStandardSC YouTube channel where many video reports may be found. Please share freely and donate to The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.
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