The people of the United States face a peril that is unparalleled in the nation’s history. To make the peril worse, it consists of three parts: a religious belief so twisted that the adherents are determined to destroy us since our belief in God, freedom, and liberty stand in the way of their totalitarian rule: a nation in which a large segment of the population has a demonstrable lack of will to fight a war against the enemy: and elected politicians who continue to pass laws which continually expand the federal government imposing draconian laws to control behavior. On the surface the three don’t appear to be related, but they are as you will read.

First, the war in Iraq is about stopping those who use terrorism tactics to destroy our will to resist. Yes, war is costly in lives and resources which could be put to better use if there wasn’t an enemy bent on our destruction. Protest against those who say that those who disagree aren’t patriotic if you must. Patriotism is an attitude that says we will do what we must to preserve and protect the nation. Yet, there are those who refuse to believe we are in danger from a type of enemy we have never had to confront in our history. Those who don’t believe we are in danger have fought and continue to fight every effort made to learn the identity of the enemy and their plans. Such conduct contributes to our peril.

Next, the lack of historical knowledge is appalling. Those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat the mistakes made by those who denied we needed to enter the theaters of war called WW II. Japan hit us hard and Germany would have if we had not intervened to help liberate Europe. Patriotic men and women lined up to enter the fight against forces that were bent on destroying civilization as it was then known, so that their ideas of government could be forced on the vanquished. The people of the nation had the will to fight and prevailed. There were the dissenters but by and large, they were either ignored or told to shut up. The type who lack the will to fight are blind to the fact that they too are put in peril by their appeasement agenda. Neville Chamberlain of England tried to appease Hitler and England came close to being destroyed as a result of his inaction against Hitler. Had it not been for the will and the determination of the English people to survive, lead by Winston Churchill, the world would be vastly different than it is today.

Last is a Congress that continues to harp about the war and the reasons for it. They never miss an opportunity to encourage the enemy and if there isn’t one, they invent one. They complain that the war is taking away resources to help people in this nation. They have an agenda of socialist action that penalizes the productive and rewards those who want hand outs. By passing laws that continue to advance big government to control people and take possession of their property, they are doing the same thing that the exterior enemy is attempting to do and without firing a shot.

How are the three related? The exterior enemy knows that by keeping the pressure on those who are in the second group will increase their pressure to quit fighting. Eventually the political climate will change as the Neville Chamberlains of the world have their way. Victory will be assured for the aggressor. Last, socialist politicians will spend money that should be used for defense to increase the handouts at the expense of our security. Not only will the defense suffer, but the economy will begin to rot due to the government looting the wealth of the nation. Along with that, history shows moral rot will inevitably follow. The end result is a nation that will now no longer be one of freedom and liberty.

Can the peril be ended? The answer is yes if we realize that the enemy and the war are real; if we have a resolve to defeat the aggressors; and if we reform our attitude that government should cater to our every wish. In Sorting It Out, if the three perils aren’t confronted, our form of government will be relegated to the dust bin of history. Look at the former Roman Empire for proof.

© 08-31-2006 DEC