Thousands of innocent Americans died that morning. And thousands more fine young American heroes gave their lives as we struck back. May they all rest in peace. May the families of the fallen find comfort and overcome their loss. And may we never forget what happened on that morning or the sacrifices of those who avenged that evil act.

In his first inaugural address, Ronald Reagan said, “I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do; I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.”

The sun may someday explode. An object may collide with earth and wipe out human life. No matter what we do, we all eventually die. Sometimes, our fate is inescapable. But Reagan was speaking of that fate to which we succumb, only because we let it happen.

If America fails …. if America falls .... the world will become a dark and evil place.

My prediction: In the modern liberal socialist future, we will all be millionaires …. and a trillion-dollar coin won't buy a cup of coffee.

It doesn’t have to happen. But it still can. Free market solutions must replace government control, individual responsibility must replace government welfare, the stifled entrepreneurial spirit must be unleashed … if we want to secure the American future.

Maybe I’m just too sensitive. I accept that as a possibility. But there is a thing that happens from time to time among like-minded folks that seems both intentional and counterproductive. If you think I’m out of line, ignore this. If you agree, help me stamp it out.

There is an old joke told by family farmers about how difficult it is to make a living on a small farm. The joke goes like this:

A stranger asks an old farmer, “What would you do if someone gave you one million dollars?”

The old farmer pauses for a minute and then replies, “I guess I’d just keep on farming until the money’s all gone.”

It wasn’t the kind of joke that would make you laugh out loud. In fact, you had to be in a particular frame of mind to see it as funny, and not cruel.

Like I said, it’s an old joke.

Well, if you think about how the Democrats -- the modern liberal socialists -- have treated poor folks -- black, white, Latino, etc. -- and they just keep voting for them, it’s pretty easy to see that scenario as another cruel old joke. 

I have chosen to leave arguments about the minutia of different leftist ideologies to the philosophers, the professors, and the pretenders – all those who think in slippery shades of gray to hide the black and white of truth.

In these times of political upheaval -- ill feelings, harsh language, fistfights and riots – I feel the need to offer an olive branch, of sorts, to those who might disagree with my politics, by swallowing my pride and humbly saying that the political left does not suffer from a mental disorder … any more than a child who believes in Santa Clause suffers from a mental disorder.

I blame it on the wall.

The history of mankind cries out a warning to us. We are all soldiers in the long war for liberty. The founders began it. We must continue it. Unless you are willing to lose, on your watch, what so many have fought and died for, you have but one choice:

Prepare for battle.

I'm not yet certain how I will vote in the upcoming election. I have never abstained from voting or voted for a third party candidate, mostly because it always seemed like throwing away my vote or helping the Democrats. I held my nose and voted for McCain and I held my nose and voted for Romney. That turned out terribly: eight years of Obama, the worst President in my lifetime. And I find myself facing the same dilemma: not voting, going third party, or voting for a Republican candidate who does not represent my conservative values. Can I hold my nose again, cross my fingers, and hope for the best? I’m not sure I can. This is awful.

I don’t like this feeling.

Each year America celebrates Constitution Week and Constitution Day, when 39 members of the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the United States Constitution in 1787. On that day the world changed …. for the better. That precious document was driven by powerful ideas: rights are natural and are endowed by a Creator and protected by, not provided by, government. Any power ceded to that government could only be given willingly to that government by those whose rights were to be protected by that government. Government would exist at the consent of the governed as insisted on by the Declaration Of Independence. In 1787 those ingenious ideas became the law of the land. The Constitution provided a mechanism to make changes or additions and the Bill of Rights and other important amendments followed.

Here is the opening paragraph of my letter to the editor of the Greenville News, printed on September 17, 2001: 

“The world has not changed; it has been revealed. We can no longer deny the dangers of our planet. Americans have long sought to feel protected by power and distance as we try to hide behind that crumbling fantasy. Our way of life, our hopes and dreams, our world is at risk. And now we know it. The heart and soul of our America has been breached.” 

There is a day so special that no words can ever describe its importance to history. July 4, 1776 marked a new beginning for liberty, a new inspiration for long-suffering masses who dreamed of a better life for their families, a point from which the modern world could set a new course toward that elusive natural right of individuals to design their own futures.

Signed on that special day and the days that followed, the Declaration Of Independence is the beloved document that commemorates the wisdom and courage of good men who risked everything, including their lives, to defy much of human history and provide an opportunity for greatness from the common man. And the common man rose to and rose above that opportunity; he created human progress beyond anything the signers of that document could have imagined.

Whenever I think back through American history my heart swells with pride. America thrives on freedom; freedom thrives where heroes dwell.

We are a country of military heroes.

We reap the benefits of this wonderful harvest of heroes who created our country, who keep the American dream alive, who fought for and defended freedom in the face of despotism or evil with no guarantee of the outcome. Courageous men and women heard that high calling; they answered with gallant efforts and offered up their lives to protect the freedom of those they left behind.

From time to time, after I have posted a series of tweets on twitter, a liberal will ask something like this: “Have you or any of those conservatives you quote actually ever offered a solution to these things you complain about?” Well, yes we have. Tweets, facebook postings, blogs, articles, even books are written describing political problems in a way which clearly implies, “don't do that.” Millions of readers are influenced by or draw strength from those writings.