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.
Wars, whether of violence and bloodshed … or of ideas, are won by those who most believe in their cause, who understand the battles to be fought, who know that the struggle may not be over in their lifetimes, who stay strong and never let down their guard, no matter the apparent weakness of the enemy.
The evil cause or the tyrannical idea does not die on the field of battle; it continues to live in the little minds of those who must control others to feed their perverted needs. Those little minds will never be extinguished. If they seem invisible, they are only in hiding … or cloaked in deception.
This may cause you discomfort; or, given modern education, media and politics, you may feel disbelief. The truth is less than obvious without the full and accurate context of history. But, at its core, liberty's long war is, and always has been, a battle between good and evil.
Those who fight against liberty -- the many iterations of socialists, communists, collectivists of all types -- have destroyed millions upon millions of lives, including countless millions who were murdered by their own governments and millions more killed in wars of conquest. The first century of American history, before modern liberal socialism had a chance to begin its spoilage, an almost unfettered capitalism, the bearing wall of liberty, transformed a new country into a powerful and successful experiment in freedom and personal responsibility, leading to prosperity and life fulfillment like the world has never known. Could the difference between good and evil not be more clear?
The good is often weakened by the false belief that goodness itself is a shield, that providence is an earthly protector, that God will eventually step in and save the day, that faith is the answer to all earthly troubles. If your lifetime has seen no such evidence, there is your true answer. Faith may comfort you, a Heavenly reward may await you … but today you are stranded here on earth with earthly responsibilities. The earthly fight, the battles, the long war for liberty is yours to win or to lose.
You are a soldier in the founder's long war for liberty. You may not know it. You may not accept it. You may believe that liberty was won for you way back in history, that it could never be lost, that your only responsibility is to enjoy its fruits. You may believe you have a higher calling, a more important purpose than to participate in the filthy mess of war. You may have no sense of the future, a future where your children and grandchildren will be forced to live. Today's troubles may be more than you feel you can handle. How could you possibly fulfill the duties of a soldier in a war, even a war of ideas, especially a war you do not fully understand, when you have bills to pay, children to raise, a future to prepare for?
You may live in comfort or in tatters. You may live on the fruits of your own labor or the labor of others. But know that all you have could be taken from you. Know that the future faced by your descendants will be different from the life you live. It could be better … but, if your efforts are excluded, it will more likely be worse, far worse than you can imagine in your cluttered mind, preoccupied by today’s trials and distractions.
Whether it be the stench of gunpowder or the strangling claws of tyranny, you will face the reality you permit to happen. Fight while you can. Fight while you have strength and the ability to act on your own behalf and on behalf of those you love. Whatever your view of today, tomorrow’s tragedies could be unfathomable. Today is your best opportunity to help set the world right.
Do not be the fool who offers nothing to the fight because your contribution may be small. Do not be the hero-in-waiting whose dusty potential never sees the light of day. Rise from your pleasure or your pain or your unproductive funk and join those who believe the future is formed by those who will form it.
Even if you still ache from previous wounds, the fighting is not over and will not wait for you to mend. Liberty's long war wants you, your mind, your courage, your perseverance. You must participate. And you must accept the heavy burden of deciding what your participation will be. Making tough decisions and accepting their consequences is part of liberty.
Act now, while peaceful and thoughtful acts can still affect the outcome.
There will be times when all seems lost, times when doing the right thing is frighteningly obscure, times when solutions seem beyond the limits of your knowledge and abilities. Summon your strength, awaken your intellect, figure it out, and fix it. You are greater than you know.
Important decisions fall to you at the polling booth. To do nothing is unthinkable. Know it or not, your vote, or your failure to vote, counts heavily in the fight for liberty or in the fight against liberty. You may be dismayed by your choices. Nonetheless, you must choose. The disarray in American politics can cause a type of battle fatigue; do not succumb, clear your mind, find your conscience, do your part.
You are a soldier in liberty's long war. It was not won in the last election; it will not be won in the next. Liberty will gain ground or liberty will lose ground. Your efforts or your inaction have an impact. Those who hate liberty and those who fear it will never give up. The battle for liberty will not be finally won ... but it can be lost ... if enough people stop fighting.The battle for liberty is never finally won ... but it can be lost ... if enough people stop fighting.