In God We Trust

Where Goes America?

 

By Maj. Gen. Jerry R. Curry (Ret'd)
CurryforAMerica.com

Weak and confused foreign policies inevitably lead to wars like those fought in Vietnam and being fought in Afghanistan. An excellent example of what happens when a free and democratic country pursues limpid and vacillating foreign policies is best illustrated by Great Britain’s handling of Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930’s.

Lord Chamberlain, then Britain’s Prime Minister, was so determined to keep the British out of a war with Germany that he adopted an effete policy of appeasement and capitulation, similar to the kinds of policies the current U. S. Administration is pursuing, particularly in regards to its dealings with Muslim and Communist nations.

In his excellent book on Churchill William Manchester wrote, “The anesthetic effect of German promises to negotiate in these years was extraordinary. Hitler never negotiated. He lied, he bluffed, he blackmailed, but serious negotiation was a skill he despised, a refuge for weaklings.” It was in just such policies that Chamberlain took refuge, and our current president seems determined to follow in his footsteps.

In 1938 Duff Cooper, a member of the British Parliament said, “Chamberlain believed in addressing Herr Hitler through the message of ‘sweet reasonableness.’ I have believed that he was more open to the language of the mailed fist … we have taken away the defenses of Czechoslovakia in the same breath as we have guaranteed them.”

Does that sound familiar? It should because it is similar to the road our President is dragging America down right now. He has given away the missile defenses of Poland, the Ukraine and Europe and, in the same breath, guaranteed these nations protection from Russian missiles. Now, off-mike, he promises the Russians that he will be more generous in giving them the secrets to defeating European missile defenses at the negotiating table, once he wins the election of 2012 – that is provided he wins in 2012. Meanwhile, he seems to delight in holding out “unclenched fists” to our enemies who, in turn, keep urinating on them while killing our soldiers or helping others kill them.

Both Chamberlain and our President emphasized diplomacy over confrontation. What was the result? Chamberlain got WWII and Obama, most likely, will stumble into another middle-east war, a confrontation in Pakistan, or a military engagement on the Korean Peninsula. If today Obama cannot handle a non-nuclear Iran, what chance does he have of handling or containing Iran after it becomes a nuclear power?

In his book “The Gathering Storm” Churchill wrote that it, “became apparent to British men in bars, women pushing baby carriages, shelf-stackers in supermarkets, taxi drivers, businessmen, union shop stewards; to everyone, in short, except to the oligarchy in power,” that Hitler was a real threat to world peace and freedom. Here in our country today mechanics, fire fighters, hair dressers, clerks, airline pilots, Tea Party members, and many other good, solid Americans are telling this Administration that it’s time to remove the rose colored glasses they are wearing and to see the world and its threats as naked as they really are.

America is facing crises of a magnitude not experienced since the Civil War shook the foundations of our great nation a hundred and fifty years ago. We are not just fighting a war against terror and terrorists; we are fighting for the survival of both the nation and western civilization. Fortunately, on our side of the conflict there is no shortage of warriors.

Young men and women of all backgrounds and economic levels are joining the nation’s all-volunteer military to fight terrorists and terrorism because they love their country and its way of life, and are willing to risk their lives to protect this great nation. With their blood and flesh they daily secure our freedom and liberty. So let us be true to them and their sacrifices, to their protecting of the civilization we know and love so well. Let us insist that trade be fair; that spending and taxes be reduced, that we live within budget, and keep government interference in our citizens’ private and business lives to a minimum.

Today our President is representing America to the world as a failed state, one unworthy of the world’s respect. He’s wrong! Just because he is failing as president, doesn’t make the rest of us failures. A single visit to the wounded at Walter Reed Army Hospital should disabuse the Commander-in-Chief of the notion that America is made up of losers.

Evidently much to Obama’s chagrin, America is still the greatest nation on earth. Without America’s courageous and moral leadership, the free world and western civilization – as we know it today – would collapse. If the U.S. doesn’t lead the free world, who will: Russia, China, Cuba? Be serious! There is no other nation in the world that can fill the shoes of the United States of America.

Our Founders were not deceived. They knew that the U.S. had come into existence to be an example to other nations of the world, to show them that it is possible for a nation’s citizens to live comfortably with peace and in freedom. America is not just another western democracy. It is the premiere democracy in the world. If the U.S. fails or collapses, democracy worldwide will fail and collapse.

Which brings us full circle as to why the U.S., the world’s only super power, must maintain its military status and prowess. As history has so rudely taught over and over again to those who elect to pay attention, peace can only be secured and maintained through military and economic strength, not through timid negotiations, capitulation or acquiescence. At the same time let us not forget that the U.S. did not create the world, and is not responsible for the outcome of history.

From any vantage point, America is a great nation: we can be energy independent; we can grow and protect American jobs; we can restore and live by the constitutional principles upon which this nation was founded; we can save and encourage the traditional family; we can protect life, especially the lives of unborn babies resting in the sanctity of their mothers’ wombs; we can secure our borders; we can bring back to our schools discipline, decency and common courtesy; we can enforce our laws and be law abiding; and we can remain a nation of good and united people.

As that great civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. said, we as a people need to have a dream. The homeless, drug addicted, alcoholics and those who kill others without emotion or remorse – are unable to dream, let alone participate in the American dream. They cannot imagine what it’s like to be anything other than who, where and what they are at any given moment.

That’s why merely sharing advice or a dream with them is not enough. A dream, a hope somewhere deep down inside of them must be implanted and activated. They must learn how to visualize successful living, to rise above habit and accident of birth, to conquer all of life’s adversities -- to win!

You may be a thug, prostitute or drug dealer, but in America it is possible for you to overcome such circumstances and become an entrepreneur, a CEO, a college professor, doctor, or a U.S. Senator. The American dream is free and available to all. There is hope for all those who are willing to accept the dream.  It won’t be easy; but by facing life with hard work and stubborn persistence, success can be yours. But you must play the hand you’re dealt -- including the race card -- and beware of the dream stealers, those who would steal away your and the nation’s future.

According to the Constitution all Americans are born politically equal, though we are all mentally and physically different. The requirement is to succeed in spite of all hindrances, limitations and the obstacles we are born with or that are placed in our way. Let us learn to appreciate the importance and contributions of family, friends, and community. That’s why every person’s success is also a result of a lot of help, sometimes from people we don’t even know are helping us.

Lady Char and I have always loved our great country as I’m sure you do, and we believe in its goodness, and have always been proud of it. For the most part our lives have been spent in service to this nation and to our fellow man. We believe that the principles upon which America was founded are an example for all of mankind to emulate. And we firmly believe that every American citizen should do all in their power to protect, support and defend this great nation, its freedoms and its democratic principles.

What kind of a country will we leave to our children and grandchildren? Will we leave them: a bankrupt America flooded with illegal immigrants; will English no longer be the national language; will our Constitutional law be replaced by some form of Sharia law; will we be susceptible to energy blackmail or

will we be energy independent; will our citizens, our children continue to be killed while just walking down the street; will we have a President who cannot be trusted to perform the duties of Commander-in-Chief; will the homosexual lifestyle be forced on children in the public schools; and will the nation be devoid of the entrepreneurial spirit?

The America we know and love exists because our Founders had a vision of, and faith and a belief that they were creating a land of freedom and democracy, a land that would turn into being a great nation. These leaders communicated their vision to the people of America who, in turn, fully embraced and implemented it. President Reagan hit the center of the target when he said, “I have always believed that this anointed land was set apart in an uncommon way, that a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the earth who had a special love of faith and freedom.”

America was founded and is sustained not by a weak people, but a brave and strong people like Patrick Henry, George Washington and Ben Franklin. Where today are the John Adams, the Abe Lincolns and the Winston Churchill’s? Where are the men who constantly cleave to righteousness, who refuse to stand on the wrong side of issues and problems, who can be trusted and counted on to make right choices and to take right actions? These are the kinds of leaders America once had – and desperately needs again!