Another way of phrasing that is, “What Did We Fight For?”  By that I mean, what was the Revolutionary War all about?  What were the various wars we have fought to preserve freedom and liberty in America and around the world all about?  What are we fighting for in America today? 

There are groups on all sides of various issues engaged in what can only be called a war and each of those factions present an image of America and the objective agenda being pursued.  It is mandatory that we consider what is being proclaimed as the just causes being fought for and what America is all about.  It is mandatory that we consider what is at stake if various factions win and gain total control of the government and thereby society.  It is mandatory that we consider what we truly want and what we are willing to invest our lives for.

Once we have determined what is at stake, what is worthwhile, and what we can embrace, we must then consider joining in the fight.  Am I advocating a civil war with blood in the streets?  NO!  Ten thousand times NO!  What I am suggesting, no appealing to everyone for is if we consider our Freedom, Liberties, and Republican System of Government worthwhile we commit to that cause. 

How do we commit and what is the investment required?  That will depend on your level of understanding of what is at stake and of what our Founding Fathers established and envisioned.  If you believe that a Free Constitutional Form of Government is the best then you must commit to defeating Marxism, Socialism, Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, and defend the Constitution and Inalienable Rights.  That means, invest your time, money, energy, and vote to the cause of defeating those who want to destroy our system of government and fundamentally transform America into something other than the original intended system.

Our Founders envisioned a Republic that recognized God as the Creator and that in His position as the ultimate Sovereign He granted individuals certain inalienable or unalienable rights.  Those rights were never to be infringed by power-hungry, professional politicians, and activists who want dominance and control.  Those rights included but were not limited to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.  Included in those rights, as defined by the Founders was Freedom of Speech and Religion.  Deeper within the context of those rights was the Right to Thought.  It is out of our thoughts that we form opinions and out of those opinions we speak. 

It is clear from the record of their debates in formulating this system of government and recognizing those rights, they did not all agree.  They did not all say the same thing.  That would be a Utopia and not a reality when dealing with the human family.  We will never, this side of heaven, agree on everything and say the same thing.  We will say things and believe things considered incendiary to those who disagree.  There will be those who hold deeply racist views and those they consider beneath them will be offended by their thoughts, beliefs, and words.   However, to deny the right to think those thoughts are contrary to the original founding of America.  That right has been one of the things that have enabled us to overcome incredible barriers and obstructions and achieve national and international as well as individual greatness.

The repression of speech must be fought against by all sides or freedom of speech will become open to no side.  If those in power and the activists are allowed to control what is allowable to say, they will seek to control what is allowable to think, and rather than having freedom we will become manipulated puppets by our masters.  No human should be willing to see that transpire.

Repression of speech and censorship have been the tactics of despots throughout history.  History clearly reveals the tactics of Hitler’s Nazi Germany, the Soviet gulag, and Mao’s revolution, to mention a few.  Similar trends are surfacing in today’s America and that is deeply disconcerting to this Lover of Freedom and American Patriot. 

If I do not agree with what you think and what you say I have the option of offering my opposing view, walking away and not listening, or resisting with violence.  The latter is what destroys republics and creates unbridgeable divides.  Our Founding Fathers wanted to ensure that everyone recognized the inalienable right of others to speak their mind without fear of retaliation and censorship.  Freedom of Speech is not an American invention, it is a God-given principle that predates America by centuries.

We have social media not only threatening to take away that right from those whose views they disagree with but are doing so.  That is anathema to the very principle upon which America was founded and has thrived for more than two centuries.  Healthy debate that is kept civil enables differences to be aired, opposing views to be considered, and viable solutions to be achieved.  I have learned in my 70+ years on this earth that if I take the time to listen to opposing views and they take the time to listen to my opposition or disagreement we frequently find middle-ground that enables us to move forward benefits all parties in the debate. 

It is when we seek to silence any view, we deem offensive or disagreeable we doom ourselves to repeating the mistakes of the past or worse.  Sanitizing history solves no problems and does not recreate a world where it never transpired.  I have observed that many who want to rewrite history and sanitize it to fit the narrative they desire often engage in intellectual, moral, and social hypocrisy. 

I cannot envision the Jews wanting to rewrite history to eliminate any mention of the holocaust.  Most people of Jewish descent that I encounter want it to be a constant reminder of the atrocities and enable us to never again allow that to transpire.  I have discussed the treatment of the American Indian with native Americans and they all want the truth told about what transpired.  They do not want to sanitize the savagery of some of their ancestors nor do they want to deny the treaty breaking and ill-treatment received at the hands of the American military or government.  They want it to be a reminder to all sides of the mistakes and provide a means to move forward not repeating the failures of the past. 

Fear, prejudice, jealousy, envy, greed, covetousness, and hate never provide a platform for unification, reconciliation, and healing.  If we have an honest desire to heal the hurts, wounds, sins, and failures of the past it is required that we stop looking through the lens of political correctness or skin color.  If we follow a simple Bible directive to “Love our neighbor as ourselves and treat others like we want to be treated” we will have a pathway to healing. 

I did not say ‘treat others as they are treating us’ but ‘as we want to be treated.’  That will not make you a doormat but will make you bigger than the hate and empower you to rise above being victimized.  It will enable all of us to create a society in which we achieve the stated objective of being “one nation under God.”  It will provide the basis for us to be “indivisible” and thereby able to resist all enemies both foreign and domestic.  I want everyone protected from abuse.  I want everyone’s property and lives to be viewed as a right worthy of defending.  I want everyone to be free to express their views, even if I adamantly disagree and find their views repulsive.  Freedom of Speech must be extended to everyone or it will become available to no one.

God bless you and God bless America!