The old saying “a rose is a rose by any other name, it is still a rose” applies to the barbaric practices of the Islamic Jihadists.  You can attempt to put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.  You can call evil good, and it remains evil.  You can call an outhouse a portal of waste elimination, and the smell is still the same.  Barbarism is barbarism whether those in positions of power and authority acknowledge it or not. 

We have many dangers facing America, but the one that I want to address in this blog is Terrorism.   It is a genuine threat; the danger has increased exponentially with the non-existent border.   You can argue for an open border and ignore the dangers.  The influx of drugs, criminals, gangs, human trafficking, and disease are also issues of concern.  Those are topics for another discussion.

The Islamists are not the first in history to be barbaric, but they are as bad as any in recorded history.  Barbarians have no apparent conscience and genuinely believe they have the right to do what they do.  They continue until they are stopped by a force greater than their own.  When I review recorded history, I find there is much disagreement as to what cultures, nations, or societies were the most barbaric, but among virtually every account, I find the following listed:

THE CELTS…

They were prominent Europeans in the 7th and 8th centuries BC.  The Romans called them Galli, and the Greeks called them Keltoi, meaning “barbarians.”  Their maximum expansion was in the 3rd-5th centuries BC and occupied much of Europe north of the Alps. 

The Celts seemed to have a thing for severed heads and, after the battle, would collect heads, take them home, and decorate their houses with them.  They believed that the head held the soul, and by taking the head, they took the soul of the one killed.  They would often paint themselves blue and fight naked as a supreme insult, saying, “I have no fear of you, and to prove it will stand before you naked and exposed.”

THE AZTECS…

They held the belief that every 52 years, the world would end unless the gods were strong enough, and the best way to strengthen the gods was a steady diet of human sacrifice with a mixture of cannibalism.  Their practices were beyond horrific. 

THE ASSYRIANS…

They hailed from ancient Mesopotamia, and upon discovering iron and how to use it to form weapons, they became a terror of the region.  Iron was much more durable than bronze and made the Assyrians formidable foes.  

King Ashurnasirpal said:  “I built a pillar over against his city gate, and I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skins; some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes, and others I bound to stakes round the about the pillar; many within the border of my own land I flayed, and I spread their skins upon the walls; and I cut off the limbs of the officers, of the royal officers who had rebelled.”

It seemed to be more than their way of putting fear in the hearts of their enemies.  They seemed to enjoy the sport of barbarism.

THE SPARTANS…

They took babies they considered imperfect and tossed them over the cliffs to die on the rocks below.  They bathed newborn babies in wine to see if they were strong enough to survive.  Every male was a soldier and fought until they could retire at about age 60, which some have equated to living to 400 today based on what they went through.  If you died in battle, your grave was marked because you were a hero, but otherwise, there was no notice or mention of you.  Their law did not allow them to beat their slaves; it required it.  Their barbarism and fierceness were well-known and documented throughout the world.

THE MONGOLS…

It is estimated that Genghis Khan and other Mongols killed upwards of 40 million people.  They conquered anything and everything in their path and slaughtered everyone in the city except for the women they opted to keep as sex slaves.  It is recorded that during an invasion of India, a Mongol general built a pyramid in front of the walls of Delhi out of human heads.  He used 90,000 of them to accomplish his architecture.  They force-marched vast crowds of refugees before their armies as human shields.  At one point, it was reported that they controlled as much as 12 million square miles and were ruthless.

The closest we have today to the Mongols are the Islamic Jihadists.  Yet, the Obama and Biden administrations found calling them what they are impossible.  Those administrations denied that groups like ISIS, Hamas, and Hezbollah were Islamic and continually made excuses for their heinous acts.   It is not climate change, lack of jobs, lack of education, or lack of tolerance that makes them what they are.   It is their Belief.   It is rooted in their interpretation of the Quran.

Thomas Jefferson challenged Tripoli’s ambassador to Great Britain as to what right his nation had to attack American ships and enslave her citizens and why the Muslims held such hostility to this new nation.  The answer is chilling.   Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the ambassador, replied that Islam:

“Was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Qur’an, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”

Sadly, America paid ransom to these barbarians for 15 more years until Jefferson became President.  When Tripoli’s Pasha (leader) sent a demand for payment of $225,000 and $25,000 per year, Jefferson refused.  The Pasha cut down the American flag and declared war on the United States. 

Jefferson determined that this action be met with force and, with the approval of Congress, ordered the American ships to seize all vessels and goods that belonged to the Pasha.  When they realized the United States was serious, Algiers and Tunis abandoned the war, and the Americans defeated Tripoli.  This is why the line “to the shores of Tripoli” was added to the Marine Corps hymn. 

Jefferson and previous presidents understood that you meet barbarism and terrorism with force rather than attempting to appease them with rhetoric and temerity.  Hopefully, we will stand strong and never bow to the demands of terrorists and meet their threats with strength.  May we never bow to the demands of domestic terrorists who seek to strip us of our rights and liberties.  Let’s keep the Republic strong!

God help us wake up, stand up, speak up, and come to the rescue of the Republic and the world in the fight against barbarism.    God bless you, and God bless America!