Oh, I’m Going to Create Enemies With This One…
“If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight!” - Patrick Henry, St. John’s Church, Richmond, VA, March 23rd, 1775
There is one thing that the Founding Fathers of the United States knew, and that is that people must fight in order to be free. Force was necessary in order to exert Providence’s will that people should be free. They knew that the French could and would never defeat the British and then simply hand us our freedom on a silver platter and say “Bon chance, mes amis.” The nation had to be galvanized behind the great fight against tyranny and oppression.
And so, we come to our 4th year in Iraq — thousands of dead and wounded Americans and even more dead and wounded Iraqis. And these are not Iraqis who are fighting in the streets for freedom, but women and children shopping in the markets for food, men going to and from work, old men sitting in cafes, kids on their way to school. And still there is no will to fight in the Iraqi people. Still they are content to allow brigands run freely in their country killing all that represents the potential for a free life.
I say that if they will not galvanize themselves and fight for their own freedom, they do not deserve it, and they should be left to fall into whatever depravity they allow themselves to fall into. What they fail to understand is that they’re already dying in the streets. Why not die for something? Why not fight for freedom?
There is a belief held by people here in the States, around the world, and over there in Iraq that if we just leave, all will be well. Al-Qaeda in Iraq will simply pack up and say, “Well, our job is done here. Let’s go home, boys.” Or Iran will say, “Well, the Americans are gone now. Let’s leave our neighbors alone so they can build a free democratic system of government.” Or Sunnis will stop killing Shiites, who will stop killing them. And they’ll both stop killing Kurds. All will be peaceful in Iraq the very moment the last US soldier leaves. Right?
“…it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts.” –Patrick Henry
The fact is that it is those in that region who are willing to fight and die for what they believe (be it wrong or right) are the ones who will prevail. That the citizens of that country will not pull together and fight these terrorists in their country is astounding to the sensibilities of the American population. It is an alien concept that people anywhere can remain so loyally shackled to the mentality of a people enslaved under a dictatorship long after the dictator has fallen. We enjoy our freedom, and if it is ever outwardly threatened, we will fight for it. (Though some would argue that as long as the enemies of freedom use subterfuge and political tactics, we won’t fight to preserve our freedoms … I’m inclined to agree.)
Truly, the “beasts” that Patrick Henry spoke of is what the Iraqis have become. They lived under the delusion for too long that life was too dear and peace too sweet, and they sold themselves into chains and slavery to preserve them. Thus, Saddam was able to rise to power and control the masses.
“Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that ever I took half the pains to preserve it.” — John Adams
How many more American lives can be spared to force freedom upon a people who will not fight for it? We can keep throwing our soldiers at the conflict, but it is not a war we can win. We gain nothing by kindly wrapping Freedom up like a Christmas gift and handing it to the Iraqis. They distrust the giver and wouldn’t know how to use the gift if they had the collective power and cooperation to open it.
Why is it that we insist on trying to save the people in the world who won’t save themselves? How many millions and billions of dollars have been funneled into the African wasteland, trying to lift up its people out of poverty, epidemic, famine, war, and genocide? And how long does peace last there before they fall right back into their previous natures? I say let the brutes destroy themselves. I say preserve our own interests and let the rest of the world burn away. Those who will not fight for a better life do not deserve it. Those of us who survive because we love liberty will be around to pick up the shattered pieces long after they’re gone.
“They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — Benjamin Franklin
