"We are either a united people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a Nation, which have national objects to promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer act as a farce by pretending to it." — George Washington, 30 November 1785, Letter to James Madison
Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the "Home of Heroes," Pueblo, Colorado. The city earned that title by having a record number, four, Medal of Honor recipients: William J. Crawford (Army, WW II), Carl L. Sitter (Marines, Korea), Raymond G. "Jerry" Murphy (Marines, Korea), and Drew D. Dix (Army, Vietnam). MOH recipient Major Drew Dix (USA, Ret) is a dear friend and invited me to speak at the Center for American Values in his hometown of Pueblo. It is a phenomenal facility that is the only location outside of the Pentagon where one can find a breathtaking portrait gallery of American Medal of Honor recipients. The three core values of the Center for American Values, which they promote to our future generations, are Honor, Integrity, and Patriotism.
As I think of Drew Dix's center, I harkened back to the words of George Washington that he wrote to James Madison. We are in our 250th year of American independence, and the pertinent question has to be, what are American values?
I would ask each of you reading this missive to think back to our 200th celebration of independence, the Bicentennial of 1976. I was just a young fella of 15 years of age. It was the year that my Dad would challenge me to be the first military officer in our family. Yes, the ole Army World War II Corporal would seek to inspire his second son to carry on the legacy of honor and patriotism that he had begun. I look at our America fifty years later, in our 250th year of independence, and I see things that disturb me, and should disturb you, as they are not consistent with our American values.
When the new NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani asserts that "we will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism," there is no greater betrayal of American values. America was founded on the principle of individual sovereignty, because our unalienable rights are endowed to us by the sovereign Judeo-Christian faith heritage God, Creator. It is an affirmation of John Locke's Natural Rights Theory, which Jefferson invokes in our Declaration of Independence, ”the laws of Nature and Nature's God." Here in America, we do not elevate the collective, nor do we welcome the overarching and oftentimes tyrannical government. As a matter of fact, it was Thomas Paine who wrote, "the duty of a true Patriot is to protect his Country from its government."
Now, of course, today's Marxist leftists, who embrace the power of government over the individual, would call such words extremist. It was just last fall that Virginia Senator Tim Kaine stated, in a Senate hearing, that our rights do not come from God, but rather from government. He went so far as to compare such a belief as on par with the totalitarian theocracy of Iran.
Marxist leftists do not see us as individuals and reject our ability to work, attain, and have our property, the last unalienable right of natural rights theory. They prefer to embrace the Marxist ideology of eliminating private property ownership, one of the planks in Marx's Communist Manifesto. I mean, seriously, when did owning your own home become a tool of white supremacy? Who would have ever thought that in these United States we would have such an absurd thing as "property taxes," meaning that in America, does one truly ever own their home? Or how about estate taxes, which are levied against that which we seek to pass on to future generations as our legacy.
And all this ranting about "tax the rich.” Well, when did it become a sin to work hard and acquire wealth? Oh yeah, Karl Marx said it was, and another of his planks in the Communist Manifesto is a progressive income tax, first introduced in the first progressive American presidency, that of Woodrow Wilson.
The first tenet of a socialist economic system is wealth redistribution, which is what French economist Frederic Bastiat, in his essay The Law, referred to as government legal plunder. Let us never forget the infamous words of one Marxist-Islamist, Barack Obama, when he quipped in Roanoke, Virginia, in 2012, that "if you own a business, you didn't build that." What could be more disingenuous and disrespectful to that foundational American value of individual entrepreneurship? Then again, Marx advanced the idea of government control of the means of production, which is also a tenet of a socialist economic model.
See, last week, as I stood there before the gathered audience, I told them about this kid who was born in a Black-only hospital in 1961. I had a Dad who served in combat in a segregated Army. Somehow, I grew up in this exceptional Nation to also serve in combat, and as a Lieutenant Colonel, commanding an Artillery battalion. I represented a congressional district in Congress that included areas that I could not have gone to when I was born. That is all because the greatest American value that we have is the equality of opportunity. Instead, the Marxist left wants us to surrender to "equity,” which is the equality of outcomes, their collective determination of where and what we can become. In essence, a return to the divine rights theory, which John Locke refuted.
Let's endeavor in 2026, the 250th anniversary of American independence, and the 190th anniversary of Texas independence, to reconnect our Constitutional Republic to its fundamental principles and values. It is not just about fireworks, hot dogs, and parades. It is truly about honoring what we have been endowed with, and to protect it, just the same as all those distinguished Medal of Honor recipients have done.
And let us remember these words, a quote that is 250 years old this year.
"These are the times which try Men's souls: the summer Soldier and the sunshine Patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his Country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
Marxism and Islamism are indeed tyranny, and it is like hell but, united as Americans, armed with our Faith and our values, it can be conquered, and the triumph will be glorious!
Steadfast and Loyal.
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