Since 1861, more than 1,350,000 American soldiers have given their lives in defense of our country and what it stands for. 

A bit less than half of those died in our own American Civil War and settled the fundamental mistake that was slavery.  I hope most see that terrible loss as America's payment in blood as reparations enough.  

I don't doubt how few of us, particularly those under 40, appreciate the sacrifices made so that those who want to blindly badmouth our country can do so without breaking a sweat or suffering the deprivations that millions of us undertook to build and preserve our nation as founded and constituted.

There are more than 150 national cemeteries.  It should be the duty of every American to visit one and understand the direct line that runs from freedom to a simple grave in a national cemetery. 

Many will view the rows upon rows of plain and unadorned grave markers laid out with military precision in different ways.  Some will be emotionally moved by the loss of life and wonder why we have wars and all that waste of humanity.  Others will understand that our freedoms were never free and the world is not even a bit benevolent.  Still, others will feel incredible empathy and a sense of awe at the willingness of so many to serve a purpose greater than oneself.

Nothing I hear, read, or observe makes me angrier than those who disrespect our heroes, who served and gave their all, or whose lives were turned upside down, coming home with physical and psychological trauma.  There are far too many condescending people who know little and run their mouths as if they understand more than those lying in those hallowed graves. 

We always had them, but they never enjoyed the megaphone quite as much until after the Vietnam War. 

Vietnam changed us profoundly and negatively.  We've never seemed to have found our way back nor trusted our government as we did before.  We're all the poorer for it. 

The new "spontaneous" anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian groups are the latest iteration of Club Lemming.  The supposed issues change, but the violent rhetoric, lack of intellectual rigor, and, most of all, the childish and destructive actions they scream to the rafters in the name of "peace" never ameliorate.  No different than those before them, only with a different chant—"Make love, not war."

The very nature of a people who do not trust their government has spawned a productive breeding ground for imposter leaders. 

We've had those in the years since we left Vietnam.  Our experiences with our recent political leaders have generally magnified our mistrust and apprehension.  Instead of the inspired leadership we deserve, we get leaders willing to pander to our base desires and push off the critical ideas and decisions that someone must make but never seems to get around to. 

I view those who hate our history, our staid middle class that favors traditional families, and most of all, our traditions that rely on God and reverence for our flag as most disgusting of all. 

The young reflexive globalists among us hate us for America's uniqueness and love of the individual over that of the State.

The result is a country and a people adrift.  When Vietnam veterans returned, not to parades and accolades but to chants of "baby killers" and "warmongers," we all lost a bit of our souls.  This ripped the guts out of our country in a way that we have not yet recovered from.  It also allowed an entirely new kind of anti-Americanism to flourish and grow that now seems to have us by the throat. 

We don't seem to know how to react any more to our home-grown terrorists within.  Columbia University removed three deans for persistent antisemitic comments but, tellingly, did not fire them!  Why?  Because the removal was just a ruse to cover up the systematic corruption that goes all the way to the top and beyond.  We're all being played by a powerful, deeply rooted conspiracy determined to overthrow our country and metaphorically walk over the graves of our heroes.  Many know and understand but are fearful of the mainstream media's power to damage anyone they turn their destructive gaze on.  

Social Justice, Intersectionality, Equity, and Diversity ad nauseam are all tools that are customized to the individual weakness of each of us to defeat our common sense and hard-coded survival instincts. 

Millions are inadvertently members of a national suicide cult that is not transparent and uses misdirection and the latent tendencies of our internal evil actors to focus the rest of us on issues that are either trivial or miss the main point … to govern our Republic in the best interests of our citizens.  

It has gotten so bad that we can't even fill our historically much smaller Army, Navy, and Air Force billets. 

Why? 

The Progressives have the bullhorn, and two of their many tactics is to shame our youth into not serving while undermining our warrior ethos by allowing DEI to infect our warfighters.  

Undoubtedly, millions of dead warriors are turning over in their graves, viewing successive presidents of this once great land surrendering before the bugle has even sounded. 

We must not let that last call be "Taps."

God Bless America.

Allan J. Feifer is a patriot, author, businessman, thinker, and strategist.  Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com
 

Image: PxHere // CC0 public domain