We Need a Patriot in the Oval Office

By John H Morgan   February 1, 2015

American Sniper, the film about Chris Kyle and his four tours of duty in Iraq, shows the nature of warfare, the nature of human nature and the nature of peace through strength.

Warfare is barbaric. It always has been. And it shows the depth of human depravity. From the earliest records of warfare, the objective has been to win. Each culture sets its limits of what it will or will not do to win. Some will seek to protect non-combatants. Some have no moral boundaries at all. But regardless of the rules of engagement, the objective of winning requires killing a sufficient amount of an enemy to subdue him and his people. Most who engage in a war of aggression or defense seek the most efficient route to winning the spoils they want or protecting what they have.

There will always be war because there will always be aggressors because human nature is fallen. Aggressors who initiate war may or may not have any limits to their barbarism. General Patton was excoriated for slapping and demeaning a wounded soldier in World War II for his “cowardice.” The American sensibilities saw that as abusive. Other cultures view that behavior as a picnic compared to how they treat their own warriors much less what they are willing to do to the enemy. American Sniper shows a scene of an Al Qaida enforcer torching and killing a man’s young son out in the street in front of him and all his neighbors with a drill. The film The Patriot showed a scene of a British officer shooting and killing Benjamin Martin’s son in front of him and his family for rushing him. It was the outrageous act that moved Benjamin Martin to become a militia leader.

There will always be war and there will always be those who are willing to go to almost any extreme act of barbarism to win their desired prize over others, whether it is real estate, wealth, power or world domination. Peaceful people do not like war but they have to face the reality that war exists and evil people exist and they have to be ready to protect their peace through strength. History is filled with examples of peaceful naïve people becoming the sheep who got slaughtered by aggressive warriors. The Jews of Europe were naïve and shocked all the way to the gas chambers of the Nazis. Neville Chamberlin, the British prime minister, was naïve in thinking that appeasement with Hitler was going to preserve peace for Great Britain in 1938. Thank God Britain had a man of peace with a warrior’s spirit in Winston Churchill who stepped up to that moment of history.

From the time of Solomon, who armed Israel with the most advanced weapon systems of his time, which were Egyptian chariots, warhorses, and warriors, to modern times, those who prepare for war with the strength of a warrior’s spirit and the most advanced weapons systems are the ones who preserve peace against the endless stream of evil human aggressors. As John Bolton, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations has correctly said, “Weakness is provocative.” Weakness is provocative because it encourages the evil aggressor to attack with the promise of an achievable victory. Strength is a repellant because it discourages the evil aggressor with the promise of a painful cost.

Our president has foolishly cut the U.S. military budget to transfer large amounts of the government’s spending to social welfare entitlement programs. He has withdrawn from opposing aggressors in Iraq, Syria and the Ukraine. He is pursuing an appeasement strategy with Iran who is working toward creating a nuke to destroy Israel. And Israel is only the proxy for democratic Europe and America. He portrayed himself as a warrior who calls drone strikes and approved the SEAL raid on Bin Laden. The truth is that he is an appeaser who is exposing America to the barbarian warriors of the world.

Chris Kyle was a good warrior who opposed evil aggressors and advanced peace. His story exposes the current truth that this war is not over and we will not win it until we have a patriot who defends peace with a warrior’s spirit in the Oval Office. History is calling again.