Greetings! The title of this week’s constitutional brief comes from the time-honored motto of the US Army. In the foyer of my home is an Army flag. On this flag, of the nation’s oldest military service, are the words “This We’ll Defend.” In order to understand the context, the US Army was established on June 14, 1775, more than a year before there was a Declaration of Independence establishing these United States of America. As well, the Army was established with this credo, some 12 years before the establishment of our rule of law, the US Constitution. Yes, our fellow military services were also established in the same year, US Navy in October of 1775, and US Marines in November of 1775. How could it be that these military services were established before there was a nation? What was it that they were called to defend?
It is simple: the Army, Navy, and Marines were founded to defend the ideal of individual liberty against tyranny. They were not established to defend a defined terrain, but rather what would become a grand endeavor in self-governance. Since 1775 the Army and our fellow services have done just that, but today there is a new challenge.
The preamble of the Constitution of the United States lays down several imperatives and guiding responsibilities for the federal government. Two of those are to ensure domestic tranquility and to provide for the common defense: “This We’ll Defend.”
Sadly, we have those who have taken the directive to promote the general welfare into an ideological agenda of providing welfare. It is not the role and responsibility of the federal government to “tax the rich” or to force a “green” agenda upon the citizens of the United States. The preeminent duty of the federal government is to defend the American people, protect us from harm and danger, and secure the blessings of liberty, our individual rights.
This past weekend something happened that should embarrass the Biden administration but it appears not. Four Americans, one a mother of six, crossed the southern border into Mexico. the woman was seeking an elective medical procedure. They were attacked with gunfire by non-state, non-uniformed belligerents, terrorists, without any warning. Two Americans were killed, their bodies left in a field; one was wounded. The woman was not injured, but her wounds will be psychological and will haunt her for the rest of her life. This group, which has been referred to as a Mexican drug cartel is not a business organization. They are a transnational narco-criminal terrorist organization. Basically, America has the Taliban, ISIS, and Al Qaeda rolled into one operating along its border and flushed with billions of dollars in their coffers.
These terrorists have been working with America’s preeminent geopolitical foe, China, and I articulated that in a Townhall.com oped, to refine and transport deadly fentanyl into the United States. In one year of the Biden administration, there were some 100,000 drug overdose deaths that were attributed to fentanyl. That one-year death toll of Americans tops the number of KIAs from the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. Fentanyl is now the number one killer of Americans 18-45.
This is a result of the open borders ideological agenda of the Biden administration . . . which continues to tell the American people that the southern border is secure. They are aided by a complicit politicized media. The terrorist cartels have operational control of our border zone on the Mexican and American sides, conducting their actions with impunity. They have fired shots across the border into America; they are conducting executions in America; and they are enabling an epic tragedy of drug, human, and sex trafficking.
All to no forceful response. When Poncho Villa conducted his raid on Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, eight US Soldiers were killed, 15 were wounded, and 10 civilians were killed. The Battle of Columbus resulted in Villa having 67 killed, many wounded, and seven captured. This incursion angered the American people and there was a punitive expedition launched in retribution. So, we launched a punitive expedition in response to 18 Americans being killed by non-state, non-uniformed belligerents based out of Mexico then . . . What shall we do now?
This We’ll Defend . . .
But, this is not the only challenge we face, as our federal government has a responsibility to ensure domestic tranquility. Consider what recently happened in my birth city of Atlanta, Georgia. Another non-state, non-uniformed belligerent organization named Antifa attacked the construction site of a law enforcement and first responder training facility. This was not a peaceful protest but rather a violent attack, as is their mantra, using firebombs. Antifa has a history of this type of action as they have attacked various government buildings, law enforcement officers, and American civilians. In this recent attack in Georgia, 23 were arrested. Out of that number, only two were from Georgia, and there were actually two members who were from Canada and France. Antifa carries out its attacks clad in black, wearing masks. Why is it they, instead of parents at school board meetings, have not been designated as a domestic terrorist organization? It appears that the State of Georgia will charge them as such. Then why haven’t other states already designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization? Why have we not seen a firm declaration of such for the Mexican cartels? They are, indeed, a terrorist organization and must be defeated and their economic resources and property seized.
If we are to Live Free, then we must defend freedom and liberty, and not enable Americans to be terrorized. This is a time for bold, resolute, constitutional leadership, not for cowering or focusing on insidious ideological leftist agendas. I find it rather unconscionable that we are sending hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine to assist them in securing their territorial sovereignty, but here at home, we do nothing.
People are illegally crossing our border and receiving taxpayer funds, free cell phones, airplane and bus rides, and four- and five-star hotel accommodations. Four Americans legally crossed the border into Mexico and two were killed. The open borders policy of the Biden administration is making America look weak. Alexander the Great said it best, “I would not fear an army of lions led by sheep, but I would fear an army of sheep led by a lion.” America is an army of lions, but we are in desperate need of a lion to lead, one who understands that “This We’ll Defend.”
Steadfast and Loyal.
