Being “American” Is a State-of-Mind

Talking with an acquaintance recently about what it means to be an “American,” he pointed out that it was more a matter of state-of-mind than a place one was born. As an example, he pointed out that the U.S.-born child of an illegal immigrant family from Latin America, whose first language spoken was Spanish, whose culture was the transplanted culture of the parents’ home country, and for all intents and purposes was raised as a “Mexican” or “El Salvadoran,” complete with the display of their national flag in the home, as well as the celebration of traditional customs and holidays, could hardly be considered an “American” in the nationalist sense. While technically this child would be an “American” due to the de facto interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, in reality he or she would be a “Mexican,” “Guatemalan,” or “El Salvadoran” who just happened to be born and raised in the United States.

So what is the “American” state-of-mind that so defines us in action and outlook? Is there a distinct American culture, complete with a worldview and belief system uniquely our own, that separates us from other cultures? I say there is, and it’s something to be proud of and to hold up as a model for the advancement of Western Civilization.

In World War II, a French civilian saw a column of American G.I.s marching by, not in the goose-stepping rigidity of the fascist Nazi invaders who had oppressed the poor Frenchman for four years, but in the typical, disheveled manner of the American fighting man, uniforms uniquely mismatched to fit each soldier’s personal style, helmets at a jaunty tilt, and full of easy smiles and friendly waves to the locals. The Frenchman commented about the Americans he saw: “They walk like free men.”

Free men! That French guy summed up in two words the rock-solid foundation of our “culture” that can be found in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. “WE hold these Truths to be self-evident…”—got that? Self-evident! There’s no argument. No way they can be discredited, disproved or debunked.
“…that all Men are created equal…”—No one will ever oppress us, enslave us, or subjugate us under a brutal, dictatorial regime!
“…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”—God-given rights that transcend the laws of man, and that no one can take away from us.
“…that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”—Understand? We are a free people, with the God-given right to live our lives the way we want in a manner that may afford us the most happiness.

A majority of cultures around the world, even in Europe, diminish and dismiss the importance and worth of the individual to the needs of the tribe, clan, community, political party, city-state, and government. In American culture, our sense of freedom is defined and epitomized by the “individual”—the self-made man or woman, often from humble origins, who beat the odds and rose above their poor beginnings, to educate themselves and forge ahead, tackling the “wilderness” (literally or figuratively), to rise to the highest office, rank, station, or level of wealth that they could. Often the rugged American would be forced to “go it alone” due to the timidity of others.

Americans’ belief in freedom doesn’t mean do what you want or live by your own rules. Americans have a deep-rooted and almost pious belief in the Law. We freely and willingly vote to elect men and women in whom we trust to pass the laws that we all agree to follow, obey, and enforce, and that we trust in to be for the good of the community. That’s why you would never see the type of lawlessness and depravity here as you’d find in Somalia, Rwanda, Serbia, Chechnya, and other places around the globe, where there is no respect for human rights and law and order. Americans abhor criminals, especially those among us, and we have a tradition of highly respected law enforcement agencies, which we applaud and encourage in fighting crime, chaos, and disorder.

Americans believe in “God and Country,” as corny as that sounds. We are traditionally not a secular people, as many in Europe proudly claim to be. Our ancestors were Quakers, Protestants, Jews, and Roman Catholics, and many Americans attend church services every Sunday, while turning to prayer frequently. With our strong belief in God, comes our strong belief in our country, the United States of America. Americans are extremely patriotic, waving the red, white, and blue from our homes, to our sporting events, and proudly at the Olympic games. We unashamedly believe that our Creator has blessed the United States, and we continue to ask for blessings for our great nation, its political leaders, and our men and women in uniform, in our daily prayer.

Americans believe in “citizenship”—service and civic duty—a proud tradition that makes us stand apart from people in other countries and cultures. From the local level to the White House, Americans believe in participating in the political process, in serving their community on city councils, and in running for state and national office. We believe in participating in community organizations like Neighborhood Watch, the Girl Scouts, PTA, and the Boy Scouts of America. While many Europeans remain suspicious of such activity, as they recall the Hitler Youth and the Nazi Party, Americans are proud of our civic institutions.

Americans proudly serve in the Armed Forces of the United States. We treasure our families’ military heritage and sacrifice in the cause of freedom, the promotion of democratic ideals, and the liberation of oppressed peoples. This is unique to our culture (perhaps the British and their former Commonwealth have the closest parallel). From Europe, to Latin America, and to the far corners of Asia and the Middle East, most people look suspiciously upon their own military forces, as they recall periods of oppression and cruelty perpetrated upon them by these same armies, who were usually composed of draftees and under or uneducated societal fringe elements, criminals, and outcasts.

This is not the case in the United States. Our military forces have never been used to oppress our own people, as they have in places like Europe and Latin America, and have served honorably throughout our country’s history. Our service personnel are all volunteers, who more often than not, re-enlist to return to places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where they believe in what America is doing to bring freedom and democracy there.

There are cynics who’ll claim that our military is a pawn of big corporations, that they are just advancing the nefarious economic ambitions of capitalist conspirators. How wrong they are. They underestimate the intelligence of the average American soldier—remember the individualist? To the American fighting men and women, it doesn’t matter why George W. Bush asked Congress to authorize military action; the combat troops don’t care what Halliburton stands to gain economically from a democratic Iraq. Each American soldier is his or her own general, with their own reasons for fighting. I have talked to many veterans myself, and they have all said the same thing: “I was in Iraq for the elections. To see the looks on the Iraqi men and women who voted for the first time made it all worth it.” Whether it’s a personal goal to improve the lives of the formerly-oppressed Iraqis, or to support the cause of women’s rights, or to just kick some terrorist butt, each American knows why he or she is fighting.

Now I’ve talked a lot about what Americans believe in, and it’s time I spent some pixels on what we don’t believe in. Americans don’t believe there’s honor in losing. We don’t believe in a so-called “nuanced” diplomacy that leaves terror groups like Hizbollah still armed to the teeth. Americans don’t believe in appeasement. Americans don’t believe in dual citizenship, dual nationalities, European Unions, the subordination of our laws to any United Nothings, or the holding up of our service personnel or national leaders to a biased, anti-American International Criminal Court. We don’t believe that the UN or the EU or any other international group of weak-willed appeasers will protect us or look out for our interests. But then again, we don’t really have to worry too much about all that stuff, do we? Because we’re Americans…

Now there will be people who read this and say, Wow, that sounds pretty nationalistic, maybe even jingoistic. Does it? I’d say it sounds like FREEDOM. Guess what? Americans know that freedom isn’t free. And you can’t buy it safely and cheaply at the corner store. You can’t order freedom on-line from the comfort of your own home. You can’t buy it at Wal Mart, or bid for it on eBay. It’s expensive and you gotta get dirty. You want to know what freedom costs? It cost 260,000 Americans killed-in-action in World War II. That’s how much that “freedom bill” cost us.

Americans are the most peace-loving, forgiving, tolerant people in the world. There’s nothing we’d rather do than never have to “send in the Marines” anywhere. If only the world was a better place and everyone behaved. We just want to have picnics, attend weddings, and go to our children’s graduations. We just want to be happy and raise our families, go to work in the morning everyday to become prosperous, and not have to worry about Islamist fascists flying our airplanes into our buildings! Do you get the picture?

So ask yourself this question. Do you consider yourself an American?

An American On Tour With Contiki

Ask any Australian between the ages of 18-35 what Contiki is and you’re liable to get sold on a fun-filled vacation package that takes young adventure-seekers from around the world, throws them all on a tour bus or cruise ship together, and lets them explore historic and exotic locales while mingling in a party-like atmosphere. Sound like fun? That’s why Contiki—the number one touring company among young Aussies—has become the worldwide leader in travel tours for 18-35 year olds. By offering over 100 unique and diverse itineraries throughout Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, at amazing value, it’s no wonder more Americans are catching the Contiki bug.

For young, single Americans taking a semester off from college, Contiki can be the perfect “road trip”-type getaway. Or maybe you’re a working stiff in your late 20s or early 30s, engaged or married, single or attached, Contiki can be just what the doctor ordered to recharge the batteries or bring back the romantic spark, without worrying about traveling alone, or getting stuck on the tour with a quarreling couple and their screaming kids, or the white-haired retirees strolling at a snail’s pace. By limiting the tours to travelers between the ages of 18-35, Contiki virtually guarantees that the Americans will bond with their young, foreign travel companions, making the “connecting” as much a part of the fun as sightseeing.

Contiki’s “themed” tour packages include regional trips to places like Great Britain, Ireland, and Italy; island hopping and cruising among the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea; to a 30-day European “Panorama” adventure through 12 countries. For more experienced and affluent travelers, Contiki’s “Superior” tours guarantee private rooms for couples and three to four star hotels for the more comfortably minded. Contiki’s “budget” tours are geared toward the frugal students and single travelers, or the backpacking set used to campgrounds and pensions. Almost all meals, ground transportation in an air-conditioned luxury motor coach, and lodging are included in prices ranging from $719 for an 8-day Berlin-Prague getaway, to $4,285 for the 36-day, 12 country “European Explorer” trip.

Having been on a Contiki vacation myself, the “Eastern Road” tour through Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, I can attest to the lure and excitement of seeing the sights while forging friendships with foreigners that makes Contiki travelers return for second, third, and even fourth trips with the legendary company.

Our veteran Contki tour guide, Louise “Lou” Clarke, a “Kiwi” (New Zealander) by nationality, along with our Dutch driver, Arend Van Bokkum, led 46 “boys and girls” (as we were called) through our six-country tour. The majority of the group was Australian, followed by the second-largest Canadian contingent. I was one of eight Americans, being the only one from the Pasadena-Los Angeles area; Our tour was rounded out by two Mexicans, two Italians, two Welsh, and one each from South Africa, England, and South Korea. It should be noted that the women outnumbered the men, and there were only three couples attached, two of whom were engaged.

The tour began in Berlin, Germany, where we were treated to an orientation dinner at the beautiful Park Plaza Hotel. It was here where we made first impressions; filled out important paperwork; and where Contiki veterans and rookies alike sized each other up, wondering how the group would “gel.” Later, during an introduction exercise, Lou made each of us give our “traffic signal” color: green for “single and available”; yellow for “dating someone back home but open to new possibilities”; and red for “taken—not interested.” Needless to say, most of the group claimed “green” as their traffic light.

From Germany, it was on to Prague, in the Czech Republic. Our bus ride was reminiscent of the latest spate of reality TV “road trip” shows, where the young and beautiful jockeyed for social status, friendly alliances were forged, and flirtatious conversation bloomed. Before even reaching the golden city on the River Vltava, the question on everyone’s mind was “who’s going to hook up with whom?”

Prague, one of the crown jewels of Eastern Europe and now inundated with Western tourists, dazzled the Contiki travelers with its rich, ancient beauty. Although the tour was fast-paced, the group’s youthful energy propelled it through Prague’s narrow cobblestone streets, down to Hradcany Castle, the Cathedral of St. Vitus, and Wenceslas Square. We explored the “Golden Road,” where Franz Kafka once rented an apartment, and crossed the Charles Bridge, lined on each side with religious statuary. Our evenings were spent dancing to the techno music at Karlovy Lázně—Prague’s famous four-story discothèque, which boasted of being the largest in Eastern Europe, or dining on traditional cuisine at Chez Michel, while watching beautifully costumed Czech folk dancers play their instruments and sing.

After Prague, it was off to Vienna, the home of classical music and the Hapsburgs. The splendor of this very Western capital was not lost on the group as we drove around the Ring Road, getting an eyeful of the Palace of the Hapsburgs, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the State Opera House. In the evening, we were treated to a classical music concert in Schönbrunner Palace, where the six-year-old Mozart first played for the Empress Maria Theresa. By the time we left this grandiose city, we were already debating which city—Prague or Vienna—had been our favorite.

From Austria we headed east, across the Hungarian border and on to Budapest, actually two “cities”—Buda and Pest (pronounced “Pesht”)—built on both sides of the River Danube. This grand city, with stunning castles and palaces towering over the Danube, rivaled Prague in Eastern beauty. The highlight was a nighttime river cruise, complete with fine dining and flowing red wine. By that time, several members of the group had become cozy on the top deck, and leaned in close to stay warm in the cool night air, hands clasping, arms hugging. Lou looked on with mild curiosity at scenes she’d witnessed countless times before.

Soon, we were in Slovakia, where Lou and our driver Arend, arranged for a surprise lunch stop in the quaint city of Banská Bystrica, fifth largest in Slovakia. A Soviet World War II memorial in the town square reminded us that the entire region was once under Nazi occupation, and was “liberated” by the Red Army in some of the severest fighting of the war.

World War II sites of historic interest became some of the “highlights” of the trip as we entered Poland. In the surprisingly beautiful city of Krakow, there was a walking tour through the former Jewish “ghetto”, the liquidation of which was portrayed in the Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List. Speaking of Schindler, we also saw his original factory in Krakow, where he employed the Jews that he saved from certain death, making faulty equipment for the German Army. These visits, along with our subsequent stop at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, held special meaning for one of our Contiki travel mates, Rena Moore, 26, from Canberra, Australia, who was half-Polish—her Jewish grandfather was murdered by the Nazis in a concentration camp in Poland.

Our visit to the campsites at Auschwitz I and Birkenau (Auschwitz II), at Oświęcim, Poland, admittedly the #1 draw to the “Eastern Road” Contiki trip by the majority of us, was our grimmest time on the tour. Lou had told us, eerily enough, that in all of her travels throughout Europe, she noticed that the “sun never shines on a concentration camp.” Despite the sunny day in the surrounding area, once at the death camp, the sky turned overcast and gray. I felt that the ashes of the dead would forever block out the sun to remind visitors of the horrible atrocities committed at this evil place. Seeing the actual thousands of clumps of shorn human hair, many still in braids; the hundreds of suitcases marked with the names and addresses of the Jewish inmates; and the baby clothes and shoes, all taken from the dead, was too much for some of the group to bear, as many of us walked away wiping tears from our faces. The Contiki “bonds” were strong by this time and comfort was readily available.

After a stop at Jasna Gora, the Christian pilgrimage site of the famous “Black Madonna,” we were on the road to Warsaw, once the model of communist capitols after Moscow. Despite its imposing “Palace of Culture” Tower with 30th floor observation deck—one of five similar buildings constructed throughout Russia under Stalin’s regime—the city is as “Western” as any back home. Poland’s economy is booming and many of us commented that their shopping centers look just like those in L.A., Sydney, and London; their styles were “hip”; the Polish women beautiful; and the city more alluring than we would have thought.

The long bus ride from Warsaw back to Berlin was taken in stride. The various groups of Contiki “cliques”, new friends and lovers, roommates, etc., played guessing games, read, or caught up on much-needed sleep. Once in Germany’s capitol, the bus stopped at the East Side “Gallery” for photos of one of the last-remaining segments of Berlin’s infamous wall, completely covered in period graffiti.

The final full day in Berlin included a “Third Reich Walking Tour” that began on the Under den Linden and took us past the Bebelplatz, scene of the infamous 1933 Nazi book burnings. From there we braved the hot August sun and made our way to the “sites” (they no longer exist) of the Reich Chancellery and Hitler’s bunker; as well as the SS and Gestapo Headquarters locations, now an open-air museum exhibit called the “Topography of Terror.” We also got a look at the Holocaust Memorial, the famous Brandenburg Gate, the Soviet World War II memorial, flanked by two original T-34 tanks, and the “new” Reichstag (parliament) building, complete with a giant glass dome and observation deck on the roof. At night, we celebrated with a “pub crawl”—an organized tour of several of Berlin’s bars and nightclubs, where the group toasted newfound friends and reminisced over our twelve-day adventure.

By the time the Contiki veterans, old and new, exchanged tearful hugs and kisses, e-mail addresses, and cell phone numbers, we did it with the knowledge and satisfaction that we had not only experienced the beautiful and amazing panorama of Eastern Europe, but that we had met young people like ourselves, foreigners with many of the same dreams and desires, with whom we partied, debated politics and world events, and shared laughs over our different accents and cultural quirks. We had, in effect, formed bridges between each other. As tiny ambassadors, we had improved, in our own small way, the relations between all of our countries.

Why Americans Fight

Any student of American history becomes acutely aware that our story is that of a people and nation forged in war. Most of our history revolves around one conflict or another. Most Americans can point to at least one ancestor who defended the Republic in one of our nation’s armed struggles. There are people here and abroad who ignorantly refer to us as warmongers and our politicians or military leaders as “hawks.” There can be nothing further from the truth.

There are probably no more inherently peaceful people on the planet than Americans. Almost as cherished as our freedoms is our desire to live in peace, raise our families, and enjoy the “American Dream.” However, Americans are acutely aware that peace comes with a price, and that freedom is not free. One need not look further than our national symbol than to understand what a nation must be prepared to do for peace. Clutched in the claws of our proud and fierce looking Bald Eagle are the olive branch of peace, and the arrows of war. You cannot have one—peace—without being prepared to defend it with military force.

I was going to write an article explaining why Americans fight. I was going to talk about our belief in freedom and democracy, and how it is every human being’s God-given right. I was going to search for poignant examples when I came upon an e-mail at work, from a La Habra Police Sergeant, Jason Forgash, also a Marine Corps Reservist, who was recently severely wounded-in-action in Iraq. This is a letter he wrote about his best friend, a Marine Captain who was tragically killed-in-action. In this letter, Chief Warrant Officer Forgash sums up why Americans are fighting in Iraq and elsewhere in this global struggle, and it has nothing to do with oil, George W. Bush, or any of the other reasons put forth by those who would discredit American resolve in the current war. This letter stands alone, as I can add nothing more.

“Brother in Arms”

May 3, 2006

I lost a brother today. Marine Corps Captain Brian S. Letendre died in a well coordinated insurgent attack conducted against one of our strongpoints here in Ramadi, Iraq. A U.S. soldier was also killed and another fellow Marine was wounded in the same assault. As a police officer and Marine, I’ve experienced death before, but this one hit especially hard. Brian and I are part of an eleven-man team assigned as advisors to an Iraqi infantry battalion here in Ramadi. I was on the three vehicle gun truck convoy that took him to the strongpoint where he was to begin operations with one of the Iraqi battalion’s infantry companies. Prior to leaving Brian at the strongpoint, I shook his hand and told him to keep his head down. Brian laughed and said he had to, “because I owed him.” Brian was a college wrestler and managed to pin me the last time we practiced ground fighting. It was our running joke that I would one day return the favor. Brian will never grapple again. Nor will he be there to see his three-year-old son, Dillon, wrestle or play his favorite sport, soccer.

In the hours following Brian’s death, my emotions have run the spectrum. This evening, we went to the morgue on the local American base to retrieve Brian’s body for the “angel flight” home. Servicemen in combat don’t have the luxury of attending funerals of fallen comrades. The next best thing is to honor them as pallbearers from the morgue or ambulance to the helicopter in which their journey back to the states will begin.

In the morgue, I was able to spend a few minutes alone with Brian. I fought the tears but they too won their battle this night. As I held his head in my hands, I felt rage toward God and hatred toward Iraqis that I was unable to dispel. Standing up, I walked into the next room where Marines and soldiers were waiting quietly to carry Brian’s body to the helicopter. I walked to the back of the room, the anger still seething. I stopped. There on the wall hung two flags, one American, one Iraqi. I paused. In addition to the American casualties, an Iraqi soldier was killed and several others were wounded during the day’s battle. I glanced to my right. There, standing next to me was one of our Iraqi translators, mourning for Brian with tears streaming down his face. My hatred and rage melted away.

I reflected. This wasn’t about Americans and Iraqis. This was about a noble man dying for a cause he believed in. I don’t care about the reasons this war began, I cannot change the mistakes that have been made in its prosecution, and I have little stomach for the negative banter about the war that goes on back home in the U.S. In my simple way of thinking, we are allowing the Iraqi people the opportunity to experience freedoms they would otherwise never know. On an individual human level, life does not get much more meaningful than that. I put my arm around my interpreter’s shoulder and pointed at the two flags. I looked into his eyes as tears welled yet again in mine. “We are brothers,” I stated softly. His gaze met mine. He nodded and replied, “yes, brothers.”

Hours later as we walked solemnly and silently to the helicopter landing zone in the early morning darkness, the Muslim call to prayer soulfully sounded throughout Ramadi. To my ears, it was a song of tranquility. This day, as all days, the sun will rise with the hope of peace. No matter the bitterness in how the day may end, it is that hope of peace in the dawn that gives life its precious meaning.

Jason Forgash
Sergeant, La Habra Police Department
Chief Warrant Officer, United States Marine Corps Reserve

P.S. My advisor team is putting together a scholarship fund for Brian’s son Dillon. If anyone finds it in their heart to contribute, I request that the La Habra Police Association Board open an account on my behalf to collect the donations. Our team will be opening the scholarship fund and transferring all monetary donations to it when we return from Iraq at the end of this year. If you think it is appropriate, feel free to disseminate this e-mail to other agencies and service organizations. I offer heartfelt appreciation to all of you in advance.

Semper Fidelis

Humanitarian Crises Illustrate Democrats’ Achilles Heel

The war-driven humanitarian crises in places like Lebanon and Sudan’s Darfur region are textbook examples of the number one hurdle the Democrats must overcome if we hope to gain the White House in 2008. Even liberals and those socialists on the Left, who hope to dislodge Republican control of Washington, know they must bridge the “security” gap that voters on both sides of the political spectrum feel is the Democratic Party’s main weakness. This is a harsh reality hammered home with blunt frankness in Paul Waldman’s book, Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006).

Waldman lauds the Democrats’ traditional stance on a foreign policy “based on the progressive principles that enjoy wide support: a commitment to human rights, an unwillingness to send Americans to die without good cause, and an understanding of the importance of strong alliances between democratic nations.” However, what happens in Lebanon and Darfur will make or break the Democrat’s credibility on defense, and will seriously erode what little American confidence there is in multilateral cooperation with the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, and the entire concept of “carrot and stick” negotiation.

While many Americans agree with aspects of a progressive foreign and national defense policy, Waldman writes, “they will need to be convinced that progressives have the toughness and strength to do what is necessary to defend the country.”

Americans must seriously examine the credibility, motives, and willingness of the United Nations to enforce their ceasefires and resolutions. The U.N. was impotent in Lebanon regarding Hizbollah. They are also notoriously composed of member states like Sudan, who in no way want to be on the receiving end some day of a U.S.-backed resolution to have foreign “peacekeepers” invade their soil and ruin their gig. United Nations peacekeepers are neither united nor can they successfully keep the peace. Remember Somalia? Rwanda? African Union troops are even more ineffective.

The murders, rapes, and genocide in places like Darfur, Rwanda, Somalia, and elsewhere will never be stopped by UN or African Union peacekeepers, because there is no “peace” to keep in those places. The so-called “ceasefires” and “peace agreements” are political ploys and outright shams, which are ignored as the shooting and hacking starts anew the next day. These regions are torn by full-blown civil war and fighting by warring tribes and factions jockeying for power and wealth. Understand this: civil war and fighting!

Despotic regimes with battle-hardened militaries and irregular militia forces aren’t afraid of “peacekeeping” troops, who aren’t really combat soldiers trained and equipped for serious, sustained offensive and defensive military operations against an enemy determined to hold on to power and execute genocidal plans. It remains to be seen whether or not UNIFIL, in addition to whatever scratch force Europe can muster, will be able to eventually disarm Hizbollah in Lebanon.

And there’s the rub.

Democratic politicians and activists, who have made a staple out of calls for bringing home the troops, while brandishing bumper stickers that read: WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER are caught between Iraq and a hard place, pardon the pun. The so-called Iraq “debacle” has honed Democrats’ anti-interventionist, almost isolationist tendencies, making them squeamish about sending American sons and daughters anywhere to fight for freedom. This is nothing new since the Democratic Party has always been reluctant to distance itself from “Vietnam Syndrome,” the last residual symbol of anti-war activism’s power, which it clings to like a tattered badge of honor (look how many times Democratic and leftist anti-war advocates have tried to compare Iraq to Vietnam).

The nobility of the Democratic Party and its activist stalwarts is that deep down, we’d love nothing more than to “send in the Marines” to kick butt in places like Rwanda and Darfur, crushing the dictators and smiting evil warlords, while dragging those guilty of mass murder in chains before international war crimes tribunals. We are torn by sensitive political issues, not least of which is the misplaced feeling among many Europeans, Middle Easterners, and Africans that sending European (read: white) troops to these Third World crises would smack of colonialism, triggering painful memories.

Democrats must realize, however, that enforcing U.N. resolutions and preventing genocide can only be done by NATO or U.S. combat troops, not U.N. or African Union “peacekeepers.” Many of us just can’t get ourselves to say it. It’s like the “Fonze” trying to say he’s sorry: “I’m saw…I’m saw…”

Can you imagine so-called “Progressive Democrats” Nancy Pelosi or John Kerry calling for U.S. military intervention in Darfur? “We need to in…inter…inter-vuh-vuh…” How do the Democrats tell their anti-war base “Iraq BAD! Darfur GOOD!” In the meantime, Republicans continue to launch broadsides against this “Achilles Heel,” accusing Democrats and “liberals” of being soft on terrorists, weak on defense, of appeasing dictators, and of being U.N. sycophants. This message will sink in and get through to the “security moms” across America, who think Al Qaeda is shopping at the mall down the street, and that a pansy Democrat in the White House will spell doom for the free world.

Americans need to wake up! What’s going on in the world is going to continue to affect the United States in a variety of ways; and it’s not about Democratic “Bush-hating” or Republican “war profiteering” either, although that is what the leftists in the party have tried to frame the debate as. Senator Hillary Clinton is wise to distance herself from the radical elements in our party, but she has a long way to go if she hopes to become the first woman President of the United States.

Who’s Afraid of Big Brother?

There’s a huge debate underway in America about government infringement of our civil liberties, domestic spying, and the “shredding of the Constitution,” all in the name of security. There are politicians and bloggers calling for charges of treason against The New York Times for exposing state “secrets,” blonde, trophy wife CIA agents are being “outed” (does anyone really believe she was a covert operative anywhere?), and peace activist tree-huggers are looking over their shoulders, lest covert operatives swoop in and rendition them to shadowy, torturous allies in Eastern Europe. The recent arrests in Great Britain, of over twenty suspected terrorists, many of whom were apprehended by utilizing the same controversial phone wire-tapping and financial transaction-snooping that have civil libertarians wringing their hands has only made this topic more complex. Are Americans’ freedoms really in danger? Is Big Brother for real?

For all of those Americans who are afraid that the Global War on Terrorism has pushed our country into a neo-Orwellian age, you all need to take a step back while taking a collective deep breath.

For one thing, quit looking over your shoulder. If you were a real threat, and I mean a real threat, and the government was really after you, you’d be gone! Dead. End-of-story. Say bye-bye to that iPod and your laptop. The people who need to know who the bad guys are already do, and you aren’t one of them. And trust me, the bad guys aren’t sitting where you are, checking their e-mails and reading my blog. They’re assembling a suitcase nuke right now in a rented apartment with no furniture in some God-forsaken neighborhood somewhere—now that you should worry about.

Secondly, do you actually think that anyone from The New York Times or any other paper, blogger, anchorman, or petty congressman serving on a red-tape committee has any real secrets to “leak” to the enemy? I’m talking hard-core, double secret probation, triple XXX, top, top secret stuff. Not “oh, look, we’re following the bank money” fluff—everyone knows that! I’m talking about the D-Day-landing’s-gonna-be-at-Normandy-type stuff. Of course not. Anything you read and see in the media, I guarantee you George W. Bush and his people wanted you (and the enemy) to see, hear, read, etc., no matter what it is. Get real. There’s a war on. This is life-and-death stuff we’re talking about.

And wake up! CIA Agent Valerie Plame wasn’t deep undercover in Osama bin Laden’s headquarters either. She wouldn’t have been able to get her oil changed at a Jiffy Lube in East LA without being noticed. In fact, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to her. I’m sure she already has an agent. And don’t put it past Playboy to offer her a cool mil for a photo shoot. It’s all smoke and mirrors, people! The real spooks doing the real spy stuff are slitting the throats of our enemies as we speak. They’re not getting “outed” by Robert Novak.

How do I know this stuff, you might ask? I’m an agent of “Big Brother”! As a police officer I stop paranoid people all the time who think their rights are being infringed upon by a corrupt government out of control. You’d be surprised how many folks don’t carry one stitch of identification on them.

“You have nothing with your name on it? Not even a Blockbuster card?” I ask. “Don’t you know there’s a war on? Patriot Act II and all that? Two, three…”

I don’t even know what Patriot Act we’re on anymore. They question me as to why I want to know their name, date of birth, home address—like I’m gonna steal their identity or something. I dunno, ‘cause it’s the law! Hey, I’m just trying to get an iced tall mocha at Starbucks, okay? Hurry up and gimme your info!

I mean, if the aforementioned interchange between a governmental stormtrooper, pig, cop, whatever you want to call it, hasn’t convinced you that Big Brother really isn’t watching you, I don’t know what will.

Seriously, though, if you are a true American, and by that, I mean that you have no “dual” nationalistic loyalties, and you believe in what the United States stands for; if you truly want us to vanquish our enemies in the Global War on Terrorism; if you do not wish ill will upon our country, or our troops overseas, no matter how you feel about President Bush; if you do not support or aid, either directly or indirectly, any anti-American causes, beliefs, organizations, not limited to, but including terror organizations, whether foreign or domestic, socialist, communist, or fascist-sympathetic or aligned groups that seek some anti-democratic, anti-capitalist “utopian” world order, and international organizations that seek to undermine our government or laws; if you do not engage in criminal activity that seeks to undermine the fabric of our American society, then you have absolutely NOTHING to fear from the U.S. government or its agents, in any of its manifestations, whether federal, state, county, or local. Got it? No one’s gonna get you, or spy on you, or infringe on your civil rights.

It boggles the mind that in the fifth year of a war against a determined, sadistic enemy, which shows no mercy, abides by none of the so-called “rules of war” that Westerners try to cling to, murders innocent women and children without remorse, literally saws the heads off civilian non-combatants, publicly declares their intention to wipe Israel from the map and bring death to America, that there are people here in the U.S. more afraid of bureaucratic stuffed shirts sifting through their Verizon bill and eavesdropping on their boring phone conversations.

What is the real issue here? The civil rights and anti-war activists have beaten the drums of our slowly-eroding freedoms for nearly half a decade now. I don’t know anybody—and I know hundreds of people—who have had their “freedoms” infringed upon by the Federal government’s war effort. I can’t think of any ordinary Americans who have been oppressed because of what’s happened at Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib. Secret agents aren’t arresting Mr. Brady and George Jefferson as they head home from a hard day at the office. Soccer moms aren’t getting dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night by Delta Force troops dropped out of “black helicopters,” and Big Brother isn’t infiltrating PTA meetings and Eagle Scout Courts of Honor.

The only people who need to fear, say, the NSA’s Terrorist Surveillance Program, are those individuals and groups, many of them already here on U.S. soil, who mean to do us real harm. The majority of Americans, thankfully, won’t know for a long time how close many of them came to death; how their lives were spared from a dirty bomb detonation, or a terror attack upon a shopping mall, because the U.S. “war machine”—including the military, NSA, CIA, FBI, state, county, and local law enforcement—used all the tools they had at their disposal, including phone records, to identify, detect, intercept, apprehend, and in some cases eliminate, terrorists and terror cells as they devised or were about to execute their evil plans. As a member of our police forces, I can tell you that these clandestine “battles” occur every day in cities throughout the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

Protesting governmental policy, whether national or local, is a vital and cherished right of Americans everywhere. We need to use it wisely and pick and choose our battles. Not all domestic spying is bad. This isn’t the 1960s anymore. The “enemy” isn’t college hippies, Chicanos, and Jewish and African-American civil rights activists. The enemy is a brutal international cabal of radical Islamic murderers—Islamists—who will stop at nothing to kill you, your whole family, your neighbors across the street, all of your children’s classmates at school, your friendly neighborhood cop you see at Starbucks every day, our servicemen and women around the globe, and every other Christian, Jew, Hindu, etc., and even Muslims who aid the West, in their thirst for a global Islamic caliphate.

As cops we tell people all the time that the only ones who need to fear the police are the criminals. Law-abiding, truly innocent people are friends of the police. Ergo, only evil-doers need to fear domestic spy programs, wire-tapping, rendition, Guantanamo, the CIA recruiting on college campuses, Ann Coulter, Girl Scouts selling cookies. The government has better things to do than spy on “Joe Sixpack.” If, after reading this, you’re still unconvinced and mistrust the Federal government and want to really do a number on them, just let them peek at your Verizon bill. Have you ever tried to decipher that thing? Let the NSA listen in on your phone conversations, too—you’d kill them!

“Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Where you at?”

America vs. The World, or Why a Rogue World Hates Us

Noam Chomsky, the literary and philosophical guru of the American Left, recently declared that not only was the United States a “failed state,” but even worse, a “leading rogue state” whose leaders and policies he likened to the Nazis who were tried at Nuremberg. Americans, according to Chomsky, and especially American soldiers, must “pay massive reparations to the victims for the crimes they committed.” Do you want to know what “crimes” Chomsky said have been perpetrated against poor Third World people by Americans? Economic sanctions against Iraq, and ostensibly enforcement of the United Nations’ “No Fly Zone” zone are some of them. Chomsky included 1980s support for Saddam Hussein’s regime as an American atrocity against the Iraqis, which conveniently allows him to blame all of Hussein’s atrocities against his own people on the U.S., even after the first Persian Gulf War.

The fact that, as Chomsky claims, much of the world considers the U.S. as “a threat to their existence,” and that the war in Iraq has “raised an enormous hostility throughout much of the world, and particularly the Muslim world,” shouldn’t particularly worry any historically-minded American. It just means that the real bad guys have been put on notice. Much of the world should consider us a threat to their existence. You want to know why? Because what the average happy-go-lucky American and politically-correct-even-unto-their-own-undoing European on the street doesn’t realize, is that most of the world is not like “us.” Most people in the world live in real rogue states where dictators and warlords rule with an iron fist and an AK-47. There is no such thing as freedom and democracy, they’ve never heard of civil rights, and you could be killed for being a woman walking out by yourself or holding hands with someone of the same sex in public.

Further more, the notion that the Islamist-controlled Muslim world has been outraged by our mission to bring democracy and freedom to the Middle East doesn’t concern me one bit. The Islamists have been angered by our existence and have terrorized Americans since President Jefferson’s time. They cold-heartedly flew airliners packed with innocent men, women, and children into our buildings, filled with more innocent men, women, and children, long before we ever “invaded” Iraq.

As for the other countries that are “threatened” by us, whose people mistrust us, or wish us ill will, well, let’s take a look shall we. Russia and China certainly have reason to fear us. The Russians once murdered millions of their own countrymen during Stalin’s purges, and their communist yoke enslaved much of the European and Eurasian world. They miss the good ol’ days and are eager for revenge against the Americans, who brought down the Iron Curtain, freed millions of Europeans, and won the Cold War. The Chinese, under Mao Zedong, murdered just as many, if not more of their own people than the Soviets did, and were checked by American forces in their attempt to take South Korea during the Korean War. And dang it, the pesky U.S. Navy keeps them from attacking, subjugating, and oppressing the people of Taiwan.

The French thought they could stick it to their old nemesis, Great Britain, by throwing their lot in with the early Americans and helping us defeat the British. All along, however, the French wanted nothing to do with the new United States or democracy, and thought we didn’t have a chance in heck of succeeding. As it turned out, our democracy not only prevailed, but its spirit eventually led to the collapse of France’s ruling monarchy, as well as many of the dictatorial monarchies of the world. France, once the epitome of “global” leadership and culture, has since taken a back seat (they might actually be in the trunk!) to America, whose so-called “Cultural Imperialism” (i.e., everyone in the world likes the stuff we make more than their own stuff) the French claim is taking over the planet. So, yeah, the French don’t like us at all and are always secretly helping our antagonists, like Saddam Hussein, et all. Actually, in World War II they openly helped the people we would fight, when the Vichy French government sided with the Nazis.

I won’t even get into why the Germans aren’t fond of the United States. Historically, American-German animosity goes back a long way, to the days when Hessian mercenaries mercilessly bayoneted surrendering American soldiers during the Battle of Long Island in the American Revolution. Therefore, events like the Battle of Trenton, World War I, and World War II become symbols of obvious, simplistic reasons. The United States occupied West Germany outright for ten years after World War II, and to this day we still have military bases and nuclear weapons there. Ironically, the Germans depended on the United States the most during the Cold War, to protect them from the Soviet Union.

The rest of Western Europe can’t stand us because we stand up to the Islamists, unlike the Dutch, Norwegians, Swedes, Swiss, Italians, Spaniards, etc., whose societies are being overrun by self-ostracized, disaffected Muslim youths being indoctrinated in European state-funded mosques to turn Europe into an Islamic caliphate. Yea, multiculturalism! Many of the Europeans might be alarmed if they weren’t too busy lambasting the United States and Israel, while carrying out their usual anti-Semitic antics. The Europeans, much like many leftist Democrats here, would love nothing more than for the U.S. to be “humbled” (read “defeated”) in the Global War on Terrorism, if anything, so that they could look down their noses at us while sipping café au laits and say: “I told you so!” while paying tributes to their new Islamist masters.

Perhaps what really riles all those people, groups, and nations who “hate” us, many of them who once had powerful empires stretching across continents, is that our nation has become the world’s sole superpower not at the point of a bayonet, as they did it, but through the success of our ideas and our economic and political model. Americans don’t have to invade, conquer, occupy or annex. Nobody can point to any real imperialist “empire” Americans cling woefully to, as the French, Dutch, Germans, Russians, Italians, Spanish, and British all tried and failed in. Peaceful, freedom-loving people aren’t afraid of American soldiers, the way Europeans feared the murderous Nazis or marauding Soviet troops. Our military isn’t made up of poor, uneducated draftees. American soldiers are volunteers who believe in what they are doing, without promises of empire or war booty. That’s what galls these rogue regimes—that our country is the only nation whose sons and daughters volunteer, and are willing to fight in foreign lands they’ve never heard of, for oppressed people whose customs and language they don’t understand, so that those people might become free.

Just think about that for a moment. Americans have gone off to fight and die in places like France, Belgium, Germany, Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and the only land we’ve ever asked for in return, as Colin Powell once said, was a little place to bury our dead.

That is why we are hated. Because our enemies cannot understand this type of person—the American—tolerant, generous, free, and independent-minded. Our enemies know that the United States can never be defeated. America isn’t a place whose capital you can occupy, or whose buildings you can destroy, to make us surrender. You can’t defeat an idea, and that is what America represents—freedom, democracy, and a scorn of oppression—that burns in the heart of each one of us.

As for the other countries in the world who consider us a threat to their existence: Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea (many of these countries, by the way, are, or were members of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council—go figure!), as well as the groups who also consider America a “rogue state”: Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Hamas, Hizbollah, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Ansar al Islam, Islamic Jihad, etc, etc., I just have one thing to say to them: Be afraid! Be very afraid!

What does it mean to be an American today? Whether you are a U.S. citizen by birth, or a naturalized American, you should think about this daily. What is an American? What is it about our way of life and culture that makes millions of foreigners risk life and limb to get here? Do we have a unique American culture?

The United States of America is one of the youngest nations on the planet, yet we have the oldest continuous form of government in existence. Americans have played a major role in world affairs over the last 100 years. We have stood as democracy's bulwark against imperialism, fascism, communism, and now, Islamism. We have helped to liberate oppressed peoples; participated in post-war reconstruction, nation-building efforts, and peace-keeping operations; created global peace organizations; and offered aid and relief to disaster, famine, and war victims around the world.

Americans, individually, engage ourselves in grass-roots peace and political movements; create, support, and work for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) dedicated to world peace and poverty-relief; and have the freedom to protest or support both our own governmental policy, and those of other nations.

Despite all of these proud and genuine accomplishments, there are people, groups, organizations, and governments that are not only ignorant of Americans' contributions to world peace and security, but are actually hostile to our efforts. Ironically, they see the United States of America as a threat to the "balance of power" in global affairs. Why are so many groups arrayed against us? Why is there so much anti-Americanism, even among so-called Western "allies" like France, Germany, Spain, and Italy?

These are tough issues that demand hard questions. Many Americans will be tempted to question our role in the world, or to forget that there was once a Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that impacted many of the trouble spots and hotbeds of anti-Americanism today. There are those in this country who will proclaim that we are "hated" throughout the world, but they will fail to point out that those who "hate" us are members of, or supporters of terror groups, fascist and socialist organizations, and dictators in communist and Islamist regimes dedicated to the execution of war and tyranny against the U.S. and her allies.

We live in a very unstable world full of dictatorships and evil. Historically, and to a greater extent even today, the projection of American military power, combined with our diplomatic efforts, are the only things standing in the way of global chaos and anarchy.

So where do you and I, as Americans, fit in? What do Americans believe in? What do we stand for? What do we believe our role in the world should be? As Americans we are all in a unique position to effect change, whether at the local, county, state, national or even global level. It is our responsibilty to promote and support freedom and democracy throughout the world; to aid beleaguered democratic governments being assaulted by oppressive movements; to liberate freedom-loving peoples from dictatorial regimes; and to thwart, dismantle, and in some cases, destroy, any and all groups that would seek the destruction of the United States of America and our allies.

Think about America every day. Stay informed! Read your history. Each one of us should talk to at least one person a day about America, what it is to be American, and what our role and obligation to the cause of freedom and world peace is. This is our mission. It is the mission of every American Son or Daughter of Liberty.