During my time in the Army, I learned an important lesson: task and purpose. It is drilled into your brain to understand your what and why: task and purpose. This was the essence of your mission and the basis for understanding your part as a Soldier. As a commander, it was imperative that I ensured every Soldier knew their task and purpose as part of my commander’s intent: purpose, method, end state. And so it is, even after retiring, we Veterans still need to understand our task and purpose, as we continue to support and defend the Constitution, for which we took an oath. Matter of fact, all Americans, those who truly believe in the fundamental principles and values of our Constitutional Republic, must comprehend our civic task and purpose.
The acronym GOTV stands for “Get Out the Vote,” and as we approach this coming midterm election, that is a task we should all accept, embrace, and execute. Sadly, one of the demographics in America that has a poor track record for voting are our Veterans. Don’t fret. There are two other demographics that join along: Christians and gun owners/hunters. As a matter of fact, I was just in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with my dear friend Ted Nugent and Hunter Nation, stressing the importance of that group getting activated and voting. My task: the what.
There are people who articulate voting as a right. Yes, as a citizen, you do have the right to vote. Need I stress that citizens have the right to vote, not non-citizens? There have been constitutional amendments that guaranteed that right. Some also define voting in America as a privilege; it is that also. You have the privilege of voting here in America because there are those who stand on freedom’s rampart to secure that constitutional right, enabling you the privilege to cast your vote. However, I see voting as something far more vital: it is a duty and responsibility. We are citizens in America, not subjects, and your duty as a citizen is to participate in the electoral process. Let us not forget the words of Benjamin Franklin on 17 September 1787, the day our Constitution was signed: “It is a Republic, if you can keep it.”
America is a Constitutional Republic. Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution clearly articulates this, and that is known as the Guarantee Clause. What happens if We the People fail in our task to engage in the electoral process? Then there will be those who rise to elected positions who advance ideals that are the antithesis of what our founding documents intended. America is not a democracy. It is a Republic. Yes, we do have a representative democracy and a democratic electoral process that selects those who will be those representatives of the people. And those said representatives take an oath to support and defend our Constitution. Well, they are supposed to do that.
Our task as citizens, real American citizens, and especially as Veterans, is to GOTV and stay engaged in the functioning of our Republic. The purpose is simple to comprehend. It is as Franklin asserted: we must maintain this, America, the longest continuously running Constitutional Republic that the world has ever known. If we fail to accept this task, and understand our purpose, then we will falter as a Nation. Scottish political philosopher Alexander Fraser Tytler forewarned us of this two centuries ago.
Tytler affirmed, “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
The question to be asked, and answered, in America is: Where are we in this cycle? I would say that we have devolved into the apathy phase. Why? Because too many do not embrace their task and purpose as American citizens, and therefore we have the rise of Marxists and Islamists in our midst. Truly, the barbarians are not at the gates; they are within them.
Taylor Caldwell, in her work A Pillar of Iron, addressed this issue: “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”
When American citizens, patriots, especially Veterans, Christians, and gun owners, disregard their task and purpose and cede this important aspect of duty and responsibility in our Republic, you enable and allow treason from within. Marxism and Islamism have no place in our Republic. They will rot the soul of our Nation. Yet, it will advance if YOU do not GOTV to support and defend. The moment is upon us: early voting will be in full swing a week from now. Focus less on personalities and become laser-focused on the principles, values, and rule of law of America. Beware of the sly whispers of those who will promise you “free,” resulting in people voting for their own largesse from our public treasury.
Spiritual faith inspires courage, which brings forth liberty. Let us not continue from the phase of apathy back into bondage, which is exactly what the Marxists and Islamists desire.
Never forget the words of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” Clear example of the sly words of a traitor who now roams the halls of government, all because real American citizens forgot their task and purpose.
Steadfast and Loyal.
