Today is Veterans Day. The day originally began as Armistice Day to mark the 11:00 AM ceasefire on November 11, 1918, that ended World War I. In 1954, Congress renamed Armistice Day as Veterans Day to honor the veterans of all our wars.
Sadly, we are living in an era of increasing hostility toward America. A number of newly elected Democrat members of Congress actually despise the America our Founders gave us. Many young Americans voted for them. A false narrative has taken root on our college campuses. We are teaching our children not American history, but anti-American history.
We are teaching that our nation is an evil, oppressive force, founded on slavery and genocide. No wonder growing numbers of young Americans and Democrats do not describe themselves as patriotic. Thank God Donald Trump is fighting this, but it is a generational battle that cannot be won in just a few years.
Increasingly, the values that used to unite us now divide us. Monuments to our founding fathers are under attack. Even the Pledge of Allegiance is protested and denounced as “an instrument of white nationalism.”
Of course, our veterans know better. They understand that America is a force for good in the world, that it is worth defending, that it is, as Abraham Lincoln once described it, “the last best hope of Earth.”
Please find an opportunity over the next few days to talk to your children and grandchildren about what happened at Concord Bridge and Gettysburg, on the beaches of Normandy, and in more recent conflicts.
There is a poem you have likely seen before, but I want to share it with you again, because it summarizes well what we owe our veterans.
It is the veteran, not the preacher,
who has given you freedom of religion.
It is the veteran, not the reporter,
who has given you freedom of the press.
It is the veteran, not the poet,
who has given you freedom of speech.
It is the veteran, not the protester,
who has given you freedom to assemble.
It is the veteran, not the lawyer,
who has given you the right to a fair trial.
It is the veteran, not the politician,
who has given you the right to vote.
It is the veteran, who salutes the Flag, who serves under the Flag,
whose coffin is draped by the Flag.
To the millions who have always been there to stop the tyrant, protect the weak and preserve the peace — we have not forgotten you. A grateful nation thanks God for giving us heroes like you.
Here at Campaign For Working Families, I pledge to continue to fight the good fight against the Islamist and Marxists who want to destroy the country you wore the uniform to defend.
We Voted for What?
In recent days, we have been digging deep into the election results. We didn’t do a Democrat-Republican analysis. We looked at the results through the lens of how they will impact faith, family, freedom, and the sanctity of life.
Read more in my latest public policy update for the James Dobson Family Institute.
