Every historic moment produces quotes that live on in memory. Patrick Henry’s famous exhortation, “Give me liberty or give me death,” is one example.

Winston Churchill’s speech on the eve of War World II rallying the British people to resist Hitler by declaring, “Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be,” comes to mind.

Ronald Reagan’s call at the Brandenburg Gate, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” is a more recent example.

Over the weekend, the Biden Administration sent a message to the courageous president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, offering to evacuate him away to safety and out of the country.

Keep in mind that credible reports say there are assassins and mercenaries all over Ukraine looking to kill him. But Zelensky, who is well aware of the enormous risks to his life, said in response, “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.” That quote will be remembered.

Meanwhile, with the threat of nuclear war looming larger than ever, Joe Biden fled the White House and spent the weekend hiding in Delaware. Surrender and withdrawal seem to be the central components of this administration’s strategy.

Even the liberal Washington Post admitted that “The White House scrambled over the weekend to catch up [to Europe] in drafting its own” tougher sanctions against Russia. So now Joe Biden is following Europe’s lead.

If we had lost the Revolutionary War, Patrick Henry would have gotten death instead of liberty, and his quote would have lived in infamy in the British-written history books. If Zelensky and Ukraine survive this, he will forever be a hero to his people, perhaps even a modern-day Churchill to freedom-loving people everywhere.

Peace Talks?

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine began early yesterday. Many reports suggest that the talks are merely a stalling tactic by Putin. We’ll see.

The first round of talks ended with no major progress amid reports of renewed shelling near Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and fears that Russian-client state Belarus is preparing to invade Ukraine.

Thankfully, the only two parties at the table are the Ukrainian government and the Russian government. The United Nations has a sorry record of defending freedom in negotiations. And thankfully there were no representatives from the Biden Administration at the peace talks.

Biden officials are at the table right now appeasing the Iranian regime, a key ally of Russia. If there were personnel from the Biden Administration at Ukraine peace talks, the future of Ukrainian liberty today would be more in doubt, not less so.

War Is Hell

As General William Tecumseh Sherman famously said, “War is hell.” But it has a way of clearing the cobwebs and stupidity out of people’s heads.

A year ago, every Ukrainian was worried about the things we all worried about — getting to work on time, making our mortgage or rent payment, getting the kids to school, etc, etc. Young Ukrainians worried about playing video games after finishing their homework.

Now, they’re all rushing to get guns, dodging Russian bombs and missiles, and learning how to make Molotov cocktails.

But here in America, far from the war, leftist silliness is still on full display.

• In the event of a nuclear war between the United States and Russia, government bureaucrats think it’s really important that you have your mask on and stay socially distanced from people not part of your household while taking shelter in your basement.

• Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the anti-American 1619 Project, tweeted over the weekend that Europe really isn’t a continent and that concerns about the bloodshed in Ukraine are just racist dog whistles.

• The federal government is wasting your tax dollars on critical race theory programs that declare the concept of being “colorblind to race” racist. Just another example of how the radical left today rejects Martin Luther King’s dream of a colorblind society where we are judged based on the content of our character, not the color of our skin.

• And what are congressional Democrats doing today? You might think they would be debating sanctions against Russia or ways to boost U.S. energy independence. But, no. Instead, there are attempting to ram radical pro-abortion legislation through the Senate.

What Were They Thinking?

Speaking of leftist idiocy, the Biden Administration evidently went to communist China and asked for its help in convincing Russia to back down and not invade Ukraine. Of course, communist China refused. But Beijing also shared our intelligence with Moscow.

What was the Biden Administration thinking?!

What reason would communist China have to prevent us from being distracted by a major war in Europe while they make plans for Taiwan, Asia and the Pacific? They have no interest in that at all.

The Biden Administration seems to be stuck in the mindset that communist China is a trading partner, maybe a competitor, when in reality it is our primary enemy and an ally of Russia.

A Reminder

Polling shows that the American people are not impressed with Joe Biden’s leadership right now. Only 33% approve of his handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of Americans (62%) don’t believe Putin would have invaded Ukraine if Donald Trump were still president.

At first glance, that poll is heartening and impressive. But the more I thought about it, it really ought to be 100%, not 62%, because it’s not a hypothetical question.

Donald Trump was president. During his four years in office, Putin yearned to control Ukraine as much as he does now. But he did nothing then. Why not? Because he feared what President Trump would do.

I bring this up because the only silver lining in this disaster is that it might help some Americans think more clearly about war and peace, strength and weakness.

We should all be explaining this to friends and family members who still don’t get it.

• Under Obama/Biden, Putin seized territory and nothing was done.

• Under Trump/Pence, Putin seized nothing.

• Under Biden/Harris, Putin is once again seizing territory.

It can’t get any clearer than that.

Trump’s entire foreign policy was based on strength and putting America first.

• Under Trump we became energy independent, driving down the price of oil, which accounts for about 40% of Russia’s budget.

• Trump took out Iranian terror mastermind General Soleimani.

• He moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which other presidents said they would do, but didn’t.

• He put North Korea in its place.

• He got us out of the Iran nuclear deal, and imposed tough sanctions that crippled Iran’s economy.

But Joe Biden took office last year and immediately declared war against the U.S. energy industry. He canceled the Keystone XL pipeline and approved Russia’s pipeline to Europe. Even now, with gasoline prices surging and Russia on the march, he still refuses to increase domestic energy production.

Biden has begged the Iranians for a new nuclear deal in exchange for lifting sanctions. He retreated from Afghanistan while leaving Americans behind, in addition to leaving billions of dollars of military equipment behind — equipment that would be very useful to the Ukrainians right now.

Strength, whether it’s Churchill, Reagan or Trump, is more likely to ensure peace, while weakness, whether it’s a Neville Chamberlain, Jimmy Carter or Joe Biden, makes war more likely.