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Friday, October 11, 2024 - 03:20 AM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

From the beginning of our nation, there have been men and women willing to risk it all. The truth is that our republic was created and kept free by a small percentage of men and women who were and are willing to risk it all. We should honor and celebrate those people, not punish them for doing the right thing.

In earlier times, students were exposed to the words and deeds of men like Patrick Henry, who said, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” The men who signed the Declaration of Independence put everything on the line.

“With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Most of these men and many of their families paid a price in pain and suffering for doing the right thing and providing us with freedom that we must preserve. 

I was very privileged last week to have a small part in recognizing and honoring the heroic service of Kris Tanto Paronto, one of six civilian contract security people who were unwilling to “stand down” when their fellow Americans are being killed, even when disobeying orders that apparently originated in the highest levels of the government in Washington, D. C.

As I listened to Chris talk about his 13 hours of breathtaking combat in Benghazi, his decision to disobey orders and “do the right thing,” and the treatment he has received from his government leaders since his return, my mind drifted back to Vietnam.

Most of the American service members fighting the Communists in Vietnam were dedicated to their mission and willing to make whatever sacrifices were necessary to defeat an evil enemy. They did their duty and carried out their sworn oath of office, despite the fact that they knew they were not supported by the American people or the government that sent them into battle.

The Communist Sympathizers of the Vietnam War era were seldom punished for their treasonous acts. As a result of this tolerance of lawlessness and “giving aid and comfort to the enemy” that was killing Americans and our Vietnamese allies, the children and grandchildren of that tolerant generation elected an individual President of the United States who pledged to do precisely what the Anti-Vietnam War crowd wanted to do: destroy the constitutional republic and replace it with a Communistic dictatorship.

Now we find ourselves with Vietnam War turncoat John Kerry in the office of Secretary of State, incompetently negotiating with the Iranain enemy of the United States and Israel.  Some of the bomb-throwing terrorists are professors in large universities. Jane Fonda is a multi-millionaire celebrity, and the Clintons spent 8-years in the White House and want to go back.

The Declaration of Independence has a provision for such a time as this.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,

“That among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government…”

Should that necessity arise, there will be a need for men and women willing to risk it all.