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It was recently announced that the United States Military Academy at West Point would remove the motto “Duty, Honor, Country” from its mission statement.
Republicans, conservatives, and people of faith rightly erupted in dismay over this latest “woke” move by the famed institution.
Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” observed: “West Point announces that it has gone totally globalist.” To be sure, millions of Americans agree with her, including thousands of graduates there.
Cadets stand as President Obama congratulates graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, on May 22, 2010. (AP)
As I read about this latest wave of awakening sweeping our nation's service academies, two questions asked some 250 years ago came to mind: “If not now, when? If not us, who ? Those were the two most important questions asked and answered by the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
WAKENING THE LEFT WILL ERASE AMERICAN HISTORY UNLESS WE STOP THEM
Two years ago, I wrote a book aimed at preventing the cancellation of these heroes by the far left. It was titled: “The 56: Lessons in Freedom from Those Who Risked Everything to Sign the Declaration of Independence.”
In researching the book, what struck me was the self-awareness and sheer courage of the wealthy among the 56 who chose to place their names on what amounted to a death sentence. Men like Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin. They literally pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
The vast majority of the wealthy in the colonies around 1776 were loyal to the tyrannical Crown. They didn't want to cause problems. They did not want their wealth or privileges to be threatened. They didn't want to lose favor.
They had no courage or convictions. They were content to put into their mouths the silver and gold covered crumbs that were swept from the tables owned by the Crown. And sadly, they were fine with another rich man stepping forward to fight the fight they knew needed to be fought.
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I thought about those 56 men, their genius, their courage, and their sacrifice, as I read extensive records of wealthy conservatives and alumni of our service academies criticizing those academies for “getting more woke every day.” Because it's not just West Point, but also the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy.
The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, May 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
On July 4, 2022, I was at West Point to talk about my book The 56 during “Fox & Friends” weekend with, appropriately enough, Rachel Campos-Duffy. Shortly after I finished my segment, a senior West Point officer quietly approached me and asked if he could speak with me in confidence. After we walked away, he described in detail how his alma mater was not only “moving to the far left, but was eliminating or diluting one standard and tradition after another.” With tears in his eyes, he begged me to spread the word.
Since then, the situation has only gotten worse.
But too often – at least in my experience – Republicans, conservatives, and people of faith tend to wring their hands over the disappearance of their rights, freedoms, and traditions. They complain loudly to each other, but often choose not to jump into that “Arena” that Teddy Roosevelt made famous in his 1910 “Man in the Arena” speech.
AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM 'RUNS ON FUMES' WHILE AWAKENING IDEOLOGY STORMS CREATIVITY AND MERITOCRACY, ACUDARIANS SAY
Roosevelt stressed: “It is not the critic who counts: it is not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the author of the actions could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is really in the arena…”
Too many Republicans, conservatives, and people of faith are content to sit in the stands and wring their hands while criticizing the few who dare to jump onto the floor of that arena. Including, as I am discovering, many who are outraged by the far-left turn our military academies are taking.
But… other than complaining to each other, what are they really doing to reverse this course of action that threatens our nation's national security? Bit.
CRISIS ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUS: WHAT UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS CAN LEARN FROM THE FOUNDING FATHERS
An entrance to the campus of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on January 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
I have a simple suggestion: start your own military academies.
By doing some basic research, I discovered that between the various billionaires and billionaires who espouse conservative and faith-based values, they collectively have over a trillion in wealth. That is, more than a billion dollars.
And yet, like the rich in 1776, many seem content with the crumbs put in the mouths of the far-left CEOs and activists who control much of our nation's Big Tech and other industries. They don't want to cause problems. They want another person of enormous wealth to jump to the floor of that arena.
The U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (iStock)
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As I have written, over the course of the last five or more decades, the left and far left have gained majority control over what I call our nation's “top five megaphones.” The media, academia, entertainment, science and medicine.
None of this happened in a vacuum. Much of this was due to blatant and illegal discrimination on the part of the left.
But here we are. Conservatives, Republicans, and people of faith with enormous wealth can continue wringing their hands or they can choose to try that trillion dollars. Emulate the rich men who risked everything to sign our Declaration of Independence and ask yourself, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”
A painting depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence is seen at the United States Capitol on December 16, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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New military academies can be started. New universities can be started. New entertainment studios can be started.
Like Jefferson, Franklin, and Hancock, Republicans, conservatives, and people of faith with that money have the power to save our nation. All you have to do is jump into that arena.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM DOUGLAS MACKINNON
