Michael Swickard
A pessimistic friend used to say, “It is always darkest before it turns completely black.” On the other hand, there are optimists like myself who believe our country will be fine despite the challenges. We are a strong country with dedicated patriots sworn to defend and protect our Constitution. How many? Fewer than before, but there are still many.
While great evil exists both outside and inside our nation, as we are in our 236th year, it is much like every other year. There have been and will always be great danger. It does not look worse today than it did at other times in our country’s history. Start with the Revolutionary War.
After signing the Declaration of Independence, what was on the minds of our founding patriots as they went home? They put the names and sacred honor in a way certain to anger the most powerful man in the world, King George III of England. Each signatory knew that if the revolution failed, or if they were captured by British forces, they and their families would be killed.
History does not record the conversations the night each arrived home. Family members huddled together in those first days and in the years that followed trusting in God but fearing for the worst. The pessimists were affected the most.
Consider: What were the odds that England could be beaten? It might have been 100 to 1. Most educated people in the world thought the Brits would make short work of us. But the United States did survive and even prospered.
In the years leading up to the Civil War there was great despair because the challenges to holding our nation together seemed overwhelming. Many Americans felt it a sin to engage in slavery while others felt it their right. Citizens grappled with this and the notion that our country should remain one country.
Families and our nation were torn apart. Other countries wished our nation split because it would be easier to handle two smaller countries. It was thought our one nation might end up being three separate countries with a much reduced ability on the world’s stage.
This was a bad time in our country that took the last full measure of many Americans. It also took several generations to heal the wounds. But we emerged as a nation stronger, much stronger.
In the 1930s a dark curtain descended over Europe and Asia. Millions upon millions of innocent people were killed or enslaved. At the darkest hour America stood almost alone in the world. A very feisty England spearheaded the drive to take the world back from dictators. That effort reached one milestone in 1945, another in 1989, and we must recognize that about half of the members of the United Nations are dictatorships. Ultimately, the people in our nation will never be completely free as long as people in other countries are enslaved.
Just another series of threats to overcome
That brings us to where we are now in our country. To some it seems there is no way out of the debt problems in our country. America is plagued with weak leadership from both political parties, which lie to the people and embrace populist/socialist agendas.
We have leaders who would disband our Constitution and allow us to be ruled by the international courts. How much worse is that than if we had remained a vassal of England? Or if we had remained a country tolerating slavery? Or if we were a nation beaten by the Nazis? Our present challenges are just another series of threats for us to overcome.
The effort to destroy our country begins with a socialist agenda that cannot function under our Constitution. Something has to go. We know that socialism does not work; it destroys the country that employs it, but we seem unable to discard it.
All of our problems as a nation are just continuing challenges to be overcome. The fact that there are threats remains, while the details of the threats change. I am optimistic that our country will not fail, nor will we fail to find leaders who will not fail our country. We must throw the socialists out of our government and elect American patriots as our leaders.
Swickard is co-host of the radio talk show News New Mexico, which airs from 6 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on KSNM-AM 570 in Las Cruces and throughout the state through streaming. His e-mail address is michael@swickard.com.