Hans wants to be brave

The sign out front of the house we rented in Arizona said: “Land of the Free because of the brave.”  I actually agree with this sentiment, but this is not just because of the military. I admit a brave military is important. We all need a military to defend us in case of attack. This year Russia under Putin proved that there are still predatory countries out there willing to take astonishingly aggressive measures to exploit other countries. It is naive not to have any defence.

However, I believe domestic enemies actually pose a larger threat than foreign enemies to countries such as the USA and Canada. Many of those domestic enemies falsely claim to be inspired by the ideal of freedom, but actually they actively work against freedom. To them freedom means the freedom to do anything they want. That is not freedom; that is anarchy. It takes even more courage to confront domestic enemies. For example, it takes a great deal of courage to speak up against our neighbours when they are speaking nonsense. Our domestic enemies must be resisted. The domestic mob is as dangerous as any foreign enemy  and is often even more difficult to oppose. These domestic mobs typically demand conformity to their tarnished and narrow views. We must dissent from the views of those around us when they are based on fear and ignorance rather than critical thinking. Such oppression is every bit as bad as anything our foreign enemies could impose on us.

As the patriots say, “Freedom isn’t free.”  I agree with that too.