WWIII: The Enemy is Within...

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves...

No, our sixteenth president was not a fortune teller; he didn’t have some crazy crystal ball and he could not see into the future. Yet Abraham Lincoln was a man of great wisdom and even greater leadership principles. These words are heavy on my mind and burned into my soul on this, the thirteenth anniversary of the start of World War Three. Yes, you read that right; World War Three. When the Twin Towers fell and our pansy-assed, second worst president of this century sat reading to preschoolers, our nation was thrust into a war unlike any this planet has ever seen. And the worst enemy is not a terrorist (Or “enemy combatant” for you PC sheep out there) nor is it another nation, or even a specific religious belief.

No. The United States of America’s worst enemy is well, the United States of America. Not since the first shots were fired on April 12^th, 1861 has our once great nation been on the verge of total self-destruction. Shots aren’t being fired this time, at least not in the form of hot lead. Unlike past wars where the battle lines were drawn and we knew where to find the enemy and hand him his ass, (See June 6^th, 1944, August 6^th, 1945; et al.) we are at war with ourselves and within ourselves.

Rather than a specific battle line, I see an invisible yet very real grid, trapping each and every one of us in a figurative cage of Intolerance, Indifference and Ignorance. Just those three words can sum up the weapons we are using against ourselves with much more devastating effect than anything a terrorist group can come up with.

Indifference.

A man named Craig Bronaugh, Fire Chief in Maywood, Illinois; had suspended four of his firefighters for displaying the American Flag on their lockers and on their helmets. Ridiculous at any time of year, even more ridiculous in the days before the anniversary of the Attacks of 9/11/01. Even more bewildering is the excuse given by the chief; he saw the American Flag as a symbol of racism. The American Flag has been declared a racist symbol... Yet as a nation, we hand over the right to burn the flag as an expression of Freedom of Speech. So burning The Flag as an expression of freedom is a-ok but displaying a flag as a sign of reverence is now deemed offensive. The worst part of it is, on September 12^th we will go back to our daily lives of internet memes, candy-farm-casino-bird-games, “click like to save this kid from cancer” posts and other shallow, nonproductive pastimes. We’ll forget about the Maywood Fire department. And that indifference is the small-arms weapons in this Civil Cold War of ours.

Intolerance.

Now this term, along with way too many others these days; is often misused. In a country where the right to have our own views used to be one of our cornerstones, having your own opinions are now considered intolerance by at least one person/group/demographic. And no, I’m not about to open that particular can of worms. At least not today. Today I will talk about the intolerance of our National Values and the intolerance shown the men and women of our Armed Forces.

Some of you may have heard of a man named Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood Baker. Lt. Col. Baker arrived at Adams High School in Rochester Hills, Michigan earlier this week to discuss his daughter’s class schedule. A two-war veteran, Lt. Col Baker was denied entry by school security due to the fact he was wearing his United States Army uniform. Their reason? The appearance of an American Soldier, in an American school, on American soil was against district policy, as it might offend some students. I am curious to know who they were worried about offending.

 In a later apology ‘issued’ by the school district, it was stated that the policy was misunderstood. I could understand how one person misunderstood the policy, but Lt Col Baker was told of the policy by four other school employees. And there you have it. Uniformed American soldiers have their rights stripped away, the very rights their forefathers fought and died for. I’ve heard the phrase “Love thy enemies” but this is getting ridiculous. The ass-kissing we give to foreign cultures while vilifying our own are the figurative tanks in this war on ourselves.

Ignorance.

Kim and Kanye. Ray Rice. Justin G**damn Bieber. This culture is so celebrity obsessed, we are absolutely ignorant to the things that really matter, things that not only affect us but will affect our grandchildren and their grandchildren. This ignorance is the A-Bomb on our American Way of Life. “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” indeed.

Do you hear that whirring sound? It’s the sound of men like George Washington, Joshua Chamberlain, Alvin York and Jimmy Doolittle spinning in their graves. Do you hear the faint clapping sound beyond that? It’s the sound of Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden doing high-fives in Hell because where they failed, our Culture of Indifference, Intolerance and Ignorance is on the fast track to success.

I don’t know where it will lead, where it will end. But I do know this: the battlegrounds of WWIII are in the choices we make, the things we admire and the things we ignore, making Lincoln’s words not a warning but a prophecy…