OPINION:
The commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks is a reminder that we are a nation driven by noble purpose. Despite our arguably reasonable inclination to view the oceans as impermeable barriers or be drawn into the foolish one-world, utopian notions of the left, we must embrace the truth that the United States still has enemies.
That truth must serve as a source of strength and unity, as it has for nearly a century of American global dominance.
Americans have always embraced global challenges. Even in the days when we resisted entering the world wars, we knew ours was a nation of light and possibilities in a dark world. Our rise to prominence was inevitable because our national DNA that ingrains in us the ardent belief that a free society is the best way to fulfill God’s plan for humanity’s growth.
It is that belief system that was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, and is under attack today.
America has real enemies who abhor our way of life, our prosperity, our quality of life, our commitment to faith, and of course our stability and freedom. That’s OK. There is no need to gloss over these threats, and those who do here at home are aiding our adversaries.
We need to reengage with a new global realism that replaces climate change hysterics with a fervent acknowledgment of genuine threats. This realism must again be led, not just by savvy diplomats, keen military leaders and politicians willing to execute clear policy, but by all Americans by embracing each other again.
During the Cold War, Americans understood the dichotomy between the evil of communism and the freedoms that are the wellspring of human advancement. We understood then that our way of life was under threat by brutal, pagan authoritarianism.
As a people, we were largely all right with that. As a people, we were confident not just in our broad exceptionalism, but in our pride of purpose. Sept. 11 is a good time to get back to that place.
Just being America and Americans, innovating, expressing ourselves and celebrating our differences, we were all engaged in putting an end to the Soviet threat. When the Berlin Wall came down, it was a victory for every American, even those who never wore the uniform.
Being who we are as a people projects our values to the world.
This Sept. 11, the world is wondering what happened to the American spirit that was ready to bear the mantle of leadership. They see a paper tiger torn apart by chaos profiteers in the media, coddled and weakened by academics, and pitted against one another by leaders whose views about America are only a step removed from those of our enemies.
Today, the great contradictions of the left and its Marxist underpinnings have given us a mindset that tells us that America is not exceptional, not a force for good and projecting our values around the world is xenophobic and dangerous, while simultaneously tamping down the notion we have enemies at all.
They say we should negotiate with terrorists. Authoritarians and communists aren’t so bad. They’re entitled to expand their influence. Human rights violations aren’t our worry. The war in Ukraine isn’t our problem.
The same people who would tell you that the greatest threat to our nation is climate change or White supremacy are the ones who intentionally diminish the threat of authoritarianism in all its forms encroaching on American freedom and the world.
They are the same people who believe the rise of an aggressive China, an imperialist Russia, and Islamic fascists left to their own devices have no impact on the United States.
These are not strategic competitors, as President Biden is fond of saying. They are adversaries who hold a world view that is the exact opposite from ours and they will stop at nothing to ensure they dominate the world order. Xi Jinping told Mr. Biden that democracy’s time is running out.
Even Republicans have picked up the World War III scare tactics as a way of talking us down from a position of global leadership.
For those on the left and increasingly the right who claim that this country is either irredeemable, beyond repair, or simply uninterested in global affairs, they must acknowledge that level of pessimism and conscious avoidance play directly into the hands of our enemies.
If you don’t have enemies, then you’re irrelevant. An irrelevant America means our way of life is supplanted by something brutal and soul-sapping that will set humanity back millenniums.
It’s fine to have enemies. We should honor the dead of 9/11 and the war on terrorism by embracing that reality. It is a badge of honor for the nation.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax and the author of “Tough Sell: Fighting the Media War in Iraq.” He served as an adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from 2003 to 2004.
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