Those around the nation, especially on college campuses, who are protesting against the war on terrorism with marches and slogans such as, "The Real Terrorist is in the White House" have a right to free speech. That is absolutely true. Too many men have died over the past 225 years for us to infringe on that right.

However, freedom of speech does not translate into the right to be heard. They have no right to be heard. We can ignore them if we so choose. However, we ignore them at our peril.

Furthermore, as Americans, the rest of us have the same freedom of speech the protesters do. And, in my view, we have a DUTY to exercise that right. Why? Because this is literally a matter of life and death. It could mean the difference between freedom and permanent subservience. I will explain.

Should we fail to fight against the terrorists, we will eventually be forced to capitulate some of the precious freedoms that we have had for 225 years. We will no longer be a free nation, but a nation that lives in fear, a nation paralyzed, a nation unable to stand up for good over evil Ñ indeed a nation that can no longer even point out evil when we recognize it.

How do today's peace protesters fit in? Look back at history.

In 1968 the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces launched the Tet Offensive. It shocked America, especially the media. However, in retrospect, it most certainly did not shock U.S. forces fighting in South Vietnam. In fact, Tet of 68 was a resounding military defeat for the North, especially the Viet Cong. Tet of 68 decimated the Viet Cong. By 1969, the Viet Cong had ceased to be a major factor on the battlefields of Southeast Asia. Former Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leaders admit this today.

In fact, they also admit that they were close to calling it quits after the failure of the Tet Offensive. Why didn't they? Because they were heartened by the reaction in the United States. The news media stateside portrayed Tet as a stunning victory for communist forces and a defeat for the U.S. Ñ much to the surprise of the North Vietnamese I might add. Protestors took to America's streets and college campuses by the thousands. America's political will was broken Ñ the war was lost Ñ not in Vietnam mind you, but in the streets and on the college campuses across America.

The North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong did not present an immediate, mortal danger to the United States. Losing that war was damaging but, clearly, we recovered. Today, terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, Hizbollah, Hamas, the Abu Nidal Organization, Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Liberation Front, combined with terrorist sponsor regimes in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Libya and Iraq do present an immediate, mortal danger to America.

At one time, the war in Vietnam was a popular war. The protesters were considered "kooks" and "fringe elements." That changed and the war was lost.

Today, popular support for the war on terrorism is strong and protesters are dismissed as "kooks" and "fringe elements." We must not forget the lessons of history. THIS is a fight we cannot afford to lose. The enemy has struck at our heart on our shores, something Hitler and Tojo never even did. This war will be long and hard. Our national will must be strong and enduring. We cannot afford to let the "kooks" and "fringe elements" gain the upper hand this time. We MUST vocally show our support for the war effort. We must continue to fly Old Glory. We must hold rallies. We must write letters to the editors of our local newspapers. We must keep the home fires burning for the men and women thousands of miles away who are fighting for the survival of America's freedoms. We must NEVER forget September 11.

Print this Article

Email this article

Free Headline Alerts