Don’t Tread on…American History

Actor Christopher Pratt is the latest target of the “Everything about America is bad” crowd. He was spotted wearing a T shirt with a picture of the famous Gadsen Flag, bearing the Revolutionary War motto, “Don’t Tread on Me.” It was a symbol of resolve against the tyranny of a distant monarch who sought to eliminate the freedoms of a people who had become used to self-government. For that offense against the Left’s maniacal “political correctness,” he was soundly criticized.

There are several culprits in the movement to cast absolutely everything about the U.S. as terrible, and to wholly hide the reality that the nation’s origins were the greatest advance in human rights in mankind’s history. (Yes, there were imperfections, but they were eventually corrected.)

Let’s start with the pro-socialism crowd. Despite that philosophy being responsible for approximately one hundred million murders throughout its comparatively short history and the oppression and impoverishment of even more, its current advocates continue to seek to implement it in the United States. Socialism is the mirror opposite of America’s bedrock principles of individual rights and a capitalist economic system. There is no logical excuse to continue the bitter failure of socialism, and so its proponents seek to avoid that reality by tearing down the most successful economic/political system ever devised.

Consider next the Democratic Party’s ultra-partisans, who, until the current Administration is out of office, will condemn any instance of pride in America’s history as being an endorsement of the present White House. They are willing to castigate any and everything about the nation to create a false sense of desperation that they allege can only be resolved by electing one of their number. They place their political goals far above the good of the nation.

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There is an additional strategy for those folks. The voters do not demonstrate much enthusiasm for hard-left policies, so they seek to alter the population. That is why, despite the expense, public safety, health and other problems that arise from illegal immigration, they fervently push for open borders. Their philosophy: If the current crop of voters don’t agree with them, bring in a different set of people to tip the scales. It would only take a relatively small number of illegal voters in a number of states to tip the scales of the electoral college. That goal is behind all the schemes to avoid implementing a picture ID requirement, and to give illegals drivers’ licenses that they can use to register.

The final group is the most disturbing of all. There is little that is as dangerous to the political health of a free people as ignorance, particularly of their own past. The university and educational dons, who are overwhelmingly hard-left, know that contrasting the success and human rights of American history with the tyranny and economic disaster of Socialism will not serve their political beliefs well, have done all they can to avoid and miscast the nation’s past. Foreign influences are also at play. The Chinese government has actively attempted to push its propaganda through “Confucius Institutes” at universities across the nation. The Clarion Project reports that Qatar is doing something similar, providing $1.4 billion to universities, and $30 million to public schools.

As the Qatar example demonstrates, this intellectual malpractice is not just at the college level. Far too many state educational systems at the grammar and high school levels now virtually ignore teaching U.S. history, or provide a biased version of it.

There are few things that can weaken or even destroy a nation more readily and thoroughly than a concerted attack on its fundamental principles, its culture, and its history. That is precisely the crisis that America currently faces.

Illustration: Google Images

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.