These are powerful words, at least they are to me. They are powerful in so many different contexts. I came across them some time ago and again recently. Both times I heard them, they were in speeches made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, in the Trump administration. On both occasions she was telling the story of how she came upon them.
Tulsi has served in the army for nearly 22 years and is a lieutenant colonel. She has served in Iraq and elsewhere. It was on her first tour of duty in Iraq that she first came across these words. As she was walking around familiarising herself with the camp, she was stopped in her tracks. On a large sign just inside the main gates, where the security forces came and went each day, there they were, in large capital letters:
IS TODAY THE DAY?
The implication is clear – reminding each soldier that today could be their last day. Is there a more sobering thought than that? You get up in the morning, not knowing if you will be going to bed at night. I think these words, more than any others, serve to instil in our minds the futility of war: the senseless bloodshed, the loss of life and destruction of land and property in the name of either political or religious dominance through misplaced ideology. These threats are real, with us and ever present.
The Christian festival of Christmas is a time when, amongst the joy and significance of the birth of Christ, we should take a little time to reflect on the realities that these threats present and the challenges they present when looking for solutions. On a religious occasion such as Christmas, it is easy to question that, if there is a God then why these wars and hatred in our midst? Why is He allowing this to happen?
The answer is quite simple. God is not responsible for these happenings. He gave us all, as human beings, a free will. How we use that power is up to each and every one of us. Most decide to use it for the betterment of themselves and others. Love thy neighbour as thyself. The trouble arises when the opposite is the case. Individuals and groups, for either political or religious reasons, use their God-given free will to do harm to others in pursuit of, often, fanatical goals.
In today’s world, too many politicians are averse to tackling these problems. Their politically correct thinking leads them to identifying the defender as the problem rather than the aggressor. Israel is a case in point: outrageously accused of genocide. These politicians, born in a generation far removed from war, show little understanding that their actions, far from ending wars, are ensuring their longevity.
Tulsi, although serving in the military, is no fan of war but realises the only way to stop these terrorist groups is to defeat them militarily. That is correct: genocide or not. In fact, that is the only path to peace. People, through their ideologies and radicalisation on social networks, are the problem. It is not guns, but the people who use them. Tightening the gun laws is not the answer: the terrorists will always find a way to get them.
Same with free speech. As Tulsi said, free speech should be protected and encouraged, even if we disagree. But we must always be prepared to debate what we disagree with and show up the weakness in the opposing view. The answer is not to have people arrested for speaking out in a way that offends or to arrest someone for choosing to pray in public.
These are the actions of politically correct politicians who need to understand the stupidity of what they are enforcing. By clamping down on free speech and the like, they are doing harm to our democratic way of life. They think, while accusing Israel of genocide, the answer lies in recognising a non-existent Palestinian state. No it doesn’t and such actions only serve to embolden the terrorists.
Military action is the only answer. Israel must go back into Gaza and complete the eradication of the terror groups. Like Putin, who has no intention of stopping the war or stopping at Ukraine, so too the terror groups that are spreading their tentacles beyond the Middle East and into America. There are a couple of states, Democrat obviously, who are very much in sympathy with the goal of implementing Sharia Law.
In the UK, far too much consideration is given to unvetted immigrants who have no intention or interest in becoming a respectful citizen of the country or its laws. They are there for quite the opposite reason. Their aim is to make the country the way they want it to be and a large number are young men who should be booted out. They are there solely to cause chaos.
The leaders of the world are not solving the problems and the will to use the military is not there, with the exception of America, whose president is the only leader taking meaningful, if at times somewhat misguided, steps to stop wars.
I’m reminded of the old saying often attributed to the Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
That, in my view, is very relevant to many of today’s leaders. Their actions will ensure wars will continue and those serving in the forces will continue to be faced with, “Is today the day?”
