A CALL TO RENEWAL BY MARK THOMPSON

THE FOLLOWING IS BY MY OLD FRIEND, MARK THOMPSON. HE IS A TRUE PATRIOT, SERVED AS A MARINE OFFICER FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND ENDED HIS GOVERNMENT SERVICE AS A DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE BUREAU OF COUNTER TERRORISM. THESE ARE HIS WORDS:

A recent opinion piece by Claremont Institute’s Tom Klingenstein best summarizes our upcoming election–it is “a contest between a man, Trump, who believes America is good and a man, Biden who is controlled by a movement that believes America is bad.”

When our nation was attacked by a foreign terrorist group nineteen years ago, initially we were dumbstruck with wonder at the heroics of of intrepid firefighters and law enforcement officers, who repeatedly entered the blast riddled, burning World Trade Center buildings to save complete strangers. We gaped in horror when the Twin Towers collapsed, mortally crushing many of the first responders desperately trying to save souls. They gave their lives in order to save others. And we united as Americans in the aftermath of this terrible loss to honor and praise the first responders, both the fallen and the living.

But that unity of spirit now is vanquished. And instead of honoring law enforcement, the police are excoriated as evil doers by a small, but vicious segment of American society. Major cities long controlled by Democrat oligarchs, are shunning law enforcement and entertaining plans to “de-fund” police departments. In the view of these twisted politicians, all police are bad, not just a few “bad apples”. The slander of the police is being defined with Orwellian terms, such as social justice, and excused because America is now defined as being terminally infected with systemic racism. This hateful calumny is accompanied by domestic terror organizations, which are torching businesses while perpetrating their masquerade as “peaceful protestors.”

We have not seen this kind of consequential lying since the hey day of the Soviet Union and Fidel Castro’s Cuba. It is no coincidence that this propaganda onslaught comes on the eve of the most consequential election in our history. The timing is purposeful.

An honest assessment of our American story, rejects the charge that we are systemically racist or cultural imperialists. America, notwithstanding our faults and shortcomings, is a bulwark of freedom and opportunity for not only our own citizens, but people around the world.

I am part of that story. I witnessed our nation’s military personnel sacrifice for the greater good and to benefit those who are not citizens. During my combined 38-year service in U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Department of State, I worked in over 60 nations in the course. I commanded a Marine Infantry company tasked to help over 100,000 Cuban refugees, who fled Fidel Castro’s communist regime in 1980. The Cuban men, women and children risked their lives traversing 90 miles of open ocean to seek a new life in America, a land of opportunity. They risked drowning and starvation sailing in ramshackle boats to the shores of Florida . Many were so weakened from the flight to freedom that they were carried to
medical facilities.

I recall vividly a conversation with a Kyrgyzstani woman who worked in the U.S. embassy in Bishkek. I asked her what was the biggest change she saw following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the restoration of her nation’s independence. She replied with one word – choice. She chattered excitedly about the choices her sons had to for education without worrying about the government dictating what they would learn and do. She was very grateful for American leadership in helping bring freedom to her family.

The United States victory in the “Cold War” over the Soviets not only freed Kyrgyzstan but opened the road for independence for many other nations. These brave souls recognize our nation is a land
of freedom. These incredible people, many who risked their lives to come to America, still see our land as a beacon of hope for them to find liberty and opportunity.

Our nation needs unity and justice based on understanding clearly our past. At out core we are dreamers. We are inspired by the words and visions of our founders. But we also realize that we have not always fully lived up to our ideals. We fought a civil war to ensure that fundamental preamble–all men are created equal–and freed enslaved Americans at the cost nearly 700,000 lives. Ideals backed by actions is our legacy.

Our belief in equality has been accompanied by sacrifice and blood. In the 155 years since the Civil War ended, more blood was spilled and more battles fought to ensure Lincoln’s promise of equality for all became a reality at home. And we also sent our sons and daughters to foreign soil to fight for freedom and to free the oppress. The fight against the Nazis, the fascists and Imperial Japan remains the shining, defining moment for our nation. America, notwithstanding our mistakes, has sought to build and restore rather than subjugate foreign lands and make them our servants.

It’s a time to renew Reagan’s vision of America as a City on a Hill. Inspiring other and giving hope to a dark world. But we must start in our own communities. I am alarmed by the new Democratic Party, head by Joe Biden, which is proposing a radical revolution in our nation. The repeated attacks on our family, faith and national ideals are predicated on repudiating our 244 year history as a republic and accepting the pernicious lie that we are racist. We are not. The Democrat attack on our American heritage is a fundamental threat to our freedom and prosperity.

While Mr. Biden’s campaign is based on hating President Trump, rather than offering a vision of hope, freedom and opportunity. We need a leader who believes our country is profoundly good and has the ability and the will make ourselves and the world a better place. For me, the only choice is Donald Trump.
Mark I. Thompson
Wright County, Iowa