America First Sometimes Means America Fights

 I was drawn to Kurt Schlichter's article today at Townhall because, just as my Pastor had made the point that sometimes you should give hate a chance.  God hates people peoples' sins, and therefore we should hate it too.  Thus, Schlichter suggests Conservatives (should) Give War a Chance. Schlichter is correct that as it says in Ecclesiastes 3:8 there is a time for everything, including war. Sometimes, rarely, you must fight. Some things are worth fighting for.

It seems bizarre that I have to tell fellow conservatives this, but it’s sometimes OK to go to war. We’re fighting right now, and some cons about our current armed conflict are up in arms. But war is not inherently wrong. War is sometimes necessary. Sometimes it’s not. And sometimes, a war is poorly run. For example, in America, that “sometimes” is pretty much the entire last 30 years. But that does not mean that war is never an option. Sometimes it’s necessary. Conservatism is not pacifism with lower marginal tax rates.

Again, I don’t know why I have to say this, but I do. There is a strain of modern conservatism that believes all war is inherently wrong and done solely for the sake of corporations and blah blah blah blah blah. I get the cynicism. I deployed a couple of times. But this idea that there is nothing worth fighting over outside our borders is childish. It’s not conservative. It’s just lame. And people should stop thinking it.

Schlichter points out that we should only go to war when our national interest is clearly at stake. This does not mean going to war to advance the profits of some corporation or another. And if some corporation has invested a lot of money in some third world hell hole ruled by tyrants who have "nationalized" the corporations' investments, well, tough luck. It does not mean interfering in wars around the globe that do not affect us like the Russia - Ukraine conflict. It also does not mean funding such boondoggles. But when it involves the clear national interest, such as when we are being invaded (which we are), then we don't apply a proportional response. No, we put such an overwhelming response that they will talk about it for generations such that nobody even thinks of doing again.

Gentle readers can read Schlichter's piece. What must be understood is that all war is not wrong. Some wars are necessary to defend your country, your freedom and culture, and your family. Just as aggressive violence against another is wrong, but self-defense is justified, so the counterpart for nations prevails.

War is not inherently wrong. Sometimes, war is the answer. Sometimes we’ve got to fight. Not all the time, and not stupidly, but sometimes. We can distinguish between situations. We should not be fighting Russia in Ukraine. We should be fighting Iran right now because if we punch it in the nose, it’s going to stop escalating, as is its pattern. We can’t substitute clichés for thought. We can’t just babble about forever wars as if it’s our fault that we have been under attack by these mutants for over 40 years. I am America First. And sometimes, that means America Fights.