On The Phone With An American Conservative.

I spoke with an American Conservative on Thursday. We were discussing the French fact in North America and how Quebec stuck with the British after 1759 when they were promised they could keep their religion and language. Otherwise, they might have joined the Revolutionary War down south, which was less than two decades away. At some point, I mentioned how the British had burned the White House, not to mention occupied Congress. He said he hoped that would happen again. I replied, I hope not.

And then I went into my lecture on the greatness of the United States of America, and more importantly, what made that country great: not American power, economic or military, not prestige. What made and makes today the United States great is the American experience, and who Americans are.

Just think back to how the rest of the world was so grateful for the Yanks in WWI. When Americans finally came in, it was decisive enough to ensure that we won that war. Then there's what happened when America joined WWII, right after Pearl Harbor. That quite literally saved Western democracy and rid the Earth of the Hitler demon seed and his evil worshippers.

SO...what I tell Americans until I'm blue in the face is that your country can continue to be great because of who the average American is and what he or she stands for in their heart -- not their mind. Put another way, you can be an American, first, last and always like McCain, or you can ignore your better angels and run on tribalism by giving way to your political mind and its inherent biases. 

We're at an inflection point where the United States must take a fork in the road to achieve its true destiny on Earth. Only your average American can make that choice, both individually and collectively. America can continue to do God's work in Ukraine (even though Ukraine is a very flawed nation) or the country can go the other way. If the United States sticks to its higher angels, America will once again save the free world in the next WW, which isn't that far off. Now, if the country collectively decides to continue on its current domestic political trajectory, where the other side is the blood enemy, to which no quarter must ever be given, then the fuse will be lit for the inevitable: a second Civil War.

Americans have a choice. I have no doubt which path they will choose, when push comes to shove. Without the United States of America, totalitarianism would quite literally control this planet. It would be hell on Earth, no doubt about that. So, as every American president says: may God bless the United States and protect her troops.