Tell the Brits they can have their land back

In order to form a new country in the 1770s, a country free from the tyranny of the king of England, good people were willing to fight for their freedom and to keep that country.

When this country was threatened on Dec. 7, 1941, by the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor, we fought back and joined World War II because we knew America was worth fighting for, that our freedom was worth taking up arms and saying, “No. You will not dictate how I live.”

When America was subjected to terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001, many brave people dropped what they were doing and enlisted in the military because — once again — our country’s freedom was threatened by another country wanting to do us harm.

We’re seeing much of the horrors that Americans have historically dealt with play out in Ukraine as Russia has invaded, bombed maternity wards, attacked nuclear plants and caused many Ukrainians to take up arms to defend their homes because their way of life has been threatened.

If that was America today, would we do the same? Would women make Molotov cocktails, and would citizens force the enemy to fight — really fight — for every square inch of land they hope to occupy? Would we have the wherewithal that our forefathers did to never give up and risk our very lives to keep this great nation as a haven for freedom?

Many of us would, but I was pretty disheartened recently to see a Quinnipiac poll that only 55% of the people polled said they would stay and fight like the people of Ukraine. Meanwhile, 38% would rather leave the country. More than a third of America would rather pull up stakes and let a foreign enemy force them to find somewhere else to be their Shangri-La.

Well, I guess somebody should call the Brits and tell them they can have their land back. The folks who would rather have some other country decide what freedoms they can have can return to the 13 original colonies, and the rest of us can have the remaining 37 states that England didn’t possess before the Revolutionary War.

Yes, that sounds absolutely ridiculous, but so does the notion that America is not worth fighting for, that the ideals we strive for can be chucked away whenever some big bully kicks the door down and says, “This is how you will be.” We look with sadness whenever people are oppressed in the Middle East or human rights violations take place in China, but yet we feel like, if those horrors come to our shores, we should just roll over and take it.

Strangely enough, the Quinnipiac poll showed that 79% of Americans feel that we should fight back against Russia if Vladimir Putin decides Ukraine is not the only place he should attack and decides a NATO country should also be under his thumb. So, America is not worth staying and fighting for in some people’s opinions, but many of those people think we should go whoop the Russians if one of our allies is attacked? How logical is that?

The poll also showed that 78% would welcome Ukrainian refugees into the United States. Another contradiction—we’re willing to welcome the downtrodden into our homes, but if some enemy decides to invade those homes, our attitude is one of, “Oops. You’re on your own. We’re getting the heck out of here.”

Republicans were quick to pounce on these results and further the divide between them and Democrats, pointing out that 52% of Democrats would rather flee than fight. I hate to break it to the pachyderm-worshippers, but one in four Republicans stated they’d search for greener pastures if another country invaded. Instead of giving another reason for people to declare America a lost cause, maybe attention should go toward uniting our country.

We’ve figured out how to keep America alive for more than 240 years, and while a lot of things have changed, the yearning for freedom has not. We’ve always had good people willing to fight the good fight when necessary, and while there seem to be a lot more who aren’t willing to do that today, this place still has much that’s worth keeping.

For those who choose to defend freedom, I stand with you.

For those who don’t, go ahead and hit the road, as I’d rather not have to guess whether or not you’d have my back.

Lee Pulaski is the city editor for NEW Media. Readers can contact him at lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com.