A Few Good Men . . . and Women
Good Monday morning everyone! I pray you enjoyed a wonderful and Happy 249th American Independence Day weekend. The first thing that should come to your mind with the title of this missive is the old US Marine Corps marketing theme. It was also the name of a movie made famous by Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of US Marine Corps COL Nathan Jessup and his infamous line, “You can’t handle the truth!”
History has given us countless examples of a few good men, and women, making a difference in the world. First, there is Jesus and the 12 disciples who are still making a difference in this world. So many incredible innovations and experiments in numerous fields have improved the quality of life for mankind. This past weekend we remembered and celebrated, well, most did, there are still useful idiots who protested America on its Independence Day. Regardless, true Americans remembered the work of Thomas Jefferson and the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence resulting in our America, the last best hope for mankind.
Sometimes we believe that it is necessary to have a large number of people in order to effect good, to make a stand against evil. Sir Edmund Burke stated, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” In the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Judges, we read the story of one Gideon, whom God called, as a man of valor, even though he was in hiding, stowing away provisions from the invading Midianites. God called Gideon to raise up an Army to fight the Midianites, Gideon did so. However, God was not pleased with the great multitude Gideon called, and through a series of tests, whittled that number down to just 300 . . . and the victory was theirs.
Just the same, here in Texas there were only 183 who stood for 13 days of glory, February 23 to March 6, 1836, at a Spanish mission known as The Alamo in San Antonio de Bexar. They stood against insurmountable odds of 3,000-4,000, and with their sacrifice, secured the fledgling Independence of the Republic of Texas.
But I want to talk about another stand made by a few good men back in 480 BC. The Persian King Xerxes had taken up the mantle to follow his father Darius I and invade Greece. It was his desire to bring the Greeks under the tyranny of the Persian empire and crush the ideal of self-rule and democracy. It was the Spartan King Leonidas who requested the entire Spartan army be deployed to meet Xerxes, but he was denied. Leonidas therefore took a few good men, his personal guard of 300 and marched to the “Hot Gates,” a narrow defile at a place called Thermopylae. There Leonidas and his 300 were joined by a few other Greek city-states and made a stand. They fought for two days until their fate was sealed by a Greek traitor. This traitor told the Persians about a secret pass that would lead them behind the Spartans, encircling them. Word came to Leonidas, and he sent his final message back to Sparta: he would honor the Spartan code of “no retreat, no surrender.” Those words are inscribed on the statue of Leonidas today, at Thermopylae: “Go tell the Spartans, and strangers passing by, that here, obedient to their laws we lie.” Leonidas and his few good men bought time for the rest of Greece and inspired them to not succumb. Xerxes and his Persian Navy were later defeated at the Battle of Salamis.
Texas — including Dallas County — is being invaded by a tyrannical ideology that seeks to subjugate the individual will to collective servitude. We are looking for a few good men and women who will courageously make a stand for individual rights, freedom, and liberty. Men and women who will honor the sacrifices of the men of The Alamo and remember the Spartans. Sadly, we have traitors who, for unknown reasons, perhaps 30 pieces of silver, will betray Texas, and Dallas County. Their own personal interests and comfort are more important than that of our children and grandchildren.
As Chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party, I am looking for those few good men and women who will take up a position on the ramparts, or in the phalanx. I despise cowards and traitors who would run away, or worse, create dissension in order to enable our defeat. I believe it is most dishonorable to carry a title just for the purpose of having a title yet fail to make the sacrifice that comes with that responsibility. We need fighters, not prissy little posturers who go about in hidden places whispering. There is far too much at stake in Dallas County, in Texas, and in America.
These words from John Stuart Mill are quite appropriate and fitting for these times:
“A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
What will you fight for, not against? Will you be one of the few good men and women, or will you choose to be a miserable creature?
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.” – Thomas Paine, December 1776
Steadfast and Loyal.
Chairman West's #MondayMessage
Thoughts, insights, & topical perspectives delivered to your inbox each week!