Getting Back on Track
On December 15, 1985, my wife and I arrived in this country. Today, I am a proud American since 30+ years when I had the privilege of being sworn in as a naturalized citizen.
When my friends ask me why I came to the U.S., I often jokingly tell them that I am a political refugee. Jokingly? Maybe not, after all. I have often stated that the U.S. will not turn socialistic in my lifetime. Sadly, I must eat my words. We as a nation are on our way to become a European-like state which has jumped the track due to creeping socialism. While we as citizens have the power to reject socialism, it looks as if we are afraid to stand up and raise our voices and concerns when we see the politicians in Washington DC, sometimes in unity, make laws that will clearly turn this nation into another Denmark (where I was born), Sweden, Germany, France. In other words, another country working its way toward a new world order based on utopian socialism.
My wife and I lived in Budapest, Hungary, from 2016-2019. Hungary was one of the behind-the-Iron-Curtain countries that freed itself from the communist Soviet Union. Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, who was re-elected just a week ago, has been fighting within the European Union for the right to stay true to the country’s culture and independence. In Budapest, I saw large demonstrations against Orban because he was trying to stop a university which based its whole existence on teaching socialism, attracting students from all over Europe and the rest of the world. Orban was eventually successful and the university closed in Budapest and moved to Austria. Orban did not bend for pressure. He stood firm on the idea that Hungary should not be another socialistic country within the European Union. Mind you that the founder of said university is an incredibly wealthy American, George Soros (Hungarian-born). Why do I share this story with my fellow Banderans? The short answer is that we are often not aware of how hard some Americans are working to undermine our nation and the principles on which it was founded and I want to bring it to your attention. We may not be aware or we may close our eyes because it is too hard to fathom. As a nation, we must be aware that socialists go all in with their efforts and wealth in so many ways, shapes and forms when pursuing their desire to see America change. Bernie Sanders,
AOC, and hundreds, actually millions, of Americans want to see the U.S. not just changed, but its foundation destroyed so as to become a European lookalike. I take issue with their desire for many reasons. Let me just mention one: they do not know what Europe looks like from the inside and in everyday life and transactions.
I have lived half of my life in Europe and half in the U.S. I know that there are things that we could and should change for the better in the U.S. However, in my opinion, we as a nation should first muster the willpower to get us back on track. Let us make sure that Bernie Sanders, AOC, Kamala Harris, John Kerry and other socialists in our government do not get us into another war just because they are afraid of saying "No!" to Putin, China, Iran, etc. We do not want to allow President Biden to bow to the communists as he has done with Putin by doing too little, too late to stop Putin's war in Ukraine. Why do I say too little, too late? Because we could have stopped the war in Ukraine by delivering the right weapons in December, January and February or, even better, a year ago. Biden was afraid to stand up to Putin, afraid of becoming involved and it kept us from delivering the necessary equipment to the Ukrainians, much like Europe. Do you know that Germany's first reaction to the war in Ukraine was to deliver a few hundred helmets? I am thinking, what a joke! But it fits very well with the European obsession with showing the world that things can be resolved with tact and diplomacy, a belief system that is sometimes acutely misplaced. I cannot begin to imagine how it must feel to be at the other end of this low-level show of solidarity, while being pounded into oblivion by Putin's missiles. Would I appreciate the helmet which might as well have a card attached saying "We are thinking of you", or would it feel more like a slap in the face from powerful nations which I believed to be my friends? On this side of the Atlantic, why was our President afraid of standing up to Putin? Because Putin might have his hand on the nuclear button.
So, Biden started down the same path as Europe. Let us sanction Russia. Indeed, the idea has potential. In the situation at hand, though, not enough. It will not help free the world from the reestablishment of a communist military power block like the old Soviet Union which must be what Putin had in mind when he placed 200,000 Russian soldiers along the northern border of Ukraine. If, instead, President Biden together with all other NATO countries had sent modern military equipment to Ukraine, Ukraine and we would not have been in today's tragic mess.
What I would encourage my Democratic and Republican friends here in Bandera to start thinking is BIG PICTURE. The big picture is that we are currently allowing Putin and his communist and socialist friends to take over. Let us not be their followers. Let us unite as Americans and show leadership. As a beginning, could we as Democrats and Republicans agree on just this one important question, stopping the war in Ukraine?
Putin's war in Ukraine and the potential strengthening of his communist power reminds me of another current issue, China. It is clear that China, among much other wrongdoing, supports Putin's war in Ukraine. How I wish that we could agree on saying no to Chinese products. The sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia by the western world should also be used against China. Therefore, I would say sanctions against China now, not later. Why wait? Are we, and this great nation, paralyzed by infighting at so many levels that we have forced ourselves into a wait-and-see position when action is needed now? Action is needed now, whether to help save our friends in this world or our freedom here at home. Please let us find and show our collective values and strengths.
Leif Glensgaard is a proud American and a fiscal conservative. The views of this column do not necessarily reflect the view of the Bandera County Republican Party.