To Those Younger Than I

An Address On My 80th Birthday


One of the perks of getting old is that you get to give advice. I have some now for the younger people here. I can’t imagine that any of you would have any desire to walk in my footsteps — and if any do — I can disabuse you of that idea right now. There are many paths out there far better that you can take and I urge you to do so.

You will have many decisions to make during your lifetime — most of which will turn out to be of minimal importance to anyone including you. But you will also soon have a crucial decision to make that will be of vital importance both to you and to the world.

Unfortunately, you are destined to live in an America at war — facing a powerful and fanatically determined enemy. It will be a continuing crisis that may well last throughout your lifetime. There has never been a more critical — more dangerous period in this nation’s history than that you face.

I’m sorry for that, and you may think it unfair. But, none of us gets to choose the generation we’re born into. You and your generation have drawn the short straw.

Unfortunately, many Americans — perhaps even a majority — have grown soft and fearful in these latter years. They would have us follow a European model of cowardice and defeatism in the face of a determined Islamic-Fascism that wants us all dead. They have become sheep.

It is hard to be overly critical of sheep. They are kind and gentle creatures who can never harm one another except by accident. However, sheep also live in a state of denial. They think the wolf will not come today — not to me and my family.

That is their only defense. They do not want to believe — will not believe that there is evil in the world today so twisted and demented it cannot be reasoned with — cannot be negotiated with — but must be destroyed.

These people want to kill us all — not because of anything we’ve done but because of what we are. And they are dedicated to our destruction. If you don’t believe there is such evil in the world today, you can just go around saying “Baaa.”

You will be asked to choose between two clear paths . One is the path of denial — to become a sheep. The other is the path of the warrior.

The sheep flees at the sound of strife. When the wolf strikes they pray to be far away. On the other hand the warrior moves to the sound of battle confident that he or she can make a difference in the outcome. The warrior lives to confront the wolf.

If you choose to become a sheep you will have the comfort of believing that the wolf will not come today. But you will pay a heavy price when the wolf does come. Denial is not an effective defense. You will not be able to protect yourself or your family.

On the other hand the warrior confronts the wolf on its own terms. He knows the wolf will give no quarter — so neither does he. This may require much sacrifice both personal and as a nation. But — we must win regardless of sacrifice. The only other option is to accept our own destruction. The future, not only of this country, but that of Western Civilization, is in your hands. Our survival depends on you and the path you choose.

With time, my step has grown slower and less sure — my grip a little weaker — my eyesight a little blurred. But I perceive some things now much more clearly than I did when younger. I know there are many things that you will face in your lifetime that will combine to thwart your efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous existence for yourself and your family. You will have to fight through them. That is the lot of the generation into which you were born. It is now on your shoulders that the future of the world rests.

If you choose — as I strongly recommend — to walk the path of the warrior, you will join with others of like mind to protect and preserve the freedoms we now enjoy for your children — and their children — and also for the children of the sheep. Then, when old, you may join that immortal band of heroes spoken of by Tennyson at the close of Ulysses:

“Tho’ much is taken — much abides; and tho’ we are not now that strength which in the old days shook the heavens and the earth, that which we are; we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, to protect, and never to yield.”

William Bennett, in a lecture to the midshipmen of the U. S. Naval Academy, made a statement and asked them some provocative questions. Here’s what he said:

“Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?”

Those are the question everyone — including you — will finally have to answer. May God help you choose correctly.

Uncle Hub in the movie, Second-Hand Lion, said, “Always believe in Courage, in Virtue, and in Honor — that good always triumphs over evil — for those are the things worth believing in.”

Also believe there is an angel at your shoulder as you move down the path of life. Whichever path you choose, I wish you well.