Remember back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when the Berlin Wall was coming down and all the talk about perestroika and glasnost were making the rounds, when Gorbachev came to power and was being viewed as the great Russian reformer who would bring about the long-awaited change that would bring the deprived population into prosperity and twenty-first century convenience, when scores of MiG fighter jets were mothballed at obscure Balkan air bases and the Russian leadership was making overtures about better relations and stronger ties with the west?
Remember when western leaders were acting as if the long east-west struggle between communism and capitalism had run its course and that the awful Mutual Assured Destruction policies were a thing of the past? Back when the KGB was disbanded – it was actually never disbanded – it just changed its name and never lost its intimidating power.
Remember when the old Soviet Union started to crumble, when the two Germanys were reunited and the eastern Europeans found themselves on their own for the first time since before the second world war, when the west was breathing an excited sigh of relief, thinking that, at last, Russia had seen the error of their repressive ways and were ready to become a true democracy? It was right then that I said, “This ain't real, and the Russians are not our friends” – the government that is, not the people.
The truth of the matter is that under Ronald Reagan's relentless military buildup, Russia's fevered attempt to keep up had finally caught up with them. The Soviet Union was broke, they couldn't enter the arena of supersonic war planes, “Star Wars” missile shields and all the technologic wonders that America was putting on the battle lines.
They were simply outspent, outgunned and outmaneuvered, left with little else but a very bleak future of ever-increasing military spending, which took the “guns or butter” proposition to an untenable level.
Russia's nuclear system was old and unproven. Its borders were long and expensive to patrol. The levels of secret police it took to control the restless populations were unsustainable. The war in Afghanistan, and the fact that they weren't being regularly paid, had drained the morale of the Russian army.
Their crops regularly failed, and after decades of the "one size fits all" Communist doctrine, the people had become unproductive and restive.
So, Russia made their overtures and bided their time, waiting for the Western World to be lulled to sleep in their desperate quest for "peace in our day." They waited for the election of a leader of the free world whose idealism outweighed his good sense, someone who was unwilling to accept, that in most of the world, the only thing they respect is power and a leader who is willing to use it should it become necessary.
From 1987 to the present day, we have come from "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," to (tell Vladimir) “After my election, I have more flexibility.”
The Russian bear has come out of its long hibernation and is back in the business of empire building. The Crimea has fallen, and the Ukraine is just a matter of time. America and the west has lost its power to intimidate, and left to his own devices, it looks as if Obama will eventually strip it of its ability to be the greatest fighting force the world has ever known.
Russia will become more belligerent as time goes by, vying for influence in the Middle East and gobbling up the Balkans, reestablishing the parts of the old Soviet Union they consider to be profitable for them.
America has left a long trail of unfinished wars, broken promises, imaginary red lines and the likes in the decades since Reagan transformed the American military from an organization that couldn't even mount an operation to rescue the Iranian hostages into the best of the best.
America needs a leader, not a poll follower, an ideologue or someone naive enough to believe that if you'll be nice to the bad guys, they'll be nice to you. America needs a leader with the guts to stand by an ally and let the world know it, even in uncertain times.
America needs a leader who wants to preserve, not circumvent, the constitution. She needs a leader who has respect for the rights of the states and will leave them to a reasonable amount of self-governance, a leader who knows when to hold ‘em and knows when to fold ‘em. She needs a leader who recognizes political correctness for the sham it is and refuses to hide behind it.
Is such a person out there?
I truly don't know, but I pray to my God that there is, that they will come forth, and with His guidance, lead this nation out of the spiritual, fiscal and dangerous morass we find ourselves in. America needs a uniter, someone who would never sink to dividing the races for political purposes, someone who will bring back our military superiority, destroy ISIS by whatever means necessary and make this nation proud to go back to work.
Tall order?
Sure is.
Can it be done?
It’s happened before.
What do you think?
Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.
God Bless America
Charlie Daniels
Charlie Daniels is a legendary American singer, song writer, guitarist, and fiddler famous for his contributions to country and southern rock music. Daniels has been active as a singer since the early 1950s. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on January 24, 2008.
