West Point graduate writes emotional letter to plebe self
Second Lt. Spencer Gillis discusses his experiences at West Point and how they shaped him into a leader.
It was recently announced the U.S. Military Academy at West Point would remove the "Duty, Honor, Country" motto from its mission statement.
Republicans, conservatives, and people of faith rightfully erupted in dismay over this latest move to the "woke" by the famed institution.
Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," observed: "West Point announcing they’ve gone full globalist." To be sure, millions of Americans agree with her, including thousands who graduated from there.
Cadets stand as President Obama congratulates graduates of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, on May 22, 2010. (AP)
As I read about this latest wave of wokeness washing over our nation’s service academies, two questions popped in my mind asked about 250 years ago: "If not now, when? If not us, who?" Those were the two most important questions asked and answered by the 56 men who went on to sign the Declaration of Independence.
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Two years ago, I authored a book intended to prevent the cancellation of those heroes by the far left. It was titled: "The 56 – Liberty Lessons From Those Who Risked All to ign The Declaration of Independence."
In doing research for the book, what struck me was the self-awareness and pure courage of the wealthy among those 56 who chose to affix their names to what was tantamount to a death warrant. Men such as Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin. They literally pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.
The vast majority of the wealthy back in the colonies around 1776 were loyalists to the tyrannical Crown. They did not want to rock the boat. They did not want their wealth or privilege threatened. They did not want to lose favor.
They had neither courage nor convictions. They were satisfied to take the silver and gold covered crumbs being swept off the tables owned by the Crown into their mouths. And sadly, they were just fine with another man of wealth stepping up to fight the fight they knew must be waged.
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I thought of those 56 men, their genius, their courage, and their sacrifice, while reading extensive background from wealthy conservatives and alumni of our service academies criticizing those academies for "going more woke by the day." For it is not just West Point, but also the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy.
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, May 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Back on July 4, 2022, I was up at West Point to discuss my book The 56 on "Fox & Friends" weekend with – fittingly enough – Rachel Campos-Duffy. Soon after my segment finished, a senior officer at West Point quietly approached me and asked if he could speak with me in confidence. After we walked off to the side, he outlined in detail how his alma mater was not only "going far left but eliminating or watering down one standard and tradition after the other." With tears in his eyes, he begged me to get the word out.
Since that time, it has only gotten worse.
But all too often – at least in my experience – Republicans, conservatives and people of faith tend to wring their hands over their disappearing rights, freedoms and traditions. They complain loudly to each other, but oftentimes choose not to jump into that "Arena" made famous by Teddy Roosevelt in his 1910 "Man in the Arena" speech.
Roosevelt stressed: "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…"
Far too many Republicans, conservatives and people of faith are content to sit in the stands and wring their hands while criticizing the few who dare to jump upon the floor of that arena. Including, as I am discovering, many who are outraged by the far-left turn our military academies are taking.
But…other than whining among themselves – what are they truly doing to reverse this course of action which does threaten the national security of our nation? Not much.
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An entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Maryland, Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
I have a simple suggestion: Start your own military academies.
In doing basic research, I have discovered that between the various multimillionaires and billionaires who espouse conservative and faith-based values, collectively, they have over one trillion in wealth. As in, over one thousand billion dollars.
And yet, like the wealthy back in 1776, many seem content with the crumbs being swept into their mouths by the far-left CEOs and activists who control much of Big-Tech and other industries in our nation. They don’t want to rock the boat. They want another person of enormous wealth to jump onto the floor of that arena.
The Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (iStock)
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As I have written, over the course of the last five decades or more, the left and far left have gained majority control over what I call the "five major megaphones" of our nation. The media, academia, entertainment, science and medicine.
None of it happened in a vacuum. Much of it came about via blatant and illegal discrimination by the left.
But here we are. Conservatives, Republicans and people of faith with tremendous wealth can continue to wring their hands or they can choose to take that one trillion dollars out for a spin. Emulate the wealthy men who risked all to sign our Declaration of Independence and ask yourselves: "If not me, who? If not now, when?"
A painting depicting the Declaration of Independence's signing is seen in the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 16, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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New military academies can be started. New colleges can be started. New entertainment studios can be started.
Like Jefferson, Franklin and Hancock, Republicans, conservatives and people of faith with such money have the power to save our nation. All they must do is jump into that arena.