5-27-25

Yesterday was Memorial Day….a day that we remember the lives of those men

and women who gave the full measure of themselves in defense of our nation…..I

would love to believe that their sacrifices were the last we would ever need but

given the state of the world I would say that’s not likely…..until the day that Jesus

returns we are assured that in this world we will have trouble…..but we’re also told

to fear not, for He has overcome the world…..but if we are to be his vessels, his

servants, then we must find our calling…..and for some that calling is in

uniform….at least for a time……

The world is not a steady place…..there are wars and rumors of wars…..we are

engaged in some hostile situations but we are not currently “at war” as a

nation….but if we think for a minute that there will never be another time of war

then we are living in la-la land…..but this past weekend I made several

appearances on national news broadcasts to discuss the latest efforts by the Trump

administration to build America’s military back to a place where we can once

again use the phrase “Peace through Strength”…..it is long overdue…..but let me

suggest to you that “peace” is an active word, a verb….more than it is a

noun….peace can be a noun, a person/place/thing….but in the sense of “making

peace” it has to be a verb……

So in the English language peace is a noun, and sometimes an adjective, ……peace

in English is a thing, or at the very least a descriptive term……but can peace be a

verb? Can peace be an action word? ......Jesus said “blessed are the Peacemakers”

…….Colt developed a world class pistol and called it the Peacemaker…..one

version is a noun, one is an adjective……it is possible for nations to make peace

treaties….it is possible for a person to have peace, or to know peace, or to seek out

a peaceful moment in a busy schedule…..but can you actually “do peace”?.....Can

peace be an action?......In the English language the answer is apparently “no”

……but going back to the scripture in Matthew when Jesus said blessed are the

“peacemakers”, one study I read said that the original Greek translation didn’t have

a Greek word to pull from and had to rely instead on Hebrew tradition……because

in Hebrew “peace” can also be a verb……in that language, the answer to my

question is “yes”, it is possible to “do” peace……In Hebrew “peace” can be an

action…..

Now it almost sounds like an oxymoron……like we are taking opposites and

making them attract…..the idea of peace in the English language sounds

calm….but the idea of peace in Hebrew is just the period between conflicts…..a

brief respite in an otherwise chaotic world in which we catch our breath and keep

doing all that is necessary to preserve the peace while preparing for war……As

George Washington said in his first annual address to Congress, “To be prepared

for war is the most effectual means of preserving peace.”

I believe it was a verb-tense version of “peace” that Ronald Reagan intended when

he pressed the idea of “peace through strength”……Reagan believed that the best

time to prepare for conflict was when there was no conflict and that by doing so

our enemies would see us as too big of an obstacle and therefore avoid conflict and

by doing so we would have more peace…..in effect Reagan believed in the idea of

“doing” peace……think about that….. not just being at peace, but actually “doing

peace”……

The Biden administration believed in appeasement and containment…..give the

bad guys something and then hope they will stay in their lane…..Let’s be clear

about something…..appeasement of bad men does not make them good……

appeasement of evil does not make it less evil…..if someone is determined to

commit atrocities then they should not be given leave to do so…..And honestly,

appeasement only works if you are the strongest one in the discussion…..no one

feels the need to appease the weak……that is why we must return to the place that

we press for “peace through strength”……

On September 30 th , 1938, exactly 85 years ago last week, the Munich Agreement

was signed…..Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed the agreement with the

President of France and the Prime Minister of England…..Britain’s Prime Minister

at the time was Neville Chamberlain who returned to Great Britain and announced

that he had helped to achieve “peace in our time”……the agreement was that

France and Great Britain would stand by and say nothing and allow Germany to

annex a large swath of Czechoslovakia……they gave Hitler what he

wanted…..they appeased his thirst for power and territory…..they did it for the

promise of peace……exactly one year later Nazi Germany invaded Poland and

catapulted the world into the most costly and devastating war in human

history…..How did that appeasement work out? Not so well…..Neville

Chamberlain was trying to “Be at peace”…..instead, the world would have been a

better place if he had decided to “do peace”……Peace is certainly

possible…..peace should always be the desired goal….but the means to reach that

goal will never be found in weakness…..the goal is peace but the means is by

strength…..come to the table and discuss peace but hold the biggest stick at the

table and you will get more done…..

Speaking at the Republican National Convention in 1980 Ronald Reagan said,

“We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong,

but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted.”

Reagan’s foreign policy, known as the Reagan Doctrine, was the support of

freedom for all people around the world. His commitment to the idea of “peace

through strength” led to the modernization of our military forces…… During

Reagan’s administration, the size of the U.S. Army grew by two active divisions

and saw the development of new weapons systems. ….Reagan’s belief was that his

policy of strengthening the US military would not only contain communism but

defeat it.……Within a few short years the Soviet Union fell……and the 80’s

became a resurgent era for the US economy, US foreign policy, and our standing

on the world stage…..the world recognized then that the United States was not in

the business of appeasement…..I don’t believe that the same could be said for the

US position in the world today….at every turn the Biden administration has

worked to weaken our position on national security, foreign policy, military

capability, border security, economic wellbeing…..things are happening around us

that should never be allowed to happen …..but we are moving back to an era in

which we will operate from a position of strength…..we operate, once again, as a

nation that means what it says and says what it means…..not under the fallible

cloak of appeasement….we can be your best friend, or you can wish you’d never

heard of us……

Again, I believe it was a verb-tense version of “peace” that Ronald Reagan

intended when he pressed the idea of “peace through strength”……Reagan

believed that the best time to prepare for conflict was when there was no conflict

and that by doing so our enemies would see us as too big of an obstacle and

therefore avoid conflict and by doing so we would have more peace…..in effect

Reagan believed in the idea of “doing” peace……

The concept of peace through strength is the surest and most effective way to

promote safety and security here at home….Our enemies are growing stronger and

bolder every day…..gone are the days when nations will survive because the

United States engaged in the feckless and reckless appeasement….we must be

willing to lead, guide and direct from a position of strength if we are to remain a

beacon for the world……

Let me suggest to you that it is possible to both have peace and to do peace at the

same time…..and we have to……don’t for a second think that if you get a minute

to breath freely and relax that it means that there is nothing left to do……consider

the Hebrew term for peace that indicates that peace may be upon you, peace may

be a thing to be grasped, peace may be a restful moment, and peace may even be a

thing that you DO……..

Blessed are the peacemakers…….it is not an idle job to be a peacemaker…..it is a

busy existence……and strength, and preparation, and forward thinking……those

are all the doing’s of peace……and by the way, peace can be restful, and you can

be at peace even when everyone around you is losing their ever loving minds…..

it’s that peace that surpasses all understanding……I’ve got it and I know that a

bunch of you do as well…..but even still we cannot be idle……Keep calm and

carry on…..remember that peace can be a verb….

And that’s a wrap for the Rightside Way