ETERNAL VIGILANCE REMAINS PRICE OF FREEDOM

Periodically, throughout U.S. history, our country has had the opportunity of being the predominant world power. Invariably, we have chosen to abdicate that power in the belief that we were not the world's policeman, others had the right of self-determination without our influence, countries would settle differences amicably with respect for each others sovereignty and other optimistic beliefs.

Equally invariably, we have been proven wrong.

Repeatedly in the past, we have voluntarily and rapidly demobilized our armed forces, reduced our military budget and decreased our investment in military research. Each time, some less than benevolent force has arisen which, eventually, we were forced to confront, sending decimated armed forces into battle with old weapons, old tactics, and inexperienced leadership.

Certainly, we have been able to mobilize quickly and make up for lost time but at the expense of many of our finest young men and women.

Once again, we have the opportunity to maintain our position as both the world's leader and enforcer. Other peoples have been at war for thousands of years and simply do not share our world view. They do not accept any moral principle of individual or national rights, nor any obligation to serve their own people. We can either accept the fact that they will, when the opportunity arises, attempt to extract as much from the United States as possible; or we can naively believe they will let us live in peace as long as we leave them alone.

History has proven too often that to live in peace the U.S. must be able to enforce its world view. The military is a necessary part of that enforcement process, both in a strong defense and in the ability to project force as needed.

There will always be Gadhafis and Husseins, Hitlers and Stalins. We can either ignore them until they are too dangerous to ignore, or we can preempt their ambitions while they are still small enough to be quashed.

Our military is the finest in the world and its members have sacrificed in numerous ways: time away from their families and loved ones, financial loss, injury and death. In return, our servicemen and servicewomen have been ignored, reviled, spat upon, left jobless, discriminated against, glorified, been given parades and medals, had monuments built, and honored. In spite of the contradictions, they continue to serve because they believe in this country and its principles and are willing to die to defend its way of life.

Having traveled the world, I sincerely believe the United States provides a way of life that is worth defending. Unfortunately, many of our citizens believe otherwise. I would like to leave them to suffer the consequences of their choices, but to do that I would have to allow my children to suffer a similar fate.

I believe our military must be allowed and encouraged to maintain its dominant role in the world. It must be kept strong to fulfill its mission of projecting U.S. power around the world, keeping petty wars from expanding to world conflagration. And it must be kept ready to defend the U.S. from those external forces who would threaten our way of life.

We may not be perfect, but we're the best option around. Our freedom is expensive; as has been said, "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance;" and, "nobody likes to fight, but somebody has to know how." Once again, we have a choice. I hope we have the sense to maintain our military strength, the foresight to maintain our military research, and the resolve to further develop our defenses.

Gerald Nicholson is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corp Reserves. He is employed in Cape Girardeau by Orthopaedic Associates.