This was one of those days when I had a hard time cranking-up the column. Putin's war leaves me angry with the slow pace of our president's actions to arm our Ukrainian friends. They fight for their lives, defending against another holocaust. I witness mothers, babies, and old people being systematically slaughtered. I also watch what is shown to be one of the toughest armies in the world, trouncing the Russian Orcs, though outgunned ten-to-one. Reminiscent of Leonidas and the 300 Spartans - but with a victorious outcome.

Putin threatens to ignite WWIII, which America may not avoid without abject capitulation. That fuse might likely be the use of "tactical" (small) nukes capable of immediately annihilating inhabited areas of a few miles. An even more "unthinkable" event would be the use of "strategic" (hydrogen) nuclear weapons which could rattle our tectonic plates.

We are dealing with atheistic enemies in Russia and China, those who not only deny God, but deny as well the reality of immortal human souls and eternal life, which makes the above scenarios actually "thinkable". This is also why for a hundred years communist inspired dictatorships have sponsored the slavery and murders of hundreds of millions of innocent human beings. This is why we see systems such as forced confinement of millions of Uighurs in China today, and millions of ghosts from the Gulag Archipelago of the recent past. An excellent column appeared in the April 19, 2022 edition of American Thinker (www.americanthinker.com) "Farewell to America's military meritocracy" by James Poplar.

I have to ask, as Mr. Poplar does, what kind of military will we have when the time to fight jumps up again. Sadly, I wholeheartedly agree with his somber closing thought:

"So it appears America's ultimate meritocracy, the force that rose from like a phoenix from the ashes of Vietnam and won Desert Storm, will be no more — sadly, another victim to wokeness. Equality is the principle proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence, not equity. The U.S. military, which was once a model meritocracy and model of combat effectiveness, where all were treated equally, is now embarking on the ever-slippery slope. Where will it end?"

"...last week the Pentagon rolled out its own "equity" plan. The Department of Defense is now aiming to "equalize outcomes for employees" and partners across racial and sex-based lines. In the text, the DOD explained a series of procedural changes to better align with the White House's demands for "equity." I believe this is an example of what the so-called "woke" disease has done to the entire U.S. military structure and purpose. From our beginnings, the idea of "troop individualism" has been anathema. The goal has always been cohesion, to break down the individual and reconstitute the single-minded combat unit acting together.

Our military services have gone the way of the Catholic hierarchy (I'm a Catholic), rotting from the top down. Hierarchies seem to suffer similar vulnerabilities - in following leaders even when they have lost legitimate moral authority, and compass of common sense, by abandoning foundational Judeo-Christian laws - our historical Constitutional gravity.

The report (Department of Defense Equity Action Plan April 2022) continued, "This included a focus on how extremist or dissident ideologies violate the fundamental principles of the Department" and went on to note its increased tolerance for military service by transgender soldiers. "DOD took steps to ensure transgender individuals who wished to serve in the military and could meet the appropriate standards were able to do so openly and free from discrimination."

What is completely rejected by the Dept. of Defense’s 240-years of American military and social tradition, as seen in our founding documents: the teaching of Judeo-Christian virtues and values, which has never included anti-Judeo-Christian values, until now. America's bedrock, founding values are based entirely upon Biblical Judeo-Christian principles - uniquely so. Our traditionally religious military men and women compose 95 percent of our fighting troops. It's far past time to recognize our responsibility to defend their professional expectations as members of our armed forces.

All of this novel "woke" philosophical trash is sabotaging our nation's military strength and cohesion.