If America is to recapture the spirit that made it great, we must learn from the heroes of World War II and the attitude of demanding unconditional surrender.
“Among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue,” said Adm. Chester Nimitz. The “Greatest Generation” fought to win, and win they did. As Sept. 2 is the anniversary of imperial Japan’s surrender, ending WWII, it is now appropriate to reflect on the past and apply its lessons to the present.
What made America the greatest nation on earth, a shining city on a hill? There are several correct answers to that question, but one essential factor, one prime reason for that success, is the determination and idealism of the American spirit. From the Revolution and the Founders onwards, the best and bravest Americans were those who managed to unite principles with practicality. The Revolutionaries fought a war with the world’s most powerful empire (Britain) because they believed their rights and liberties were more important than life. But, unlike the majority of philosophers throughout history, our forefathers did not merely dream and debate, they also put their words into action.
Throughout American history, that has been true. Most of both our heroes and our villains have been so because, rightly or wrongly, they were determined to uphold and protect a certain idea. Whether their ideals were noble, like liberty, equality, and justice, or ignoble, like slavery, these men were willing to die to stand by their beliefs. It is that spirit that enabled America to win such a magnificent victory over Imperial Japan during WWII.
Related: V-J Day: Japan Surrenders to U.S. and the World Is at Peace
I call it the “spirit of unconditional surrender.” That is what the U.S. was determined to achieve during WWII. They would accept nothing less, and they received nothing less. They broke the Nazi tyranny and the Japanese dictatorship, both of them genocidal governments with resourceful, ingenious, and ruthless leaders. And on Sept. 2, 1945, the unconditional surrender demanded by the U.S. was formalized as Japanese delegates boarded the USS Missouri to surrender. The Japanese, who had proved themselves willing to kill their own children and commit mass suicide rather than surrender earlier in the war, after the dropping of the atom bombs and the intervention of Emperor Hirohito, decided to “bear the unbearable.”
At Normandy and Rome and Iwo Jima and Midway the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of the United States had fought with exceptional courage and determination. On the Home Front, civilians rallied to do their part to keep the war effort going. Of course mistakes were made, and men like Gens. Eisenhower and Bradley put victory in peril with their political games. But in the end the American spirit, the spirit of the Founding Fathers, the spirit of unconditional surrender, prevailed. That is a spirit most Americans have, sadly, lost today. We no longer prize freedom over safety, victory over security, and ideals over ideology.
But I believe that spirit can rise again. We collectively failed to stand up to government tyranny during Covid-19, but we have another chance. This November, a historic election will determine if we will permanently surrender to globalist Marxists or again return to having leaders who respect our Constitution and founding principles.
Therefore, not only should we vote, but, before the election, we should be encouraging others to vote, spreading the statistics and facts about how horrible the Biden-Harris administration is and educating ourselves on how to reverse pernicious political trends at the local level. We need not only a patriotic president but also senators, congressmen, state representatives, mayors, governors, sheriffs, and school board members who love our country and see themselves as our employees, not our aristocrats.
The “Greatest Generation” fought the war of their time and won. They passed onto us, their children and grandchildren, the responsibility of protecting and maintaining liberty both at home and — if necessary — abroad. Like them, we must adopt the spirit of unconditional surrender and vow that we, too, will achieve complete victory.
