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Over 650,000 American soldiers have died in combat, sacrificing their lives in the name of freedom, democracy, and the enduring values that define the United States. Their courage must never be forgotten. Each generation is called upon to preserve and protect the liberties for which these brave men and women gave everything. That solemn responsibility falls to us NOW.
Yet today, one must ask: Would they have made the same sacrifice had they known what this country would become? We are witnessing troubling developments that challenge the very ideals they died to defend.
We see abuses of executive power, with sweeping orders issued without deliberation or accountability. The proposed dismantling of the Department of Education threatens the future of our children and the nation's intellectual foundation. Funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health risk stalling life-saving medical research and public health advancements. Efforts to end birthright citizenship defy both constitutional precedent and the fundamental principle that every person born on American soil deserves equal protection under the law.
Regulatory agencies are being weakened, their authority stripped at the expense of public safety and environmental integrity. Law firms are being targeted for defending immigrants and marginalized communities, and colleges and universities are being vilified for encouraging open inquiry and diversity of thought. Even more alarming is the disregard for due process, the intimidation of judges, and the apparent use of the presidency to pursue personal gain rather than public service.
Now, with the passage of the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," over $145 billion is being allocated to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Immigration Services, not to improve safety or national unity, but to incarcerate and deport long-standing residents—individuals who have lived here for over a decade, paid taxes, raised families, and helped build this country from the ground up.
This is not what those 650,000 soldiers died for. They gave their lives to protect a nation of laws, justice, opportunity, and dignity. To betray those values in the name of nationalism or political convenience is to desecrate their memory.
We must ask ourselves, as a society: Are we honoring their legacy, or are we erasing it? Are we standing up for the principles of democracy and human rights, or are we turning our backs on them?
