Enemy at the Gates
“Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls. It tolls for Thee.”
-Jon Donne
As an amateur student of military history, I have found certain campaigns and battles to be of extreme interest and significance, not so much for the actual fighting but more for the greater lessons about life and the future that specific campaigns, strategies or battles, even wars, could teach. Most of us abhor war, especially the brave veterans that have fought and died in them. But there are certain wars that simply had to be fought. When I was a student studying the Russian Language in the then former Soviet Union in the mid 60’s, I learned daily about Russia’s sacrifices during WW II. Remember, that was only 20 years after the war. Their sacrifices were indescribably horrific- they were catastrophic. It’s hard to grasp from hindsight but the Russians did not know if they could withstand Hitler’s surprise invasion, and then the horrible losses the Russians endured during the Nazi onslaught. The battle of Stalingrad was the turning point. It was one of the most difficult, catastrophic, hard-fought battles in modern military history in one of the harshest winters in the country. The Russians did not know at all if they could withstand the daily pounding of the German armies. Starvation and horrible, freezing conditions plagued both armies. In the end, pushed to the end of human endurance, Russia prevailed with thousands sacrificed. There have been other desperate wars. Our own Revolutionary War is one of them. The odds were so stacked against us it is a pure wonder that we won. Thanks to Washington’s leadership, the French fleet and pure tenacity America endured.
The Enemy at Our Gates Now
Now, there is no difference today in our American society, with the threat of Donald Trump and the MAGA hoards, than desperate combat on the military battlefield. They are our enemy at the gates- the gates of democracy in their attempts to bludgeon the very fabric of the Republic; to hack the threads of our constitution. They are evil incarnate. There is no more desperate battle today and it is one we must win. The lies born of unfathomable ignorance and stupidity are breathtaking in their audacity, and the bald cowardice of politicians to stand up for the truth just to gain votes is enough to make any decent citizen retch. Are votes from cracker ignoramuses so important? Where is your pride? Didn’t you learn anything at Harvard or Yale in some instances? Or did you learn that your own ego justifies audacious lies and cowardice? The good news is that the tide is slowly turning. Finally, the center is holding because enough honest and brave citizens led by a decent and highly competent President decided to fight and stave off our own enemy at the gates, finally relegating them to the dustbin of history along with Joe McCarthy, Huey Long, Roy Cohn and Father Coughlin.
What About Our Personal Enemy at the Gates?
Now we come to the personal challenges some of us have. How about emotional abuse? Because if you are living with an emotional abuser, there is an enemy at the gates of your sanity. If and once, you realize it you have two choices: live with the enemy and allow your heart to die or leave for an unknown future. My advice? Screw up your courage, take that leap and never look back. You may not know your future, but you don’t have to live in fear with the enemy at the gates.
