Author: Reese Skalicky

There are very few movements that can be likened to the one created by Ronald Reagan. The 40th President of the United States was viewed globally as a symbol of strength. The clear objective of the Reagan administration was to defend the democratic values of the United States and defeat the spread of communism by the Soviet Union. Reagan swiftly gained the unwavering support of the American people and our allies abroad when, after taking office, he immediately and fiercely denounced the Soviet Union and its funding and arming of terrorists that undermined democracy. Reagan gave a clear directive that he would end the Cold War and stop the Soviet Union. He achieved this with a strategic plan that focused heavily on enhancing our military and investing in developing our weapon capabilities. As we all know, Reagan was successful in his objective to end the Cold War and the spread of communism. He was steadfast in his commitment to achieving “peace through strength.” Moreover, it was only through that strength that democracy could prosper and world peace could prevail. He achieved this significant milestone without ever putting U.S. troops on the ground. Ronald Reagan convincingly stated, “We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted.”  

Reagan’s words reverberate today as we live in a world of unrest and turmoil. One permeating with immense hatred, malice, fear, and violence – a world on the brink of World War III. How did we get here? Ronald Reagan would know exactly why – because of our weakness. The leader of the free world exudes weakness – immense weakness and no explicit directive. President Biden’s lack of strength in his actions and lack of conviction in his words have led other prominent world leaders to disregard and devalue our country and, more critically, denounce democracy. Initially, Biden earned his reputation domestically by undermining our law enforcement, allowing riots and violence to take place on our streets with no consequences, and focusing on radical social issues while allowing millions of illegal immigrants, including members of Mexican drug cartels and individuals on the terror watch list, to cross our southern border. These actions diminished the strength of our country and continue to make us vulnerable and unsafe. 

These nonsensical decisions were made not only domestically, but also internationally. The world was watching when the President frivolously and carelessly withdrew U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan, leaving Americans, allies, and millions of dollars in military equipment behind – all in the hands of the Taliban. Under Biden’s directive, thousands of U.S. troops were removed from the Middle East, along with the idea of peace in the region. Biden also resumed funding to the United Nations, which had been withdrawn by President Trump. The U.S. is the largest donor to the UN, an organization that has recently appointed Iran to chair the Human Rights Council. Iran, the country that murders its own women for not covering their faces, executes protestors for expressing their opinions, and funds terrorist groups around the world. Since October 17th, President Biden has watched our armed forces come under attack by Iranian proxies over two dozen times with minimal retaliation. He offered only weak words to the media, stating that he “spoke to Iran and warned them.” His faint response to the savage attack of Israelis and his message to the world was a single word “Don’t.” Don’t what? What is his directive, and what are the consequences? His responses are amateur, and his actions are frail. After these responses, Iranian proxies continue to attack Israel and American troops with no response from the President. What message is this sending to the world?      

Biden’s actions, or lack thereof, have galvanized the leaders of Iran, China, Russia, and the world to view us as weak and insignificant. The President’s lack of leadership, strength, and objective clarity create an ideal opportunity for the world’s tyrants to act. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Hamas’s barbaric attack on Israel, Iran’s proxies attacking Israel and Americans stationed in the Middle East, China’s strengthened relationships with Russia, and the thousands of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border daily are the harsh realities that occur when our nation is weak.

The world is witnessing the vulnerabilities in our security at home and abroad. The leader of the free world is not sending a message of strength and clarity. We can only learn from this administration that the U.S. must have a leader who defends democracy, as Reagan did. A leader who attacks when our troops are attacked, defends our borders to keep citizens safe, supports law and order, and denounces chaos and crime. A leader who imposes sanctions on foreign countries when they fund and train terrorists. A leader who acts swiftly and decisively. The world is a much safer place when the leader of the United States demonstrates strength. Sadly, we only appear to realize this when the strength is gone. The state of the world is a result of the weakness of the leader of the free world. Weakness breeds contentment, which breeds unrest, which breeds conflict, which leads to war.