They say, “If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it.”
asserted
you → say → it
But when it comes to defending our values, our society, and our way of life, if all you care about is how much it costs, then you don’t deserve it.
asserted
you → come → it
Now come the headlines that place the cost of the Iran war at $38 billion.
asserted
that → come → billion
I’m not suggesting that’s a small amount of money.
asserted
that → suggest → money
I am asking, can you put a price tag on freedom?
asserted
you → ask → freedom
The Left insinuates that we are spending our blood and treasure on behalf of another nation.
asserted
we → insinuate → nation
In reality, we are writing that check on behalf of every free nation in the world.
asserted
we → write → world
Didn’t the Obamas and their friends tell us, “When someone tells you who he is, believe him?”
asserted
he → tell → him
Since 1979, the Iranian regime has told us exactly who they are.
asserted
they → tell → 1979
They call Israel the Little Satan.
asserted
They → call → Israel
If you’ve been paying attention, they’ve been calling us the Great Satan.
asserted
they → pay → us
And they’ve dedicated their blood and treasure to building a military, including nuclear weapons, to wipe both of the so-called Satans off the face of the Earth.
asserted
they → dedicate → Earth
How much is it worth to keep that from happening?
asserted
it → keep → that
Can you put a price tag on survival?
asserted
you → put → survival
Whatever it is, it’s going to make $38 billion look like pocket change, a rounding error, the amount of coins that fall out of your pocket when you get up from the couch.
asserted
you → go → couch
One of the tools of trial lawyers is to ask a jury, “How much would you be willing to pay per hour not to be experiencing the pain and suffering of my client, who was injured in that terrible accident?”
asserted
who → ask → accident
Now multiply that by not just your expected lifespan but how long you want your children and grandchildren to live, and not just to live but to live in freedom.
asserted
children → multiply → freedom
And then ask yourself whether $38 billion isn’t the bargain of a lifetime.
asserted
billion → ask → lifetime
They’re not an algorithm or a mathematical formula.
asserted
They → ’re → ?
But every president since 1979 has allowed the Iranian theocracy to skate. To build.
asserted
theocracy → allow → 1979
From the murder of our Marines in Beirut in 1983 through the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, from 9/11 to London’s 7/7, and from Oct. 7, 2023, to the present day, there isn’t a single terrorist action in the West that doesn’t have Iran’s fingerprints all over it.
asserted
that → be → it
Was it risky for President Donald Trump to attack Iran?
asserted
Trump → attack → Iran
Is there a playbook, a previous war, a set of lessons learned, that provides absolute guidance as to what the next steps should be at any given moment?
asserted
steps → learn → moment
War is improvisation based on relevant lessons learned.
asserted
War → base → lessons
In other ways, it’s all been learning on the fly.
asserted
it → learn → fly
Americans aren’t gauging the cost of the Iran war in terms of the results that will occur by letting that regime continue to terrorize the world.
asserted
regime → gauge → world
Instead, the left-wing media has been coaching the American people to vote in the midterm elections on just two things: 1) the couthness of the president and 2) how much they’re paying at the pump.
asserted
they → coach → pump
No one is going to mistake Trump for Miss Manners.
asserted
one → go → Manners
Even his strongest supporters wish that he could curb his, shall we say, enthusiasm for saying what does not need to be said.
uncertain
what → wish → enthusiasm
But to tell Americans that the only meaningful measure of the Iran war is the price of unleaded?
asserted
measure → tell → unleaded
Perhaps the president could have done a better job explaining the purpose of the war, when it started and ever since.
uncertain
it → do → war
Perhaps he could have reminded us constantly of the cost of letting Iran’s regime, which exports terrorism along with its oil, continue.
uncertain
which → remind → oil
And then there might be a counter to the constant propaganda message that’s carried into the ears of unwitting voters — the only thing that matters is whether unleaded costs $4 a gallon.
uncertain
unleaded → carry → 4
Let the word go forth from the lips of every Republican candidate between now and Election Day that the real cost of the Iran war isn’t what gasoline costs, or interest rates, or any of the other typical measures of standard of living.
asserted
gasoline → go → living
Instead, make the case that this is a time for tightening our belts and understanding the reasons for the sacrifices we’ve all been asked to make.
asserted
we → make → sacrifices
What’s on the other side is a brighter day, a world free of the worst terrorist genocidal regime since the Nazis.
asserted
’s → ’ → Nazis
That day is coming.
asserted
day → come → ?
We’re all paying a price.
asserted
We → pay → price
But that price is a lot smaller than the cost of doing nothing and letting evil prevail.
asserted
evil → do → nothing
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” is a phrase often attributed to 18th-century Irish philosopher Edward Burke.
asserted
phrase → do → Burke
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
