Importance of Safety

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the safety of all Americans as well as people in other nations. The #1 responsibility of the U.S. Government is to keep Americans safe. The best way for the federal government to fulfill this obligation is to maintain a strong military. Yet, the military budget continues to be cut.

                President George Washington said, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” He understood the necessity of maintaining a strong military because most nations will not attack another nation unless they believe they can win the battle.

                Beverly Hallberg at The Daily Signal writes about the importance of military strength in a very interesting article titled “How toTalk About Defense Spending and `Rebuilding the Military’.” Hallberg reminds her readers that we live in a time of escalating conflicts. Yet, “As violence has increased, defense spending has decreased by about 25 percent since 2011” as shown in the 2016 Index of U.S. Military Strength published by The Heritage Foundation.

                Hallberg lists several things we can do to persuade people to understand the severity of the problems we face as the strength of our military decreases. (1) Seek common ground: “We can all agree that keeping America safe is priority No. 1.” (2) Give examples and statistics to “make or break your point.” She lists five ways that America is weaker because of decreased military spending. (3) Understand that words are important. Use the word “safety” a lot in your discussion because everyone wants to be kept safe. This would also bring the discussion back to “that common ground established at the outset.” Also, “rather than an `increase in defense spending,’ talk about `rebuilding our military’ because “Money is a sensitive topic.”

                Hallberg concludes her article with this paragraph, “Defense spending is a tricky topic, but you’re not unprepared to address it. Have this discussion knowing that common ground will disarm, your examples will illustrate, and the words you use will help seal the deal.”

                Since all Americans want to feel safe from enemies, we must have a strong military to prevent aggressors from attacking. The only way to have this type of protection is to fund it. We must rebuild our military strength if we want to actually be safe.