Speaking in front of an adoring crowd in Warsaw, Poland, President Donald Trump offered a vigorous defense of Western civilization, the nation-state, borders, freedom, and Christendom. He pointed to a number of forces that threatened to undermine those key values and ideas, ranging from lawless government bureaucracy and a loss of confidence in Western civilization to Islamic extremism and open borders. While his rousing speech inspired patriots and liberty lovers around the world, a crucial threat to what remains of the free world — globalism and the forces behind it — was never specifically mentioned. But outside of the increasingly fringe “fake news” media, Trump’s historic July 6 speech was well received across Poland and America.
Highlighting various threats to freedom and the West, Trump even asked whether the West still had “the will to survive,” calling that the “fundamental question of our time.” But he sounded optimistic. The speech was offered in Poland, which survived through generations of brutal oppression under both Hitler’s National Socialists (Nazis) and Stalin’s International Socialists (Soviets). While the contemporary threats cited by Trump are different, the U.S. president suggested that, once again, the Western world finds itself in an existential battle for survival against the forces of totalitarianism and darkness. No doubt annoying the anti-Christian establishment in Brussels and Washington, D.C., to no end, Trump praised the faith of the Polish people as the key to their victory over tyranny.
“We have to remember that our defense is not just a commitment of money, it is a commitment of will,” Trump declared in between chants from the audience of “Donald Trump” and “USA.” “Because as the Polish experience reminds us, the defense of the West ultimately rests not only on means but also on the will of its people to prevail and be successful and get what you have to have. The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?”
But rather than pointing to globalism and Big Government, as the establishment does, or even to military power, as neocons do, as the key to the survival of the West, Trump suggested that the historic values underpinning Western civilization were the key. “We can have the largest economies and the most lethal weapons anywhere on Earth, but if we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will be weak and we will not survive,” he said. “If anyone forgets the critical importance of these things, let them come to one country that never has. Let them come to Poland, and let them come here to Warsaw and learn the story of the Warsaw Uprising.”
The heroes who defended Poland from mass-murdering tyrants, Trump continued, “remind us that the West was saved with the blood of patriots; that each generation must rise up and play their part in its defense and that every foot of ground, and every last inch of civilization, is worth defending with your life.” But today’s fight for Western civilization does not begin on the battlefield, Trump continued. Instead, “it begins with our minds, our wills, and our souls.” Western civilization — its freedoms and even its survival — depend on the bonds of history, culture, and memory, the president said ahead of the G-20 meeting in Hamburg.
Unlike the ruling establishment, which never tires of demonizing Western civilization and Christianity through its media and educational organs, Trump painted the West and its Judeo-Christian foundations as something worth fighting for. “We write symphonies. We pursue innovation. We celebrate our ancient heroes, embrace our timeless traditions and customs, and always seek to explore and discover brand-new frontiers,” he declared. “We reward brilliance. We strive for excellence, and cherish inspiring works of art that honor God. We treasure the rule of law and protect the right to free speech and free expression.”
He also touted the empowerment of women, an obvious dig at Islamism, as well as the importance of Western traditions including Christianity and liberty. “We put faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, at the center of our lives. And we debate everything. We challenge everything. We seek to know everything so that we can better know ourselves,” he said. “And above all, we value the dignity of every human life, protect the rights of every person, and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom. That is who we are. Those are the priceless ties that bind us together as nations, as allies, and as a civilization.”
As long as Americans, Poles, and other Westerners do not “forget who we are,” Trump continued, “we just can’t be beaten.” That means “our adversaries,” he said, are already “doomed.” “Americans will never forget. The nations of Europe will never forget. We are the fastest and the greatest community,” he said. “There is nothing like our community of nations. The world has never known anything like our community of nations.” Indeed, what the West has inherited from its ancestors has never existed before, he said. And if the West fails to protect it, it will never exist again. “So we cannot fail,” Trump said, adding that knowing history was crucial to building the future right.
Finally, Trump, sounding like a true populist, emphasized the idea of popular sovereignty rather than establishment rule. “This great community of nations has something else in common: In every one of them, it is the people, not the powerful, who have always formed the foundation of freedom and the cornerstone of our defense,” he said. “The people have been that foundation here in Poland — as they were right here in Warsaw — and they were the foundation from the very, very beginning in America. Our citizens did not win freedom together, did not survive horrors together, did not face down evil together, only to lose our freedom to a lack of pride and confidence in our values.”
Indeed, Trump sounded sure that, as long as Westerners do not lose sight of their key values, the West will survive and thrive. “Americans know that a strong alliance of free, sovereign and independent nations is the best defense for our freedoms and for our interests,” he said. “Just as Poland could not be broken, I declare today for the world to hear that the West will never, ever be broken. Our values will prevail. Our people will thrive. And our civilization will triumph…. So, together, let us all fight like the Poles — for family, for freedom, for country, and for God.”
Despite some nods to foreign intervention and entangling alliances, Trump’s latest words, combined with others he has given as president, suggest that he has a decent understanding of how serious the threats against Western civilization and liberty really are. From exposing the “wicked” communist system and citing God as the source of freedom, to touting the Christian faith as the solution to overcoming tyranny, Trump’s rhetoric displays an appreciation for the West that is sorely lacking among today’s ruling class. However, even if he is totally sincere, Trump cannot save liberty, the West, and Christendom all on his own. Americans should take Trump’s message to heart and re-dedicate themselves to the struggle for faith, family, and freedom like never before.
Photo of President Trump in Poland: AP Images
Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, is normally based in Europe. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU or on Facebook.
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