By: Terry Benham
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The world is safer when America is strong.  Throughout our lifetime, the world has looked to America first.  Perhaps it wasn’t always that way but as far back as 1630, John Winthrop declared in a sermon that America would become a shining “city on a hill,” representing the hope and aspirations of all free men and women.  Ronald Reagan later revived that phrase, rallying Conservatives across the country around a belief in American exceptionalism and a hope that we would remain a nation which is “sought out by those possessed by an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.”

Strength and courage are in our DNA.  First exemplified by our Founding Fathers, these attributes assert and preserve our exceptional stance in the world. From the beginning, we’ve been a refuge and a beacon of hope to those who seek freedom from oppression and the opportunity to pursue their dreams.  Whether in our home defense or through our international liberation of the oppressed, the men and women of the United States Armed Forces have always been the strength of the American idea.  It’s through them and strong national defense policies, that we remained exceptional and a pillar of strength for our allies and those seeking hope of a better tomorrow.

The Republican Party has always stood for a strong national defense.  The platform states, “Our self-evident rights must always continue to be secured at the individual, state, national, and international levels.”   Sounds nice, but what does that actually mean as it relates to the idea of American exceptionalism?  It’s worth noting how the statement is structured.  It begins at the most basic level… the individual. So for many conservatives, a strong national defense means a commitment by the individual to serve - to serve the state, to serve the country, and to serve the world.

As a nation, we have faced many threats and adversaries together.  What was once bandits and piracy evolved to the British crown, the Axis powers, and the Cold War.  Those conflicts have evolved today in the form of Islamic fundamentalism, cyber criminals, and opportunistic nation states.  These threats may be remarkably different and the problems more complex - but the requirement from America is the same.  We must be the strong, stable symbol of hope in the face of adversity.  We must remember the core mission for the Department of Defense - to (first) deter war and to protect the security of the United States.

The truth is, our adversaries are working hard to divide and conquer us.  They work tirelessly to weaken our resolve while simultaneously destabilizing the world around us.  The notion that we should only worry about our own borders is nonsensical.  The forward defense doctrine has proven effective at both deterring war and protecting the security of our national interests.  Although costly, U.S. military presence within the borders of those nations who sponsor or harbor our adversaries can often lead to a stability that protects both American security and entire regions. It is undeniable that when America projects strength, we provide stability to the world.

The Biden Administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan had the opposite effect.  In generous terms, it was an abysmal failure. While many would agree that a withdrawal of troops from the Middle East was necessary and eventual, the incompetent execution of the withdrawal process combined with a lack of a coherent communication strategy was a complete disaster.  We isolated our departure point, a blunder that will be studied for decades.  We lost 13 American service members to poor perimeter security measures.  We broke our promise to the Afghani people to protect them from the groups that had terrorized their lives. Progress made in taking back territory from these oppressive groups has all but reverted to normal.  Twenty years erased.  It showed the United States to be weak, unresolved, and untrustworthy, and it further emboldened our adversaries.

In addition to that mess that still isn’t over, we have additional challenges.  China, both economically and militarily, is a threat to global stability.  Their economic influence is undeniable, however, it’s their investment in military spending, naval warships, and biological and nuclear capabilities that is the most alarming.  The perception of American weakness has emboldened them to explore gray zone warfare tactics against U.S. allies such as Taiwan. Also emboldened by the perception of weakness, Russia has now deployed 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine in a game of chicken with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations.  Make no mistake, it’s a dangerous time across the globe.

We must refocus our efforts on building a strong military focused on the core mission of war fighters - deter war and protect the security of the United States. We must continue to fully fund our military needs with the understanding that we can’t just spend more… we have to spend smart.  We must pull the plug on outdated projects and refocus on research and development for fighting the next war and protecting some of our exposed vulnerabilities.

We must aggressively streamline the bureaucracy within the Department of Defense and get refocused to the core mission as stated.  This includes minimizing mission distractions.  The men and women of the Armed Forces are tasked with being a lethal deterrent to our enemies.  It’s their individual sacrifices that make them, their unit, and our military the most lethal in the history of the world.  Let’s stick to that and leave social experiments to our civilian society.

American exceptionalism begins with the power of the individual.  It’s a willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of others in our community, in our country, and in our world.  American strength comes from those exceptional individuals dedicated to a military powerful enough to deter war and protect the security of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Our exceptionalism and our strength are under attack by both external and internal influences. If we are to remain a beacon of hope, stability, and security then we must stop playing politics with our national defense and distracting from the core mission of war fighters. Otherwise, our own security may be in jeopardy.

Terry Benham is a veteran of the United States Army and a partner at Impact Management Group in Little Rock. 

By: Mindy McAlindon, RPA National Committeewoman

Limited Government is a calling card of every Republican candidate. But why? What are the virtues of a Limited Government? ​The real virtue of a Limited Government is that it promotes and supports economic and personal freedom – a free society. 

As a government grows, the influence of institutions integral to the fabric of our society, like churches, other religious institutions, and family, are forced to shrink. Alexis de Tocqueville recognized these voluntary institutions as the bedrock of American liberty and self-reliance.  These institutions are where we teach and learn our value system, our morals, and our beliefs.  It is what binds families and communities together, caring and supporting one another.  Having liberty allows us to dream and reach for those dreams.  It drives creativity and innovation.  It is what has made this American Experiment the most successful in the history of the world. 

Even so, we must always remember our Rights are given to us from God; they are endowed from our Creator not granted by government. The Bill of Rights, those first ten amendments, were specifically added to the Constitution to protect against governmental infringement and abuse of power.  They are a list of limitations for the federal government.  Our Founders had seen and understood that for personal freedom to be expansive, governmental power must be restricted.
George Washington warned, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, —it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” Meaning, government is dangerous and must always be watched!

Well, if Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that government, when left unchecked, becomes totalitarian or authoritarian, imposing the will of some at the expense of liberty for all.  Liberal politicians at all levels have taken advantage of freedom-loving,  self-reliant individuals.  God-fearing Americans who willingly gave up rights to “flatten the curve” for two weeks witnessed their rights constrained for the last 18 months with little end in sight.  Free speech has been squashed on-line, freedom of religion was impinged as churches were closed (while liquor stores remained open), right to assemble became stay at home orders, and even the right to a speedy trial was significantly slowed. And now, independent, free citizens are being questioned as to their vaccination status before boarding an airplane, requesting a table in a restaurant, attending public events, or simply going to work.

Recently, our Democrat President dictatorially signed an executive order forcing business with 100+ employees to become the enforcement arm of the government.  Not only does such a mandate pry into the personal medical decisions of employees far beyond working hours, but it also effectively cripples the profitability of businesses that cannot or simply will not comply. A government that controls the market, picks winners and losers, and strips personal freedoms is not only unconstitutional but borders on communism. 
 
Still, we must remain vigilant, fighting to keep the balance between freedom and responsibility, between governance and over-reaching government. In Federalist 48, James Madison declared, “It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.”  We must be heedful of that limit.
 
Arkansas is blessed to have a Republican supermajority in the 93rd General Assembly who reflect principles of the Founders - and the Republican Party platform. In the most recent session of the legislature, Republican members have drafted bills which defend employers from unfair government intervention into business practices and preserve efforts to increase state economic progress. It is clear that Arkansas leadership values the consent of the governed and understands the limits and sources of their own power.  As citizens, we too have a duty to remain watchful.