On the beaches

America was in the thick of World War II just 65 years ago, and today it is fighting Word War II -- the battle between capitalism and the totalitarian forces variously known as communism, socialism, fascism, Marxism, etc.
Word War I (1932-1941) ended in a stalemate. Franklin D. Roosevelt railed against capitalism throughout the war and his administration, riddled with admirers of socialism, communism and fascism, did everything it could to reduce the mighty engine of growth, peace and prosperity that is the result of individual liberty and free markets.
But when World War II broke out, the government found out it needed capitalism badly. Armies and navies are no good without bullets, planes and ships. America became the arsenal of democracy because of capitalism, and saved the world.
Today, far too many Americans, brought up in government schools that indoctrinate rather than educate, and hampered by a powerful media focused on tearing down the very system that has allowed it to flourish, are ignorant of the fact that they live in the most prosperous, most tolerant, most just, most generous and most peaceful nation in the world.
Partly because of that ignorance, Word War II (2008-?) now is raging and the government once again is verbally and politically battling capitalism.
“Fat cat bankers” are the enemy to those in Washington, rather than the Islamofascists who are killing Americans.
An attempted takeover of the health care system is the equivalent of the Battle of the Bulge 65 years ago, when the forces against freedom staged their last big push.
Public opinion polls, tea parties, talk radio and the Internet all show a sizable majority of people in this country want to preserve capitalism and freedom. Like the brave British, they are ready to fight with the tenacity and determination exemplified by the magnificent Winston Churchill, who said in the House of Commons on June 9, 1940:
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
The "new world" was the United States, which abandoned Word War I and stepped into World War II, turning the tide. Americans supported that effort then, by enduring rationing, buying war bonds and working tirelessly in defense plants.
Like World War II, Word War II could result in a significant loss of freedom and a total transformation of America. Even those hoping for such change would pay the price of that loss.