Commentary: We need warriors who will punish those who seek to destroy America

"I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.". ― J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Return of the King."

We've arrived. Frazzled and scarred though we may be from nearly four years of travails, we are set to cast the ring of political power back into the civic Mount Doom from whence it came. Yet our story doesn't quite have the same sort of reset button on it that Frodo and Sam's did.

Instead of flat-out destroying evil incarnate, we are simply deciding if we want to wear big boy pants and try adulting yet again as the "moral and religious people" the Founding Fathers intended for a representative republic. Which is not to say that doesn't come with harsh realities. In fact, I've never been more concerned about our nation's fate.

I truly believe we are on the brink of civil war no matter which way the election goes. The lies of Fauci promise it. The streets of Philly promise it. The hatred of Amy Coney Barrett promises it. The propaganda of CNN promises it. The censorship of Twitter promises it. We are choking on fake news that distorts reality at every turn and will inevitably require painful correction.

Among the distortions I am talking about after the election is whether voices like mine will even be able to be heard with anything resembling regular and unambiguous First Amendment protections. The media memory holing of Hunter Biden and Tony Bobulinski as "disinformation," while at the exact same time championing a formerly "Anonymous" Trump-hating fake whistle blower who turns out to be nothing more than an inconsequential grifter, is an official declaration of war against a free and fair exchange of ideas going forward.

The dystopia is here, and there is clearly no one in conservative media too big at this point to be swallowed by its gluttony. Access to platforms will be blocked. FCC violations will be conjured out of thin air. Imaginary yet all-too-real charges of libel and slander will be used to ruin careers. Expect it all. You would be naïve not to at this point.

Such a fascist battlefield will take a level of civic, political, and moral resolve from true patriots to do combat against. The likes of which the political right has rarely seen in recent decades. I have told you in the past that one of the main reasons we have arrived as this inane point in our American story is because while Democrats run for office to do something, most Republicans merely run in order to be somebody.

They want to be liked. They want to be validated. They want to be popular. It's pathetic.

We need warriors right damn now, not wannabes. Nothing else will do, especially if Trump loses. And with the GOP at the federal level a nearly lost cause when it comes to anything aspirational from a governing perspective, it will be governors in red states who will need to lead an unapologetic movement. One in defiance of the spirit of the age that demands not only compliance but its own form of worship of the progressive beast.

The usual suspects at this point at are named DeSantis, Noem, Kemp, and Reynolds among others. Not many others, though, and who knows if these folks are ready to take the next step into the breach? Pretenders of any kind simply won't be able to last. True leaders will need to be able to clearly communicate what is at stake, and why it is worth fighting for without hesitation or reservation. Not only can we not lose any more ground, we must finally have a thirst for taking some ground back.

Think Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman. It has come to that. Open war is upon you whether you wish it or not, and for our children's sake, we must find leaders who seek to embarrass and punish those who seek to destroy this once great land. They must make their states new shining cities on a hill, and dare any usurper from a rogue and rotten federal government or media enterprise to try and stop them.

Know thy enemy. Find thy enemy. Punish thy enemy. Nice has gotten us nowhere and the game is zero sum now. What are we prepared to do?