The question, “What are you willing to DIE for?” has been in the back of my mind all week. Yes. It is a question I have pondered often. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted a renewed concern.
I was listening to Bari Weiss talk about “Things Worth Fighting For.” Her impassioned, logical, historical comparisons had me shaking my head up and down. Weiss’ appreciation of President Volodomyr Zelensky goes on for paragraphs. Here is one:
And yet here was the real article. A leader showing courage, real courage, and in doing so inspiring bravery in others that they did not think themselves capable of. Duty, responsibility, moral clarity—he is breathing life into virtues many Americans thought were on life support or already dead.
This brief post is not for adversarial head-banging. Straight up, I’m not interested in your counterpoints. What I am interested in, is to simply ask, “What are you willing to die for?” I’m going to give you, my list. I hope you will make your own.
- My beliefs, including the biblical message of human sin and redemption only found in Jesus
- My family, my wife, children, grandchildren, my mom, my sister and her family
- My students and neighbors, a Scriptural focus on “others”
- My country and what it stands for: freedom
Those who know me, who have heard me speak or teach, who have read my writings or watched my videos will not be surprised by this list. Just for a moment, I want to focus on #4. In my online reading this week I ran across Matthew Hennessey’s column in The Wall Street Journal. The title of the article is editorial clickbait. But after reading the results of the Quinnipiac University survey, honestly, I agree with the rather salty response of Hennessey, “What in the hell has happened to this country?”
So, without fanfare, you don’t need to argue with me, I leave my friends to consider the question for yourselves, “What are you willing to die for?”