“Cherish your culture. Honor your histories.”
Those six words — “Cherish your culture. Honor your histories.” — sums up President Donald Trump’s recent speech at the United Nations. And while he was addressing the planet, those six words are vital for Macedonia and Macedonians, in Macedonia and around the world, today.
What else did President Trump say that Macedonians can take encouragement from? “Like my beloved country, each nation represented in this hall has a cherished history, culture, and heritage that is worth defending and celebrating, and which gives us our singular potential and strength.” Macedonians: will you allow certain narrow self-centered interests in Macedonia (and some outside of Macedonia), who are merely interested only in their personal power and privilege, to continue their attempt to brush aside Macedonia’s “cherished history, culture, and heritage” or will you defend it and celebrate it because it is, your “singular potential and strength”?
“The free world must embrace its national foundations. It must not attempt to erase them or replace them.” Macedonians: your national foundations are vital not only to your success as a nation and as a people, but to your very existence. Your national foundations are your past — your history and the men and women who went before you. You must never forget them or their sacrifices for Macedonia.
“If you want freedom, take pride in your country. If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty. And if you want peace, love your nation. Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first.” It is an undisputable fact that the Government of Zoran Zaev puts the good of other countries before Macedonia’s own good. He, and his government, have demonstrated little, if any, pride in Macedonia, and has, instead, given Macedonia’s sovereignty away to others.
“The true good of a nation can only be pursued by those who love it: by citizens who are rooted in its history, who are nourished by its culture, committed to its values, attached to its people, and who know that its future is theirs to build or theirs to lose. Patriots see a nation and its destiny in ways no one else can.” Re-read those verbs: “rooted,” “nourished,” “committed,” and “attached.” Now re-read what the verbs are attached to: “rooted in history,” “nourished by its culture,” “committed to its values,” and “attached to its people.” This, he says, applies to the citizens for the “true good of a nation.” Now think about what Zoran Zaev has done with these verbs.
Next, Trump moves on to patriotism and its connection with liberty, sovereignty, democracy, and greatness stating “Liberty is only preserved, sovereignty is only secured, democracy is only sustained, greatness is only realized, by the will and devotion of patriots…Love of our nations makes the world better for all nations.”
Along with his words of wisdom, above, President Trump also gave warning. He says, “The essential divide that runs all around the world and throughout history is once again thrown into stark relief. It is the divide between those whose thirst for control deludes them into thinking they are destined to rule over others and those people and nations who want only to rule themselves.” Then he goes big on a recurrent theme of his and says “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots. The future belongs to sovereign and independent nations who protect their citizens, respect their neighbors, and honor the differences that make each country special and unique.”
Trump warns of the religion of worshipping Mankind stating “Globalism exerted a religious pull over past leaders, causing them to ignore their own national interests.” And while he does not explicitly state it, I think he is telling us here, as so many others have told us in certain ways that the worship of globalism is akin to socialism and communism because all three are about one thing: power. He states “Socialism and communism are about one thing only: power for the ruling class.” He then states that “Freedom and democracy must be constantly guarded and protected, both abroad and from within. We must always be skeptical of those who want conformity and control. Even in free nations, we see alarming signs and new challenges to liberty.”
He states that a large part of the global elites consist of a permanent political class, a faceless bureaucracy, and media and academics who serve as the high priests and priestesses of this new religion. He states “A permanent political class is openly disdainful, dismissive, and defiant of the will of the people. A faceless bureaucracy operates in secret and weakens democratic rule. Media and academic institutions push flat-out assaults on our histories, traditions, and values.” Speaking of the will of the people, the consent of the governed, Macedonians know, all too painfully, that Zaev and his government are “openly disdainful, dismissive, and defiant of the will of the people.” This must not continue.
Speaking about the United States but with words that can be applied to all freedom-loving people, he states “Our nation’s Founders understood that there will always be those who believe they are entitled to wield power and control over others. Tyranny advances under many names and many theories, but it always comes down to the desire for domination. It protects not the interests of many, but the privilege of few.” As you read these words think: the European Union and its endless unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats. Think of the American State Department which seems unanswerable even to President Trump and certainly not to the American people. Think of your own government.
Finally, President Trump ends on a note of hope and, if not an actual command, then advice for keeping the country you have. He says “So to all the leaders here today, join us in the most fulfilling mission a person could have, the most profound contribution anyone can make: Lift up your nations. Cherish your culture. Honor your histories. Treasure your citizens. Make your countries strong, and prosperous, and righteous. Honor the dignity of your people, and nothing will be outside of your reach.”
