In President Trump’s world, we hear the refrain, America First. We have heard this pledge before. These words darkened the landscape back in the 1930’s when we had apologists for Adolph Hitler. Appeasement became a word associated with well meaning people, like Neville Chamberlain, who thought that they could gain a respite from war by being willing to appease Hitler. Chamberlain thought that Hitler would be reasonable if only Hitler was given what he wanted. Chamberlain allowed Hitler to march into the Sudetenland. The world found out the hard way that the freedom of others can not be sacrificed on the mistaken assumption that tyrants will willingly stop and be reasonable and peace loving people.

Now we are hearing the words, America first from our own President. This is a promise that offers hope to the American people that President Trump will keep us isolated and safe from a very dangerous world. Keeping America isolated is not the answer. We are part of the world and we need to continue to be the leader of the free world. Hunkering down as if we can or could be protected from the world that we live in is an attractive prospect. But this is but an illusion because we live in a world where ISIS exists. The danger presented by North Korea is not going to go away by wishing it away or by ignoring the fact that North Korea now has nuclear weapons. Other countries present serious challenges and possible threats to our very existence. Do not be fooled, danger will not disappear if we put our heads in the sand!

America can not go it alone in a world where we are dependent on our allies for the mutual security and safety of the world.

For years now each administration has recognized that the biggest threat to the world, is an aggressive Russia. Putin has shown this to be true by marching into several countries such as the Crimea and the Ukraine.

It is curious that President Trump who has seemed to have many insults for every person and country that he comes into contact with has not seen fit to ever criticize Putin. Is President Trump going to be Putin’s, Neville Chamberlain and look the other way while Putin marches into any country that he wants and desires to. What price is liberty worth? Trump puts a value on money and it seems that if America has nothing to gain financially, from our involvement with other countries, President Trump has no interest in doing business with that country if there is nothing in it for him or the United States financially.

One can not place a value on freedom and liberty, they are priceless values. Would we not feel the guilt of inaction if we willingly let Putin do what he wants without any consequences?

We have had NATO as an important alliance since the end of World War II. One key part of NATO is that if one country is attacked that we will come to the aid of that country. Perhaps, this is part of why President Trump is reluctant to want to continue our reliance on NATO. Russia would obviously like it if we, the United States, decided that we were no longer going to be bound by our treaties and agreements to defend the countries of NATO. Again, let me ask those who may read this essay, what price should we put on what liberty is worth? I don’t think you can put a price on liberty.

Will Putin feel so emboldened by the weakness of Trump to march into countries such as the Baltic countries of Latvia, and Estonia? Will he attack other countries that are near Georgia? His thirst for bringing back the Soviet Empire has no limits. He claims that the countries that he has invaded are within his sphere of influence, that they contain Russian citizens. His excuses sound just like Hitler’s when he claimed that there were Germans living in those countries closest to Germany, and that Germany needed living space. Tyrants will take a mile if you give them an inch. If you give Putin a mile, he just might take another country.

Trump has threatened to remove the sanctions that we have placed on Russia because of their bad conduct. What else is he willing to not do, to accommodate Putin? Is President Trump being blackmailed to comply with Putin’s wishes due to some videos made of Trump? These are all important questions that President Trump needs to answer and if he is unwilling to answer the questions and doubts that many in the intelligence community have, Congress needs to do its own independent investigation before it is too late. No one should lose their freedom and or liberty by any new appeaser in chief.