General Mike Flynn – You do not have to watch the news for long to see that America is rapidly chaAmericanging. The downward slide can be found not only in our leadership but also in the shifting definitions of right and wrong blindly accepted by many Americans today.

Our leaders would have us believe that these changing values are inevitable and that they are good. That is why they are called “progressive.”

Yet to those of us who still believe in the immortal truths upon which America was founded, their so-called “progress” is alarming, to say the least.

Sadly, some will allow this alarm to grow into defeatism. They will turn their faces away from the battle before us in hopes of finding a position to retreat to.

To those who would prefer retreat or surrender rather than the fight, I ask you one simple question:

If America falls, where will you go?

Where will you go to find another nation that provides the opportunities and individual guarantees of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Where will you find a nation whose founding documents guarantee a government of, by and for the people?

Name a place that offers you and your family the same or more than our United States of America.

The answer is simple: There is no such place.

In spite of our downward slide, America is still the best nation on the face of the earth. This is our land, these are our people, these are our cities, neighborhoods, and streets. This is our country.

Though the battle for the soul of America is fierce before us, we cannot afford to look away in hopes of finding retreat. There will be none.

Though I may sound pessimistic, I am anything but. God enabled me to endure a yearslong campaign by the left to destroy me and my family. They wanted me to serve as an example to anyone who would defy the entrenched bureaucrats of the swamp.

Despite their best efforts, I stand before you as living proof that victory is absolutely possible.

The very fact that we are gathered here today as American citizens free to speak and peaceably assemble should fill us with hope.

But being hopeful is not a survival plan. Hope has never won a war, nor will it win peace on the home front. In this article, it is my intention today to share with you a few lessons I learned in my battle against the dark forces that still threaten our nation today.

When fighting for truth, the most important place to start is to be well-grounded in the Truth itself. I am referring to Truth with a capital T, as in “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Faith in God is an essential part of the fight to restore American greatness. Our personal faith is inextricably linked to our personal liberties.

Alexis de Tocqueville, the great French author of the groundbreaking work “Democracy in America,” wrote “Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention…

“The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other.”

De Tocqueville is exactly right. Prior to America’s founding, no document in the world had directly linked the individual rights of citizens to their unique value and autonomy before an omnipotent Creator.

We should not try to commemorate our Founders’ willingness to pledge their lives, fortunes and sacred honor without also acknowledging the faith that served as the foundation for such boldness.

Faith and freedom can never be separated from one another.

If you wish to have boldness in the fight for America like our Founding Fathers did, have faith in Almighty God. Trust in his power as your sword and your shield.

I must confess that I am rarely one to wear my faith on my sleeve, but fighting with the deep state taught me just how faithful our God is. Even when so many of my friends and colleagues abandoned me, God never did. In fact, going through those trials only brought him closer. Make faith an essential part of your battle strategy today.

As we root ourselves in faith, we must also root ourselves in the writings of our Founding Fathers. If we are to preserve the legacy of such great men as George Washington, John Adams and Patrick Henry, we must know what they stood for.

Anyone can learn more about our nation’s founding. Start simple. When was the last time you read the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence?

We tend to forget just how easy it is to read the Constitution from cover to cover. President Obama’s Affordable Care Act was more than 314,000 words long, but the document that frames our entire system of government is only 4,500 words in length. The average American can read it in half an hour.

Of course, if we really want to get into the mindset of our Founding Fathers, we must dig deeper. “The Federalist Papers,” de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America,” Paine’s “Common Sense” and the writings of John Locke are all well worth the read.

America’s conception was indeed miraculous, but it was far from accidental. The men who met in Philadelphia were bold men of faith and character who risked everything to “secure the blessings of liberty.”

We must learn of their sacrifice, and we must honor it.

The great pamphleteer Thomas Paine eloquently wrote in his “The American Crisis” that “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”

Those words were read to the entire Continental Army by order of General George Washington, but they still apply equally to us today. Freedom requires the sacrifices of every generation.

As we build upon our faith and a clear understanding of our founding documents, we must never forget the importance of our family in the stand for truth.

When no one else would stand by my side, my wife Lori was there, just as she has been since we met at 13 years old. I married my high school sweetheart in 1981, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Lori has been my rock on a sea of uncertainty. The same strength of character and conviction that made her an amazing Army wife has also equipped her to withstand the political battles of the past few years.

She is my best friend. I count myself blessed beyond measure to have her by my side.

There is a reason why the forces of darkness are trying so hard to eradicate the family as we know it. They see how powerful the bond of family can be, so they want to redefine it, water it down and replace it with a dependency on the state.

We cannot allow them to destroy the family. As long as marriages and families are strong, freedom will always have a fighting chance.

Never concede to those who say they know how to raise your children better than you do. God entrusted the care of children to parents, not to governments.

As Ronald Reagan famously said, “Freedom is a fragile thing, and it’s never more than one generation from extinction.” Take Reagan’s words to heart as you train up your children. Your fight for freedom today will mean nothing if the next generation does not know to keep it.

Do not think of the fight to protect our families as distinct from our fight to save America. The fight to protect the family is the cornerstone of our fight to save America. It is unlikely that anything else you do in life will be as important or as meaningful.

Looking again to our forefathers, we see that they acted courageously for the sake of future generations. We see their concern for their children and their children’s children in everything they said and did.

Benjamin Franklin urged ratification of the U.S. Constitution with the reasoning that “For the sake of our Posterity we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution, wherever our Influence may extend, and turn our future thoughts and endeavors to the means of having it well administered.”

When you fight for America, remember that you are fighting for your family (moms, dads). Make that a guiding light when you do battle against the forces of darkness.

After building the importance of family upon the foundation of faith and the founding, patriots must come to see the importance of true friendship.

John Adams called friendship “one of the distinguishing glories of man … From this I expect to receive the chief happiness of my future life.”

When I became the favorite target of the left for the crime of helping candidate Trump win the presidency of the United States and then serving as his first national security advisor, I was abandoned by many who said they were my friends.

Those who I had previously spent time with suddenly stopped calling, texting and engaging with me and my family. Only when I needed them most did they reveal their true colors.

To be honest, I felt betrayed.

Yet, it was during these dark days that I discovered that I had more friends than I ever realized. Letters began pouring in from every corner of the nation, and in some cases, from around the world.

These letters, many of them from Christians and patriots I had never met, contained words of encouragement, funds for my legal defense and offerings of prayers on my behalf in my darkest hours. These were the expressions of true friends.

I was so moved by these thousands of friends that I made it my mission to thank every one of them. I still treasure their letters to this day.

You may not receive thousands of letters of encouragement as I did, but you should think now about who your true friends are. If you are going to fight the battle for liberty, you must ask yourself whether the people you depend on are going to be with you when the going gets tough.

Remember, you are not alone. There are many other Americans like us who want to defend our great national heritage, but those who stand against us want to divide in order to conquer us.

Don’t let them get away with it. Find your true friends and stand with them boldly. We can win this fight if we work together.

So far, I have told you the importance of faith, addressed our nation’s founding and spoken to the importance of family and the value of true friendship. These are the elements I have found to be vital when everything else seems stacked against you.

Now I would like to talk about the fight.

America needs fighters today. We need those who will say as President Andrew Jackson did, “I was born for a storm, and a calm does not suit me.”

We need those who will stand against failed Marxist ideologies that have invaded the mainstream of our consciousness like a network of choking vines seeking to strangle the mighty American oak tree.

These vines manifest themselves through:

• Social media censorship of the free exchange of ideas

These problems are big problems, but you do not have to be some D.C. superstar to be a part of the solution. Victory can be achieved through the coordinated efforts of many people doing small but courageous acts of patriotism.

Start by reaching out to those around you. Be an outspoken voice in your church and community. You will be amazed how many hearts and minds can be swayed just by calmly, intelligently and respectfully presenting a viewpoint outside of what is said in mainstream news.