ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The hand-wringers were out in full force this past week, moaning and wailing about President Donald Trump’s rhetoric regarding North Korea.

But why? We are America. We don’t bow down; we don’t quiver in fear.

That the left, the weak-kneed and the RINOs have filled a week of media coverage with rants and dire pronouncements about the supposed dark effect of Trump’s bold message to the regime only shows how far down the progressive path Barack Obama managed to push the nation — how far away from the Founding Father we’ve strayed.

America is the nation that thrives against-all-odds, the country of the come-from-behind.

We’re the nation that took on the greatest sea power in the world, the British, and won; the nation that told a king to stand down — and he did; the nation that forged, on the backs of common people and colonists, with prayer and supplication, the greatest and most powerful country the world’s ever seen.

We’re George Washington on his knees in prayer. We’re George Patton, smashing with tanks across German enemy lines. We’re Desmond Doss, saving dozens of fellow soldiers, bodies and souls, during the bloody battle of Hacksaw Ridge, without even carrying a weapon.

And we’re this, as Trump put it, circa 2017: Able and willing to take on North Korea “with fire and fury and frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before.”

The left, predictably perhaps, slammed Trump for that rhetoric.

“Trump is not helping the situation with his bombastic comments,” said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

This, from New York Rep. Eliot Engel: “[T]he president’s unhinged reaction suggest he might consider using American nuclear weapons in response to a nasty comment from a North Korean despot.”

This, from Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin: “Trump’s comments were not helpful and once again show that he lacks the temperament and judgment to deal with the serious crisis the United States confront.s”

This, from New York Sen. Chuck Schumer: “[R]eckless rhetoric is not a strategy to keep America safe.”

The Republican Party’s Sen. John McCain weighed in similarly, intimating Trump was foolish because “the great leaders I’ve seen don’t threaten unless they’re ready to act and I’m not sure President Trump is ready to act.”

But all this boo-hooing does is reinforce the fact that America, under the previous administration, had grown accustomed to a foreign policy that required talk at all costs — diplomacy as both offense and defense, as both wielded weapon and proffered shield.

Let’s remember the roots of our nation — the long-time historical wins of our military, the righteous fights of our citizens, the eleventh- and even twelfth-hour victories in the arenas that range from politics to sports, medicine to science. We are a nation of leaders, not followers, of innovators and triumphant victors, not copycats and red-faced back-of-the-liners.

Trump, who only responded in kind to the fiery rhetoric of North Korea’s bully leader, Kim Jong Un, hat tipped this recognition of America as the leader — as the best the world has to offer — with his response to the collective hand-wringing that went like this: “Maybe [my fire and fury comment] wasn’t tough enough.”

Bam. That’s what Americans do.

This isn’t to say North Korea is a cakewalk, or that Pyongyang’s threats to attack Guam should be taken lightly. But it is to say that when it comes to the war of words, Trump is hitting the nail on the head. North Korea has been shooting off its mouth against America for years, vowing destruction and demise, devastation and death.

Trump’s simple reminder of America’s historical greatness, and modern day strengths, is not a fueler of fire. It’s a tit-for-tat response, a long time in coming. And if this country hadn’t become so consumed by progressive ideology and socialist weakness and leftist and globalist calls for concession at all costs, then the media wouldn’t be so successful in slinging Trump as the bad guy here.

Remember that Kim’s the crazed aggressor. America, both historically and now, is the defender of freedom. We are America — standing tall in the face of adversity, unafraid to make a principled stand, fight a righteous fight, win either war of words or might.

It’s North Korea, not America, not Americans, who should be afraid, very afraid right now.

Sign up for Daily Opinion Newsletter Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.