A Little Gratitude Would be Nice
Well, it’s been a pretty monumental couple of weeks in the Middle East. The Israeli people made one of the strongest statements ever to Iran, the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Israel, a country for which their entire existence has been to prevent other nations from doing what they say they want to do, wipe them off the map. The Israelis made their statement with the help of the United States. President Donald Trump ordered the destruction of every nuclear facility in Iran. Trump has been consistent in his statements that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon, even long before he ever entered politics. The Iranians learned the hard way that Donald Trump means what he says. On Saturday, B-2 bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri made the 30-plus hour trip to Iran. They dropped several 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs on the nuclear facilities and got the hell out of Iran, all while never touching the ground. There’s only one word to describe American perfection such as this: badass.
It’s a pretty sure bet that the people of Israel are grateful for the friendship and assistance of the United States. There are huge banners hung on buildings all over Israel saying, “Thank you, President Trump.” They are obviously the words of a grateful nation. The people of Israel know that Americans will always have their backs. But that’s not the problem. The problem, believe it or not, is a Truth Social post by Trump on Sunday about regime change in Iran. We can debate whether he should have said it. But there can be no debate as to the result. That result is a whole lot of ungrateful Iranians who are lucky… and comfortable enough to live in America. But first, a bit of background.
My husband does a lot of human rights work with Iranians, much of it centering around women’s rights. Many of them have been fortunate to escape Iran and now live in Europe. Many of them also live in the U.S. Many of them have become Christians. Until now, virtually all his interactions have been with nothing but kind and considerate people, seemingly grateful just to be where they are and to make new lives for themselves in places that offer freedom and liberty. As Americans, it is hard for us to fathom being denied those things, and when you finally have them, they are looked at in a very different light than someone who has always had them.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the way to regime change. It didn’t happen. President Trump was asked about it on Tuesday morning on his way to the Netherlands and the NATO Summit. He said, “No. If there was, there was, but no, I don’t want it. I’d like to see everything calm down as soon as possible. Regime change takes chaos, and ideally, we don’t want to see so much chaos.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified Trump’s words, saying that the Iranian people themselves “might want a new government.”
The reaction from previously rational people turned ugly quickly. You would have thought they had been promised a dead supreme leader and didn’t get one. Words like “treasonous” and phrases like “Trump is giving a lifeline to tyrants” because of the ceasefire were thrown around. You could almost see the wave of Trump Derangement Syndrome that came over them. It was almost as if they had become instant Democrats. But what was also clearly visible was the amount of ingratitude.
So, for all these people, I’d like to take them on a trip down memory lane, American style. Because at this point, it became a bit personal for me. At the age of 14, I watched Iranians march Americans out of the Embassy in Tehran in 1979. They held those Americans hostage for 444 days. But little did I know that was just the beginning. Since then, I have turned on my TV and watched terrorists, mostly sponsored and yes, funded, by Iranians, maim and murder Americans. I have watched Iranian citizens chant “death to America” and burn American flags. Many of those murdered Americans were servicemen, deployed to that part of the world by both Republican and Democrat Presidents, believing that they were trying to make the lives of the people who live in those regions better. I have watched all of that for almost 50 years, and now you are going to jump up and down and yell and scream like spoiled children because you didn’t get what you wanted from my President?!
If the Iranian people want regime change so bad, if you want the chaos that Donald Trump speaks of, why can’t you do it yourselves? Why does it have to be Americans, over and over, coming to your rescue?! I will support any mission Americans are sent overseas to do, but I for one am damn sick and tired of watching Americans get slaughtered in the Middle East! How convenient it is for all of you to call for Americans to hand you regime change from the comfort of your home in Europe, or better yet, America, as if it wouldn’t cost still more American lives, and then have the nerve to badmouth Donald Trump because you didn’t get your way. Not to mention the bottom-line fact, that it is not Donald Trump’s job to provide regime change. It is the very height of ingratitude. How many more dead Americans will be enough for you?
My husband would have never said any of this out loud because, let’s face it, he’s nicer than I am. But I will. Whether it is in the U.S., Europe, or Iran, grow a little backbone, and fight for your own regime change, and stop treating the lives of Americans as collateral damage.