00:00But when we talk about this Islamist ideology, yes, it is the ideology that fuels terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS and al-Shabaab and Hamas and Boko Haram and others.
00:12And they must be defeated militarily.
00:19As they continue to actively plot and try to attack us.
00:24They are a threat to our security and our safety, but this Islamist ideology is a direct threat to our freedom.
00:32When we talk about America, we can look at borders, we can look at land, we can look at territories.
00:39But when we truly look at what does it mean to be an American and the responsibility that every single one of us as Americans carries with us, it is centered on our foundational principles.
00:54On that vision that our founders had for us.
00:57Knowing way back then how challenging it would be and how there would be frequent and consistent attacks on our freedom and it would be up to us to defend them.
01:09And that's exactly where we are today.
01:12Charlie understood these threats.
01:14He saw them and focused completely on this defense of freedom.
01:21Not just in words, but in action.
01:24He lived that truth that so many of us, who either have worn the uniform or wear the uniform, live by.
01:32I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
01:38That's real.
01:39And Charlie lived and died by that principle.
01:48That no matter how offensive or horrible or disgusting someone's speech is, no matter how much we disagree with it,
01:58it's up to us to stand up and protect and defend their right to say it.
02:04And to stand as Charlie did and defeat that weak or dark speech, that ideology with a superior ideology that's focused on freedom.
02:15But there is a threat to our freedom that is not often talked about enough.
02:21And it is the greatest near and long-term threat to both our freedom and our security.
02:27And that is the threat of Islamist ideology.
02:30It is propagated by people who not only do not believe in freedom, their fundamental ideology is antithetical to the foundation that we find in our Constitution and Bill of Rights,
02:53which is that our Creator endowed upon us in inalienable rights, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
03:10Charlie focused on this quite a bit.
03:13He talked about it in ways that very few others did because he understood this direct threat to freedom.
03:20When we look back to the attack on 9-11 that happened 24 years ago now, it changed so many of our lives.
03:30Thousands of Americans were killed by Islamist jihadis who attacked us on that day.
03:35We were confronted with the reality of the lengths that they will go to try to attack the foundations of who we are as a country.
03:45It was a day that changed my life.
03:47Probably, like some of you in the room, it's what motivated me to enlist in the army, to go out and to fight and to defend and defeat,
03:55to defend our freedom and defeat those who are attacking us.
04:04But when we talk about this Islamist ideology, yes, it is the ideology that fuels terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS and al-Shabaab and Hamas and Boko Haram and others.
04:16And they must be defeated militarily as they continue to actively plot and try to attack us.
04:29They are a threat to our security and our safety.
04:32But this Islamist ideology is a direct threat to our freedom because at its core, it is a political ideology that seeks to create a global caliphate that governs us here in America,
04:46threatening Western civilization, governance by Sharia law, governance by what they are calling their Islamic principles.
04:54And if you fail to comply, if you fail to adhere to this ideology, if you dare to exercise your God-given right to free speech,
05:06censorship is not what we face.
05:10They will use violence or any means they deem as necessary to silence us.
05:16If we don't take action to identify this threat, to define it, to call it out for what it is and take action to defeat it,
05:31then we will find ourselves in a place where many European countries and countries like Australia have found themselves.
05:39Countries where you can get arrested for praying silently on the street corner, as has happened in the UK.
05:51Countries where you can be arrested for putting up a social media post that someone finds offensive somewhere.
05:58The threats from this Islamist ideology come in many forms.
06:04As we approach Christmas right now in Germany, they are canceling Christmas markets because of this threat.
06:10And places like Dearborn, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota, Islamist clerics are openly pushing this Islamist ideology,
06:18trying to recruit and radicalize young people.
06:21Earlier this year, there was a conference that was held representing organizations like the Council on American Islamic Relations,
06:29also known as CARE, which issued a call to action to use American legal and political systems to implement Sharia law.
06:39This is already underway in places like Houston.
06:45This is not something that may possibly happen.
06:48And it is already happening here, within our borders.
06:52Patterson, New Jersey is proud to call themselves the first Muslim city.
06:58They are working to implement in their own governments these Islamic principles
07:04that are forced on people through the use of laws or violence.
07:10The bottom line is this.
07:11When we talk about the threat of Islamism, this political ideology,
07:15there is no such thing as individual freedom or liberty.
07:19As Charlie said over and over again, it is fundamentally incompatible with our nation's foundation of freedom.
07:27And at its core, when we understand that our freedom comes from God and no one else,
07:43we understand the seriousness of this Islamist ideology threat,
07:49because it means they deny that God is the one who has bestowed this right to freedom in every one of us.
07:56So what do we do?
08:07We as Americans have to stand proudly for freedom and understand that a free society cannot survive if it refuses to defend itself.
08:16We don't preserve freedom of speech by canceling it.
08:20We preserve free speech by exercising it, by using more of it, encouraging more speech.
08:31You know, one of the things that Charlie and I talk most often about was peace.
08:35And this was the topic of the last in-person conversation that I had with Charlie.
08:40He was a consistent and powerful advocate for peace because he understood that in order for us to be truly free and prosperous,
08:52we must be at peace.
08:55He understood the importance of President Eisenhower's farewell address when he warned that,
09:01"...in the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence,
09:06whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
09:11The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
09:18We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or our democratic process."
09:25That warning rings as true today as it did back then when he said it as a retired general who led during wartime
09:40and as a President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States.
09:44He understood then, as we do now, that too often we, the American people, are told we must choose between liberty or security.
09:53And which side often wins out in that proposition?
09:58Liberty loses.
10:00And the warmongers claim that they are doing what they are doing for the sake of our security.
10:07It's a lie.
10:10Eisenhower issued this warning because he understood the power of the influence of the military-industrial complex
10:17and how those who seek to keep us in a persistent state of war
10:23deny the heavy costs that it takes in human lives, in taxpayer dollars, and in the erosion of our liberties.
10:33Wars that have nothing to do with ensuring our security or our liberty.
10:38We thank you to do everything, that we may simply present our rights oppose.
10:44Stay tuned.
10:46Now possible, please join us.
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