At several crucial times in our nation’s history, Almighty forces have intervened to aid in the course of events. From the writing of the Declaration of Independence when our Founding Fathers affirmed “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence,” to the present day, many of us believe that because America is on God’s side, that He is on ours.

We seem always to have been blessed with the right man in charge when dark forces threatened our liberty, and brave men to defend us against them. Today, with the world threatened by radical Islamists, America, backed by her valiant allies, is taking the fight to the jihadists before they can wreak more havoc here on our shores.

As is their wont, radical leftists, Euro-appeaseniks and other America-haters seek to impede our fighting efforts and once again, divine Providence in its mysterious way, has acted to thwart them—albeit it, in a poignant manner. The heroic death of former NFL safety and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman has done more damage to the anti-war crowd than is imaginable.

From their morbid strategy of undermining support for the War on Terror by demanding the release of photos of flag-draped coffins—the only display of the flag they seem comfortable with—to their endless caterwauling for a return to the draft, the sacrifice of Pat Tillman has humiliated them into a temporary silence.

For his death has put a face to those nameless oblong boxes and, rather than depress a nation at war, it has steeled their resolution not to abandon the cause for which those brave boys gave their all for their countrymen.

Mr. Tillman is not the first celebrity to defend his country, but he is the first of his generation, following the likes of Thomas Paine, Christy Mathewson, Ted Williams, Jimmy Stewart and Roger Staubach into harm’s way.

That so many athletes served their country is no accident. Sports and the military each demand varying amounts of training and discipline. A plaque at West Point bearing a quote by General George C. Marshall reads, “I want an officer for a secret and dangerous mission. I want a West Point football player.”

But many who are in awe over the fact that he gave up fame and fortune to do so ignore the sacrifice of the millions more who denied themselves the comfort of home and family for love of country; for duty and honor.

Outstanding in this regard is the anti-war left. It is incomprehensible to them that this, of all countries, is worth the forfeiture of one’s life. Wrapped as they are in the lingering haze that was the ‘60s, they, unlike our brave soldiers who fight to the death to defend our Constitution, would have us all live together in a John Lennon fantasy world where, along with no heaven or religion, there would be no countries to kill or die for. No word yet on how this proposal has been received by our enemies.

Among those who cloak their opposition to the war is another group: the ‘I support the military, it’s just the wrong people who are dying’ bunch. Their vehicle of choice is not the funeral hearse but the draft bandwagon. They seek to broaden their base by exposing all young men to military service while blithely ignoring the fact that the great majority of military families support the war.

In their world, Americans like Pat Tillman simply do not exist. In a stunningly insulting manner, they believe that those who serve in today’s military are there because they are either losers who can’t make it in civilian life or the wretched poor; driven to despair and dog tags by George W. Bush’s jobs policy.

The notion that a free man or woman would fight for their fellow Americans’ right to not be compelled into the service against their will—that silly notion that is ‘the pursuit of happiness’—is enigmatic to such people.

Ronald Reagan once said in an interview, “Lenin said that he would force the capitalist nations to maintain military conscription until the uniform became a symbol of servitude rather than patriotism.”

As history has shown, the late Messrs. Lenin and Lennon are both wrong. The uniform of the fighting forces of the United States of America is a symbol of courage, honor, and love of country to those here at home as well as to the freedom-starved millions around the globe freed by those who have honored us by wearing it.

Lisa Fabrizio