I got married last week. Hence my absence from this space for
the first time in seven years. It was a beautiful wedding in Acre, Israel,
overlooking the ocean at sunset.

My father wrote the music for the processional, which brought everyone to tears. My bride looked stunning, of course. We broke the glass, we danced, we ate and we celebrated until deep into the night.

Outside the wedding hall stood a guard. Every wedding in Israel
requires an armed guard to prevent terrorist attacks. Only the armed guards
prevent the infliction of mass casualties at joyous events; only the armed
guards protect the ceremonies that act as the foundation stones to
civilization.

In the general war against Islamofascism, civilization requires
three elements. First, civilization requires building blocks -- families
dedicated to teaching traditional values, freedom and liberty to future
generations. Second, civilization requires the armed guard -- the men and
women willing to put themselves on the line to protect those building
blocks. Third, civilization requires leaders.

Those leaders must recognize the value of the foundational
blocks -- they must understand the value of family. They must see that
families represent a bulwark of independence against the overbearing state,
and are small spheres of private initiative and activity.

Just as importantly, those leaders must recognize the value of
the armed guard. The leaders must understand that there are those who seek
to destroy the freedom-loving family in favor of Islamic tyranny. Our
leaders must see that our enemies are those who seek to create a world where
fear of the theistic state trumps love of family. And most of all, our
leaders must appreciate that the armed guard must fight the enemy with every
weapon in civilization's arsenal.

Any aspiring leader who shirks from nurturing, cherishing and,
when necessary, deploying the armed guard in defense of freedom is
unqualified to lead. Such leaders are pretenders. They may speak prettily
and murmur soothing noises, but when the time comes to place the armed guard at the door, they balk. "Is the armed guard necessary?" they protest. "After all, he may provoke our enemy rather than defeating him. Would it not be better to leave the wedding unprotected and rely on the mercy of our
nemeses?"

The do-nothing leaders -- men like Jimmy Carter and Barack
Obama -- destroy families. They leave families open to attack by trusting
the untrustworthy. They watch idly while families are torn asunder, then
disarm the armed guard in the fleeting hope that further appeasement will do
the trick.

This is worse than foolishness -- it is unmitigated surrender.
No country needs a leader who enters office waving a white flag.

I am 24 years old. My wife is 20. Together we plan, with the
help of God, on having healthy, happy, freedom-loving children who will grow
up with the security provided by the armed guard. The question of who will
lead America is no longer a political question to me -- it is a personal
question. Who will protect my family? Who will protect the future of my
children?

As the waves beat on the shore in Acre, the rabbi intoned the
words of the (SET ITAL) sheva berachot (END ITAL) -- the blessings recited
at the Jewish wedding ceremony. "Blessed are You, God, King of the
Universe," sang the rabbi, "Who created joy and gladness, groom and bride,
mirth, glad song, pleasure, delight, love, brotherhood, peace and
companionship." Without the armed guard -- and the leader who empowers the
armed guard -- the joy of liberty, the power of love, and the future of our
children are murdered before they begin.

Ben Shapiro, 24, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School.
He is the author of the new book "Project President: Bad Hair and Botox on
the Road to the White House," as well as the national bestseller
"Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth." To find out
more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers
and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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