Richard Paul Evans joins Glenn to discuss 'Michael Vey: Storm of Lightning' the 5th book in the mega-popular series

September 15, 2015

WRITER

On radio Tuesday, Glenn shared the story of how he first partnered with bestselling author Richard Paul Evans to publish the now wildly popular Michael Vey series. About five years ago, Glenn said he was looking for a way to reach the youth and at the same time, Evans was trying to find a publisher that didn't insist on "dumbing down" the story of Michael Vey.

"It's intriguing that a lot of your listeners will say, 'well, that's the guy who wrote The Christmas Box. He writes adult novels and romantic stories.' And the most complex thing I write is actually Michael Vey by far," Evans said.

Glenn said one of the things he finds amazing about the young adult series is that it subtly weaves in messages without the reader knowing it.

"My son, he loves to read," Glenn said. "And there's not a lot that he reads that is young fiction or ones that have a message to them, you know what I mean? He doesn't like message books at all. And this is one that he waits on every year."

Listen to the interview or read the full transcript below.

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors.

GLENN: Richard Paul Evans is a dear friend of mine, and he's sold more books -- I mean, I think God has sold more books than Richard, but it might be close. And now he has started five books ago, the Michael Vey series, which is a young adult series that is absolutely fantastic. Really, truly fantastic. If you don't know the story, let me just tell you real quickly. This is six years ago, five years ago. We are just starting to get our own imprint at Mercury, Inc. from Simon & Schuster.

And Michael calls my head guy and he says -- or, not Michael. Richard calls and says, "I've written something. And all the publishers are saying that we need to dumb it down." And I was just in a meeting saying, "We need to reach the youth. Somehow or another, we need to start reaching the youth. And we need to not dumb things down." And he said, "Would you guys read it?" And we read it, and I absolutely love it. And now it has become a summer event. This is the first year that I haven't had the advance to be able to read it in advance with my son. And I just got it a couple of weeks ago. And we're in the midst of finishing another book. So I start probably tomorrow or the next day on Michael Vey, "Storm of Lightning." This has really caught storm all around the country and the world, this series.

RICHARD: Yeah, the world. The world. Sometimes I see these books, I don't know what language they're in. What is this, Hungarian? You know, Polish? I have one fan in Poland who is incredible. He almost stalks me. His life is Michael Vey. And I heard from a woman in Paris who said, "It's the only books my son will read. Please write faster."

GLENN: Oh, I know. They're great. My son, he loves to read. And there's not a lot that he reads that is young fiction or ones that have a message to them, you know what I mean? He doesn't like message books at all. And this is one that he waits on every year. And I just -- I got it a couple weeks ago and I said, "Look what just came in." And he was thrilled. Pat feels the same way.

PAT: Oh, jeez. Yeah. I like to wait awhile to read them. Because then I get so pissed off that I have to wait until next summer for the next one to come out. Because you get so excited for the next release. So, yes, please write them faster.

GLENN: Tell me about this one.

RICHARD: This one takes off where number four left. They think their families have all been killed. So they're headed back to a ranch. And it was fun because, spoiler alert, the ranch actually was in Mexico. So I always travel to where the book takes place. So I went down there. That's actually where my ancestors came from, they came from these families that went down as immigrants who were kicked out by Pancho Villa. So I followed them back. And I got to follow my own family's footsteps in it, so it was really cool.

PAT: Wow.

GLENN: So they -- the -- I hate to say this because it's very subtle, but you're learning lessons all the way through it. And this one in particular tries to teach the lesson without being a lesson book, about how kings hold on to their power.

RICHARD: Yeah, it's very -- there's some interesting political overtures. It's intriguing that a lot of your listeners will say, "Well, that's the guy who wrote the Christmas box. He writes adult novels and romantic stories." And the most complex thing I write is actually Michael Vey by far.

And there's a part in here where Dr. Hatch, who is the villain, he's teaching one of his kids -- one of this youth that he's raised in his way, how to be a king. So he gives him a small country, the Tuvalu, to be a king of and to be a king over. And he said, "Well, this is how you keep them from usurping power. You keep them at odds with each other." And he tells him how to do it. How to teach entitlement. How to teach that they're all victims. He goes, "But what if they're not victims?"

"Oh, everyone is a victim, if you look back far enough."

And so he teaches him how to make sure everyone is a victim so they can't work together and he can control them.

GLENN: The last one -- was it the last one when they were in China?

RICHARD: Yes. Taiwan.

GLENN: Taiwan. You go over and you write them while you're there?

RICHARD: Yes. You have to be in the place because how else can you describe swamp eel soup?

GLENN: Yes. All I know is I will never eat that. After reading it, we were --

RICHARD: I kind of threw up in my mouth just even -- I still get sick thinking about it. It was the worst thing that ever crossed my lips.

STU: Well, can you explain it just a little bit?

RICHARD: It's like getting -- well, first of all, these are things that are in the swamp. So it's like a rat -- it's like a swimming rat that looks like a belt. And he brought it out. And he said -- he brought it out. I'm trying not to -- I'm pretty tolerant. But it's like, "Oh, I don't know if I can do that." And then he brings out mine, he goes, "I put some extra special yellow mucous on top of it." Like, oh, no. And my daughter looks at me, and she's like, "You're not going to really eat that, are you?" It's like, well, we have to be gracious, right? My stomach was only so gracious.

GLENN: You really are swallowing now like you're going to vomit.

RICHARD: I'm getting sick just thinking about it. It's the best diet. You lose weight. Yes, I just think about swamp eel, and I just don't want to eat.

PAT: So whenever you write about these places, like South America they've been there. Taiwan. So that's where you go and you write the --

RICHARD: Right. Because that's the only way to really feel where the kids are. I want to get the sense of -- these kids are being hunted. So cool thing, I crossed the Mexican border. We didn't have enough passports. My wife didn't bring hers. And I described the Michael Vey series, and they let us through. It was kind of cool.

PAT: So you're literally walking through jungles and mapping --

RICHARD: Literally. Absolutely.

PAT: Wow.

RICHARD: And, in fact, there's a haunted hotel called the Gadsden Hotel, which in its day it was the Waldorf Astoria. It is so beautiful. There's a million-dollar Tiffany mural, and this place, there's nowhere there. No one goes through Douglas, Arizona, anymore. And there's this beautiful hotel. Has big marble columns with gold on it. But it's haunted. And so I was like, "Well, I'll put the kids in a haunted room. How fun is that?" We stayed in this one room. And people have etched "666" on the door, and people then put crosses on it and cross it out. It's this really amazing room. I said, "I want to go like in that room and spend the night, where people are seeing these disembodied spirits." Because that would be really cool for the book. We didn't see anything. But it gives you ideas.

GLENN: I think I say no to the soup. And I say no to the door -- I think I just wing that part of the book.

PAT: I do too.

RICHARD: But that way you get into the feel and everything. Because Austin, who is so funny. And you're in there, and you think, you know what Austin would do if he was here? It's like, well, that's what he does.

GLENN: So when you were writing this, you told me at the very beginning, you said, you've never -- it's as if your fingers are doing the writing, not your head. Is it still like that?

RICHARD: It is. It is. People say, you know how the series does ends. Right? Because it's seven books. I said, "I'm getting glimpses -- I'm getting glimpses of how it ends." I get just enough to put the stuff --

GLENN: How do you know there's seven books?

RICHARD: I don't know. I just knew. I just knew there were seven books.

GLENN: You just knew.

RICHARD: I mean, weird things happen with this book. Like I told you, I'm looking at the kids' name. There's Michael, Taylor, Zeus, Ian, Austin, Michelle. I'm looking at this -- wait. Their initials spell Mt. Zion. It's like Mt. Zion. They publish peace, right? These things are happening in the book. And these kids that are being put away because they won't -- they won't support Dr. Hatch. And so they're put in a place called Purgatory. And one of them has powers that he can see everything. One, Abigail can take away pain. The other can create light and heat. And I thought, well, that's like God. And then I look at their initials, I am. Ian, Abigail, McCants. I am. It gave me chills. I didn't do that on purpose. You know, there's something coming through these books. So I'm intrigued, just as the readers are, to see where this goes and where it ends. And so it's --

GLENN: So hang on just a second. So you like -- like the next book, you have to -- you're writing now, right?

RICHARD: Yes, right.

GLENN: Do you know how that one ends?

RICHARD: No. But I have a glimpse.

GLENN: Really?

RICHARD: I really don't.

PAT: So they could all wind up dead.

RICHARD: Yeah, they could.

PAT: Hmm.

RICHARD: But I had a glimpse of something that happens to Michael. I'm starting to understand something. And the big question around the world is, who is the voice? Who is the voice? And most people think it's Michael's dad, right? He's not really dead. And they want his dead to be alive. It's like, it's not. There. You heard it here first. It's not Michael's dad.

PAT: Oh, it's not Michael's dad.

RICHARD: That's going to shake up everyone.

PAT: Do you know who the voice is?

RICHARD: I do know who the voice was.

GLENN: When did you find out who the voice was?

RICHARD: Last year.

PAT: So you didn't even know when you started writing the book.

RICHARD: I didn't know the voice.

PAT: I was so convinced the voice was his dad.

GLENN: Everything that I write I start at the end. I know what the ending is, you know what I mean? And then I write backwards. I would get so lost if I didn't know where I was headed. There are just a few times. In fact, just a speech I gave last week or the week before, I didn't write. And I had no idea where I was going. I just sat down and I just wrote. And it was a surprise to me. Wow, wow, that's really good. Wow, that's really good. But I've never said, "And, by the way, there are seven books, and they're coming out one a year." I mean, has there been any fear at all that you're like, "I don't know if I have --

RICHARD: It's all fear. It's complete fear. Because with one of my novels, I start from the end. Just like you said, I know how it ends.

GLENN: You do the same thing.

RICHARD: I do the same thing. That's how we get them there. You outline. This one, I'm not, if I may say it, allowed to do that. This one is pure faith. But Glenn has been that way from the very beginning. I didn't have a publisher. Simon Schuster didn't want -- they weren't that interested. They offered me a really low advance that we actually earned out -- that we would have earned out the first hour. And it's like, my agent came to me. She goes, "I don't understand it. Disney just rejected. I don't get it." And I said, "Laura, we've been here before. Remember? The book was called the Christmas box, and it sold 8 million copies. It's finding itself."

And then out of nowhere, I get a call from Glenn Beck studios, and they're asking about a business book I had talked about. I said, "I have something else completely different that no one wants. It's a young adults series."

GLENN: And it's exactly what we were looking for.

RICHARD: And now we're looking -- it's like -- we've had movie offers. We've had things coming in. Not the right thing. And all of a sudden -- is it okay to --

GLENN: It's fine with me if it's okay with you.

RICHARD: Yeah. It's like, all of a sudden, a guy shows up a month ago and says, "Why hasn't this been produced?" He's a British producer. He goes, "Why hasn't this been produced. It's better than anything out there." He goes, "I want to do a TV series. I'll give you two and a half million dollars next week to do a pilot." He goes, "Obviously, it's going to cost a lot more. But fortunately, book one -- he had read the books. He goes, "My kids are rabid Veyniacs." And he goes, "You know, book one takes place -- it doesn't take place in Taiwan or Peru, thankfully. So we can actually produce it. Put the money in special effects, where it needs to be." And he goes, "I'll give you the money. Let's get this thing produced because this is going to be huge." And then he came to our launch party on Friday, and he goes, "This is nuts. There are 3,000 kids at your book signing. 3,000 kids. Does the world know this?" And he goes, "They're not just here. They're insane. They know everything about the characters."

GLENN: I know everything about the characters. What's nuts is, Pat is reading it the same way. I'm reading it with my son. I love it as much as he loves it. And we know everything about the characters. This is one of those books like Harry Potter. You can read this, if you have kids or you don't have kids, it doesn't matter, you're going to love this series. You're going to love this series. I recommend -- do you think people can start here?

RICHARD: No, no, no, start with book one. Prisoner of Cell 25. I don't know if you remember. We actually kind of had a problem. We started -- there were all adults reading the books. And they were giving it to their kids, and the kids didn't want to read it because their parents liked it. So my first year and a half at book signings, there were mostly adults.

GLENN: I didn't remember that.

RICHARD: Yes. Then it started to turn. And it was book four, all of a sudden, we would go, and I'm sitting on this stage, and I asked my daughter, "Do you think anyone will come?" She goes, "Dad, there are kids coming, like crazy. The whole school is surrounded." And we had more than 2,000 kids came to that book signing. All of a sudden, it's like -- it got to the kids. But it took a while. The books won more awards than the rest of my books combined. We've won 11 awards now. It's being picked as the best book in state after state, and it keeps going. And yet, it's kind of flying beneath their radar. The New York Times never written about it. The magazines have never written about it. It's really amazing that it's all grassroots.

GLENN: It's really amazing. It is. And I said this to you. I mean, you've sold many more books than me. I've had, what, 13 number one bestsellers. This is the most successful thing that we've ever been -- if it's not now, it will be. I know that this -- I know this series has a very long life. There's something about this book. I don't know why it hasn't become Harry Potter yet, but it will. When it catches fire, it will. It is just fantastic.

So it is book five. It is called "The Storm of Lightning." Michael Vey. If you've been writing for it, grab it now. If you haven't started the Michael Vey series, start it. You will love this series with your family. Thank you so much.

RICHARD: My pleasure.

GLENN: Appreciate it.

Michael Vey. "Storm of Lightning," available now. Amazon. GlennBeck.com. Or wherever books are sold. It's out today.

URGENT: Supreme Court case could redefine religious liberty

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The state is effectively silencing professionals who dare speak truths about gender and sexuality, redefining faith-guided speech as illegal.

This week, free speech is once again on the line before the U.S. Supreme Court. At stake is whether Americans still have the right to talk about faith, morality, and truth in their private practice without the government’s permission.

The case comes out of Colorado, where lawmakers in 2019 passed a ban on what they call “conversion therapy.” The law prohibits licensed counselors from trying to change a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation, including their behaviors or gender expression. The law specifically targets Christian counselors who serve clients attempting to overcome gender dysphoria and not fall prey to the transgender ideology.

The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The law does include one convenient exception. Counselors are free to “assist” a person who wants to transition genders but not someone who wants to affirm their biological sex. In other words, you can help a child move in one direction — one that is in line with the state’s progressive ideology — but not the other.

Think about that for a moment. The state is saying that a counselor can’t even discuss changing behavior with a client. Isn’t that the whole point of counseling?

One‑sided freedom

Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, has been one of the victims of this blatant attack on the First Amendment. Chiles has dedicated her practice to helping clients dealing with addiction, trauma, sexuality struggles, and gender dysphoria. She’s also a Christian who serves patients seeking guidance rooted in biblical teaching.

Before 2019, she could counsel minors according to her faith. She could talk about biblical morality, identity, and the path to wholeness. When the state outlawed that speech, she stopped. She followed the law — and then she sued.

Her case, Chiles v. Salazar, is now before the Supreme Court. Justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday. The question: Is counseling a form of speech or merely a government‑regulated service?

If the court rules the wrong way, it won’t just silence therapists. It could muzzle pastors, teachers, parents — anyone who believes in truth grounded in something higher than the state.

Censored belief

I believe marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God. I believe that family — mother, father, child — is central to His design for humanity.

I believe that men and women are created in God’s image, with divine purpose and eternal worth. Gender isn’t an accessory; it’s part of who we are.

I believe the command to “be fruitful and multiply” still stands, that the power to create life is sacred, and that it belongs within marriage between a man and a woman.

And I believe that when we abandon these principles — when we treat sex as recreation, when we dissolve families, when we forget our vows — society fractures.

Are those statements controversial now? Maybe. But if this case goes against Chiles, those statements and others could soon be illegal to say aloud in public.

Faith on trial

In Colorado today, a counselor cannot sit down with a 15‑year‑old who’s struggling with gender identity and say, “You were made in God’s image, and He does not make mistakes.” That is now considered hate speech.

That’s the “freedom” the modern left is offering — freedom to affirm, but never to question. Freedom to comply, but never to dissent. The same movement that claims to champion tolerance now demands silence from anyone who disagrees. The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The real test

No matter what happens at the Supreme Court, we cannot stop speaking the truth. These beliefs aren’t political slogans. For me, they are the product of years of wrestling, searching, and learning through pain and grace what actually leads to peace. For us, they are the fundamental principles that lead to a flourishing life. We cannot balk at standing for truth.

Maybe that’s why God allows these moments — moments when believers are pushed to the wall. They force us to ask hard questions: What is true? What is worth standing for? What is worth dying for — and living for?

If we answer those questions honestly, we’ll find not just truth, but freedom.

The state doesn’t grant real freedom — and it certainly isn’t defined by Colorado legislators. Real freedom comes from God. And the day we forget that, the First Amendment will mean nothing at all.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins Megyn Kelly LIVE — One night ONLY in Fort Worth!

Get ready for sparks to fly. For the first time in years, Glenn will come face-to-face with Megyn Kelly — and this time, he’s the one in the hot seat. On October 25, 2025, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Glenn joins Megyn on her “Megyn Kelly Live Tour” for a no-holds-barred conversation that promises laughs, surprises, and maybe even a few uncomfortable questions.

What will happen when two of America’s sharpest voices collide under the spotlight? Will Glenn finally reveal the major announcement he’s been teasing on the radio for weeks? You’ll have to be there to find out.

This promises to be more than just an interview — it’s a live showdown packed with wit, honesty, and the kind of energy you can only feel if you are in the room. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss your chance to see Glenn like you’ve never seen him before.

Get your tickets NOW at www.MegynKelly.com before they’re gone!

What our response to Israel reveals about us

JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor | Getty Images

I have been honored to receive the Defender of Israel Award from Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Jerusalem Post recently named me one of the strongest Christian voices in support of Israel.

And yet, my support is not blind loyalty. It’s not a rubber stamp for any government or policy. I support Israel because I believe it is my duty — first as a Christian, but even if I weren’t a believer, I would still support her as a man of reason, morality, and common sense.

Because faith isn’t required to understand this: Israel’s existence is not just about one nation’s survival — it is about the survival of Western civilization itself.

It is a lone beacon of shared values in the Middle East. It is a bulwark standing against radical Islam — the same evil that seeks to dismantle our own nation from within.

And my support is not rooted in politics. It is rooted in something simpler and older than politics: a people’s moral and historical right to their homeland, and their right to live in peace.

Israel has that right — and the right to defend herself against those who openly, repeatedly vow her destruction.

Let’s make it personal: if someone told me again and again that they wanted to kill me and my entire family — and then acted on that threat — would I not defend myself? Wouldn’t you? If Hamas were Canada, and we were Israel, and they did to us what Hamas has done to them, there wouldn’t be a single building left standing north of our border. That’s not a question of morality.

That’s just the truth. All people — every people — have a God-given right to protect themselves. And Israel is doing exactly that.

My support for Israel’s right to finish the fight against Hamas comes after eighty years of rejected peace offers and failed two-state solutions. Hamas has never hidden its mission — the eradication of Israel. That’s not a political disagreement.

That’s not a land dispute. That is an annihilationist ideology. And while I do not believe this is America’s war to fight, I do believe — with every fiber of my being — that it is Israel’s right, and moral duty, to defend her people.

Criticism of military tactics is fair. That’s not antisemitism. But denying Israel’s right to exist, or excusing — even celebrating — the barbarity of Hamas? That’s something far darker.

We saw it on October 7th — the face of evil itself. Women and children slaughtered. Babies burned alive. Innocent people raped and dragged through the streets. And now, to see our own fellow citizens march in defense of that evil… that is nothing short of a moral collapse.

If the chants in our streets were, “Hamas, return the hostages — Israel, stop the bombing,” we could have a conversation.

But that’s not what we hear.

What we hear is open sympathy for genocidal hatred. And that is a chasm — not just from decency, but from humanity itself. And here lies the danger: that same hatred is taking root here — in Dearborn, in London, in Paris — not as horror, but as heroism. If we are not vigilant, the enemy Israel faces today will be the enemy the free world faces tomorrow.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about truth. It’s about the courage to call evil by its name and to say “Never again” — and mean it.

And you don’t have to open a Bible to understand this. But if you do — if you are a believer — then this issue cuts even deeper. Because the question becomes: what did God promise, and does He keep His word?

He told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” He promised to make Abraham the father of many nations and to give him “the whole land of Canaan.” And though Abraham had other sons, God reaffirmed that promise through Isaac. And then again through Isaac’s son, Jacob — Israel — saying: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I give to you and to your descendants after you.”

That’s an everlasting promise.

And from those descendants came a child — born in Bethlehem — who claimed to be the Savior of the world. Jesus never rejected His title as “son of David,” the great King of Israel.

He said plainly that He came “for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And when He returns, Scripture says He will return as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” And where do you think He will go? Back to His homeland — Israel.

Tamir Kalifa / Stringer | Getty Images

And what will He find when He gets there? His brothers — or his brothers’ enemies? Will the roads where He once walked be preserved? Or will they lie in rubble, as Gaza does today? If what He finds looks like the aftermath of October 7th, then tell me — what will be my defense as a Christian?

Some Christians argue that God’s promises to Israel have been transferred exclusively to the Church. I don’t believe that. But even if you do, then ask yourself this: if we’ve inherited the promises, do we not also inherit the land? Can we claim the birthright and then, like Esau, treat it as worthless when the world tries to steal it?

So, when terrorists come to slaughter Israelis simply for living in the land promised to Abraham, will we stand by? Or will we step forward — into the line of fire — and say,

“Take me instead”?

Because this is not just about Israel’s right to exist.

It’s about whether we still know the difference between good and evil.

It’s about whether we still have the courage to stand where God stands.

And if we cannot — if we will not — then maybe the question isn’t whether Israel will survive. Maybe the question is whether we will.

When did Americans start cheering for chaos?

MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND / Contributor | Getty Images

Every time we look away from lawlessness, we tell the next mob it can go a little further.

Chicago, Portland, and other American cities are showing us what happens when the rule of law breaks down. These cities have become openly lawless — and that’s not hyperbole.

When a governor declares she doesn’t believe federal agents about a credible threat to their lives, when Chicago orders its police not to assist federal officers, and when cartels print wanted posters offering bounties for the deaths of U.S. immigration agents, you’re looking at a country flirting with anarchy.

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic.

This isn’t a matter of partisan politics. The struggle we’re watching now is not between Democrats and Republicans. It’s between good and evil, right and wrong, self‑government and chaos.

Moral erosion

For generations, Americans have inherited a republic based on law, liberty, and moral responsibility. That legacy is now under assault by extremists who openly seek to collapse the system and replace it with something darker.

Antifa, well‑financed by the left, isn’t an isolated fringe any more than Occupy Wall Street was. As with Occupy, big money and global interests are quietly aligned with “anti‑establishment” radicals. The goal is disruption, not reform.

And they’ve learned how to condition us. Twenty‑five years ago, few Americans would have supported drag shows in elementary schools, biological males in women’s sports, forced vaccinations, or government partnerships with mega‑corporations to decide which businesses live or die. Few would have tolerated cartels threatening federal agents or tolerated mobs doxxing political opponents. Yet today, many shrug — or cheer.

How did we get here? What evidence convinced so many people to reverse themselves on fundamental questions of morality, liberty, and law? Those long laboring to disrupt our republic have sought to condition people to believe that the ends justify the means.

Promoting “tolerance” justifies women losing to biological men in sports. “Compassion” justifies harboring illegal immigrants, even violent criminals. Whatever deluded ideals Antifa espouses is supposed to somehow justify targeting federal agents and overturning the rule of law. Our culture has been conditioned for this moment.

The buck stops with us

That’s why the debate over using troops to restore order in American cities matters so much. I’ve never supported soldiers executing civilian law, and I still don’t. But we need to speak honestly about what the Constitution allows and why. The Posse Comitatus Act sharply limits the use of the military for domestic policing. The Insurrection Act, however, exists for rare emergencies — when federal law truly can’t be enforced by ordinary means and when mobs, cartels, or coordinated violence block the courts.

Even then, the Constitution demands limits: a public proclamation ordering offenders to disperse, transparency about the mission, a narrow scope, temporary duration, and judicial oversight.

Soldiers fight wars. Cops enforce laws. We blur that line at our peril.

But we also cannot allow intimidation of federal officers or tolerate local officials who openly obstruct federal enforcement. Both extremes — lawlessness on one side and militarization on the other — endanger the republic.

The only way out is the Constitution itself. Protect civil liberty. Enforce the rule of law. Demand transparency. Reject the temptation to justify any tactic because “our side” is winning. We’ve already seen how fear after 9/11 led to the Patriot Act and years of surveillance.

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic. The left cannot be allowed to shut down enforcement, and the right cannot be allowed to abandon constitutional restraint.

The real threat to the republic isn’t just the mobs or the cartels. It’s us — citizens who stop caring about truth and constitutional limits. Anything can be justified when fear takes over. Everything collapses when enough people decide “the ends justify the means.”

We must choose differently. Uphold the rule of law. Guard civil liberties. And remember that the only way to preserve a government of, by, and for the people is to act like the people still want it.