Britain’s former Chief Rabbi says bigotry is rising

Glenn interviewed Britain’s former Chief Rabbi on TV this week and the Rabbi has noticed some disturbing trends. Not only are attacks on Christians escalating in the Middle East, anti-Semitism is on the rise. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks shared his unique insight on TheBlaze.

Glenn: You were the chief Rabbi of England. We have heard from so many people, English, Jewish, no longer feel comfortable there. What’s happening in England?

Rabbi Sacks: I don’t think it’s England. I think it’s Europe, and I think it’s the world. You know, sometimes it happens with an illness that you find a cure, you eradicate it from a certain population, but before you’ve done so, you infect another population. I kind of think that’s what happened with anti-Semitism, that after the Holocaust, Europe woke up and said what is this that’s happened in our midst? And from them on, there was a sustained campaign, probably the most complete in history, to strengthen the immune system of European culture so that there would never again be an outbreak of anti-Semitism. Sadly, the virus did infect certain populations in the Middle East.

Glenn: It was intentionally transferred. I mean, Iran is called Iran as a salute to the Aryan nation.

Rabbi Sacks: It goes back a way, yes. A very European thing called the blood libel which accused Jews of killing Christian children was taken by Christians to the Middle East, to Egypt and Syria and Lebanon, in the 19th century, and then very sadly from Germany in the 1930s, a forgery, famous forgery called the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was also taken into the Arab world, and so this huge effort of Holocaust education, antiracist legislation, interfaith dialogue, that had such an impact and actually transformed relations between Jews and Christians which had been estranged for almost 2,000 years, and there really was a transformation.

I mean, let me salute a great human being here, Pope John XXIII, who in the early 1960s began to realize what had happened and set in motion something called Vatican II which produced a document called Nostra Aetate in 1965, which transformed the church’s relationship with other faiths, but especially with Jews, and that has been one of the most positive changes in religious history, but unfortunately it began to infect parts of the Middle East, and today that has fed back into Europe, and it’s very problematic.

Glenn: Okay, so you can’t get anybody…if we would have said in the 1930s you can’t say that we’re at war against Nazi-ism, you can’t say you’re at war against Germans, even though we have a record of destroying the Nazis and then immediately handing candy to the Germans—we didn’t hate the German people; we hated the ideology that was driving them. You can’t get anyone in today’s politically correct world to say we’re at war with a psychotic version of Islam. That doesn’t mean that all Muslims are bad. I have friends who are Muslim. They’re not bad. But there is a clear ideology that wants you dead, me dead, and quite honestly some Muslims dead as well, and we won’t name that.

Rabbi Sacks: Well, I think we have to be very candid here and say that the most serious victims of radical Islamism are Muslims who are being killed in Iraq, in Syria, in Afghanistan. You know, it’s a war within Islam. There’s no question about it, just as, you know, the 1930s was a war within Europe, and just as in the 16th and 17th centuries we had a war within Christianity. So, where Islam is today, Europe was and Christianity was before then. So, this is not a completely unknown phenomenon.

Glenn: So what are we at war with, Rabbi?

Rabbi Sacks: We are at war with a way of thinking which says when bad things happen, who did this to us? I mean, Germany was not the most anti-Semitic nation in Europe at the end of the 19th century. If you would have asked in the late 1890s what are the epicenters of anti-Semitism, you would have answered Paris and Vienna, Paris of the Dreyfus trial and Vienna, whose mayor was a man called Karl Lueger, very public anti-Semite from whom Hitler learned to be an anti-Semite.

So, it wasn’t Germany, so what happened in Germany? And the answer is Germany lost the First World War, felt humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles, and instead of asking what did we do wrong, it asked who did this to us? Now, whenever a culture moves from what did we do wrong, which is a self-reckoning, which is essential to Judaism and Christianity. You know, when something goes wrong, we say, you know, forgive us, you know, help us atone, help us change.

When a culture doesn’t ask that question, when it says somebody must have done this to us, the West has had a narrative for 2,000 years which says if you want somebody to blame, here are the Jews. Unfortunately, today that is gripping hold of another kind of population. There’s no question that nothing good ever came out of this, and anti-Semitism doesn’t just destroy Jews, it destroys anti-Semites, so it’s a very self-destructive route.

Glenn: I want to come back to the war with radicalized Islam here in a second, but let me jump off of what you’re saying here, because it is one of my greatest concerns. In the 1930s, you’re right, Weimar looked for anybody, and they had good reason. We as the West punished Germans in an unreasonable way. That’s why they inflated their money, and that just led to more misery and somebody rising up and saying, “They did it!”

In the 1930s, we saw this rapid rise of anti-Semitism. We saw the world go mad, but the world went mad because people were starving. We don’t even begin to understand the kind of depression that they were going through in the 1930s. We have people now who say I’m going to go kill in the name of Allah for ISIS, and they leave, and they go. They’re signing up to behead people, but they don’t have cell service, and they write mom and dad and say you’ve got to help me get back into France because I can’t live without my cell phone. We have no clue as to how bad things economically can get.

I believe we are on the road for economic, real economic disaster that we will get through. The world has always gotten through these things but usually with bad bloodshed, because somebody, Fascists, whether they are in the line of Le Pen in France or in Russia or in Germany, Spain, somebody rises up and says, “They did this to you.”

So, we don’t have just the Islamists, we also have the Fascists and the Communists that are also rising up who also like to have Jews as a scapegoat, but I don’t think it’s just the Jews this time. I think it’s everybody who disagrees with them. So, how do we prepare a society that our leadership all across the world is saying the economic crisis is over? It’s not. Even if you don’t believe in the banking crisis or a hyperinflation or a deflation crisis, just look at technology. The people in Silicon Valley are telling us 50% of all jobs will be lost by 2025. There is a great change of some sort coming, so how do we root people into decency in a growingly secular way of life?

Rabbi Sacks: There is no question that this calls for real spiritual leadership. There’s no question. People can get used to a great number of things. They can get used to poverty. They can get used to disease. They can even get used to war, but they can’t get used to change, real, profound systemic change that gets faster and faster. You’re on a roller coaster of ever-accelerating change. This is very disorienting to people, and it does seem to me that at times like this a spiritual message is very important, because if there’s one thing that religion tells you, it is what is eternal in the midst of change.

I think Jews knew this very well indeed, you know? For pretty much 1,000 years, Jews didn’t know whether they would still be in the country where they were born next year. The political environment could change so fast, and yet Jews learned this extraordinary persistence during change because they were rooted in things which are not to do with where you’re living, they’re not to do with what job you do, they are to do with who am I, you know?

So I think in a sense religion may be part of the problem when it becomes radicalized, but at the same time, religion is part of the solution. One thing that drives fundamentalists in all faiths is fear, and I think to myself, you know, what is my answer to fear? Just read Psalm 27—the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear? God is the refuge of my life, of whom then shall I be afraid? If there’s one thing in human civilization that is stronger than fear, it’s called faith, so real, true faith, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in all the world’s faiths is actually the solution to the problem that we’re facing.

Glenn: There are many Christians, pastors, leaders, that are awake and standing up. I find it amazing the thing happening in the Christian world that has changed in the last five to ten years. There’s something different happening, a lot of people standing up and waking up, but there’s also, and this is in every faith, there’s also a lot that in the Christian world, they don’t want to take on anything too controversial because they’ll, you know, lose whatever.

In the Jewish world, God forbid you stand up and say never again means look for the roots of the problem, and if you see those, maybe we should weed those roots out or at least point and say maybe a bad part of the garden that’s happening over here. So, we have people in both of our faiths that are not part of the solution here. They’re not standing up.

Rabbi Sacks: We had a very great Rabbi 2,000 years ago, terrific man called Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai. He was a real hero. I mean, the fact that Judaism survived has to do with the fact that he managed to build an Academy at Yavne after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. So, he was one of the visionaries of his time, and as he lay dying, his disciples gathered around his bed and said, “Rabbi, tell us something.” And he said, “You want me to teach you something? Would that you were as afraid of God as you are of human beings.” They said, “Rabbi, we needed you to tell us that?” And he said, “Yes, you do, because when a thief breaks into somebody’s house, he prays that no human being should see him. He doesn’t worry that God sees him.”

So, it’s one of those mistakes we all make, being scared of other people instead of really fearing God, and that’s why, you know, if you really do reverence God, you are not afraid of saying what has to be said. Fear no man is one of the principles of religion, so I think this is terribly important, and I think we have to have the courage to say in the end, what is evil about anti-Semitism? What actually is anti-Semitism?

We have a famous anti-Semite in our history called Haman, who is a major figure in the Book of Esther, and he tells King Ahasuerus, translated in English as Xerxes, he says wipe out the Jews because there is this one people dispersed among the nations whose laws and customs are different from all other nations. Jews were hated because they were different. Anti-Semitism is the paradigm case of dislike of the unlike, but if you think about it, it is what makes us different that makes each of us, you and I, unique, and it is the fact that each of us is unique—even genetically identical twins have only 50% of characteristics in common, because each of us is unique. None of us is replaceable, and that is what the sanctity of life is all about.

So, anti-Semitism looks as if it’s about Jews, but it’s actually about what it is to be human. There was a very great survivor of Auschwitz called Primo Levi, who wrote a famous book on his experiences in Auschwitz, and he called it If This is a Man. He didn’t call it If This is a Jew. Ultimately, anti-Semitism is an assault on our humanity, so it really and truly affects all of us, Jew, Christian, Muslim, you name it, and that is why we have to stand together to fight it right now.

If you were to ask me who are the biggest victims on the line right now, I would say it is the Christian populations of much of the world. They are being persecuted throughout the Middle East and in many other parts of the world. There are no Christians left in Afghanistan. The last remaining church burned to the ground in 2010. There was a Kristallnacht, an assault on 50 churches in Egypt in 2013.

There are 5 million Coptic Christians living in fear. In Iraq, 12 years ago, there were 1-1/2 million Christians, today less than 400,000, so in the end, you have Jews fearing the return of anti-Semitism, Christians almost being wiped out of the Middle East which is where Christianity was born, and you have 90% of the casualties of Islamist violence being Muslims. So, we’re all at risk, and we all have to stand together.

Glenn: So you are talking to an audience now who has been through this. This is well-tilled soil here, and we have talked about these things for a long time. My audience is, I really, truly believe, one of the more dedicated groups of people to let’s be the righteous among the nations; however, I know I feel this way, and I am sure the audience does. I bet there are people all over the world that feel this way—what do I do? What do I do?

Yes, I know. I know what’s happening in Egypt. I know what’s happening in Iraq. I know what’s happening Afghanistan, in France, in England, in Germany, in Russia, what’s happening here. I know. We keep saying it. We keep talking. Rabbi, it’s such a huge problem. As I was thinking about this interview today, I thought I think this is going to be one of those interviews that people look back ten years, 15 years from now, and say they knew, people knew…what happened? And what happened was we don’t know what to do.

Don't miss part 2 Thursday night on TheBlaze

URGENT: FIVE steps to CONTROL AI before it's too late!

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By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

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The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

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If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Could China OWN our National Parks?

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The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

Lee isn’t proposing to auction off Yellowstone or pave over Yosemite. He’s talking about 3 million acres — that’s less than half of 1% of the federal estate. And this land isn’t your family’s favorite hiking trail. It’s remote, hard to access, and often mismanaged.

Failed management

Why was it mismanaged in the first place? Because the federal government is a terrible landlord.

Consider Yellowstone again. It’s home to the last remaining herd of genetically pure American bison — animals that haven’t been crossbred with cattle. Ranchers, myself included, would love the chance to help restore these majestic creatures on private land. But the federal government won’t allow it.

So what do they do when the herd gets too big?

They kill them. Bulldoze them into mass graves. That’s not conservation. That’s bureaucratic malpractice.

And don’t even get me started on bald eagles — majestic symbols of American freedom and a federally protected endangered species, now regularly slaughtered by wind turbines. I have pictures of piles of dead bald eagles. Where’s the outrage?

Biden’s federal land-grab

Some argue that states can’t afford to manage this land themselves. But if the states can’t afford it, how can Washington? We’re $35 trillion in debt. Entitlements are strained, infrastructure is crumbling, and the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service are billions of dollars behind in basic maintenance. Roads, firebreaks, and trails are falling apart.

The Biden administration quietly embraced something called the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to lock up 30% of all U.S. land and water under federal “conservation” by 2030. The real goal is 50% by 2050.

That entails half of the country being taken away from you, controlled not by the people who live there but by technocrats in D.C.

You think that won’t affect your ability to hunt, fish, graze cattle, or cut timber? Think again. It won’t be conservatives who stop you from building a cabin, raising cattle, or teaching your grandkids how to shoot a rifle. It’ll be the same radical environmentalists who treat land as sacred — unless it’s your truck, your deer stand, or your back yard.

Land as collateral

Moreover, the U.S. Treasury is considering putting federally owned land on the national balance sheet, listing your parks, forests, and hunting grounds as collateral.

What happens if America defaults on its debt?

David McNew / Stringer | Getty Images

Do you think our creditors won’t come calling? Imagine explaining to your kids that the lake you used to fish in is now under foreign ownership, that the forest you hunted in belongs to China.

This is not hypothetical. This is the logical conclusion of treating land like a piggy bank.

The American way

There’s a better way — and it’s the American way.

Let the people who live near the land steward it. Let ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, and local conservationists do what they’ve done for generations.

Did you know that 75% of America’s wetlands are on private land? Or that the most successful wildlife recoveries — whitetail deer, ducks, wild turkeys — didn’t come from Washington but from partnerships between private landowners and groups like Ducks Unlimited?

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized. When you break it, you fix it. When you profit from the land, you protect it.

This is not about selling out. It’s about buying in — to freedom, to responsibility, to the principle of constitutional self-governance.

So when you hear the pundits cry foul over 3 million acres of federal land, remember: We don’t need Washington to protect our land. We need Washington to get out of the way.

Because this isn’t just about land. It’s about liberty. And once liberty is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.