Thanks to reader Moni who wrote this in response to that unsettling Cormac McCarthy quote about peaceniks being the first to give up their souls and their freedom:

“I believe that what McCarthy is saying is true for now. People who don’t fight for their freedom and are unwilling to die for it pay the ultimate price–the corruption and death of their souls due to their inability to freely express themselves and worship God in the way that they need to. It is terrible and extremely sad that our world is this way now. Until everyone is ready to give up violence and war, the countries who offer their citizens religious tolerance, multiculturalism, freedom of speech and equal rights need to help the citizens of rest of the world gain their freedom.

“We will only be able to live in harmony and lay down our weapons when we are all free. Until then, if the free don’t fight, genocides and holocausts will continue to occur until only one culture and one religion under one dictatorship is left. I believe that we, humans, have the ability to eventually get there. After our survival needs are met, we all want freedom. We just need to fight our tendency to bully and subjugate others who are less powerful. I pray and hope that violence and war is eradicated in my lifetime. It will most likely take violence and war to accomplish this.”