There is no way to sugarcoat what happened in Ohio on Tuesday. It was heartbreaking to see the polls close and to know that Buckeye voters enshrined abortion without limits in their state constitution. And by a significant margin. It was heartbreaking for our dear Ohio colleagues like Aaron Baer, President of Center for Civic Virtue and former CAP Communications Director. Aaron led a well-organized, well-messaged, honorable, and valiant campaign to defeat the radical measure.

Ohio will now have the disgraceful distinction of being among the most radical anti-life jurisdictions in the world, alongside California, China, New York, and North Korea.

Yes, the amendment is that bad. Or worse.

In Ohio, children will be able to obtain abortions without their parents’ consent or knowledge. In addition, children who have been deceived by transgender ideology could have a “right” to receive dangerous drugs and irreversible catastrophic surgeries.

Despite the terrible result in Ohio, I remain hopeful and thankful.

I am hopeful because as Proverbs 4:18 says, “but the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” The darkness of Tuesday is not the final word. We are saddled up. We have not given up. And we won’t.

I reiterate how I am thankful for the faithful and tireless work of our allies in Ohio, who honorably battled to the last moment, and for the nearly 1.7 million Ohioans who cast their vote for the lives of unborn children.

So, what does this have to do with why veterans serve our country?

Each solider, sailor, airman, and Marine takes an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

Unlike in other countries, in which the military exists to brutally enforce the whims of a regime, our armed forces are bound to serve the people and to uphold the principles and ideas upon which this nation was founded.

One of the cornerstones of America’s experiment in liberty is our free and fair elections. America has enjoyed an astonishing streak of peaceful transfers of power under the oldest written constitution in the world. Without our “peace through strength” military, this could not have been.

Legend has it that at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government the Founders had given us.

“A Republic, if you can keep it,” Franklin replied.

Despite countless threats—from within and without—to our Republic over the course of our history, we have kept it.

Perhaps our greatest gratitude is owed to the selfless men and women who volunteered to serve in our armed forces to, as the preamble of our Constitution reads, “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

So, even though the election in Ohio went the wrong way, the fact that we have elections is a manifestation of God’s continued grace and provision. And for nearly a quarter of a millennium, He has used men and women in uniform who have pledged their very lives to preserve our precious freedoms.

According to Pew Research Center, there are more than 18 million veterans in the United States. This Veterans Day, take a moment to thank one of these veterans for their sacrificial service.

ICYMI

• Read here how John Stonestreet sees the quest for authenticity is leading to despair.
• Read here about the effort to cancel cancel-culture.
• Read or listen here to Al Mohler’s analysis of the passage of Ohio’s abortion amendment.