Mike Quigley: “I ask my colleagues to remember history. Over 80 years ago, the Greatest Generation fought the Second World War to keep…”

“I ask my colleagues to remember history. Over 80 years ago, the Greatest Generation fought the Second World War to keep tyrants from taking over the free world. They fought for freedom and democracy. Today, we must honor their sacrifice by continuing to fight for the same principles. Today's fight in Ukraine is for those principles--for the right of Ukraine and any other democratic nation and their people to exist. By aiding Ukraine, we are ensuring their continued existence. Without that aid, Putin could have and probably would have wiped Ukraine off the face of the Earth, leaving it in a battle of insurgency. Our aid has always been critical to the survival of nations far away. During the Second World War, President Franklin D. Roosevelt coined the phrase, ``arsenal of democracy'' to describe the U.S.'s role to providing weapons to democracies fighting to defend themselves. Roosevelt argued that this assistance would enable our allies ``to fight for their liberty and for our security.'' That is still true today. Our continued aid is about preserving the liberty of vulnerable nations, but it is also about our national security. In FDR's fourth inaugural address, he said, ``We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away.'' Those who argue that this is not our fight fail to remember this critical idea.…”