I think the environment should be put in the category of our

In the words of Robert Redford, artist, activist, and guardian of the wild, we find a truth as urgent as it is timeless: “I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise, what is there to defend?” These words cut through the noise of modern politics and reach into the very heart of civilization. They remind us that the environment is not a luxury, nor a matter of sentiment—it is the foundation of our existence, the fortress upon which all nations stand. What good is the mightiest army if the rivers run dry and the air turns to poison? What victory is there in conquest if the homeland itself withers?

In the ancient world, the wise knew this well. They bowed not before empires, but before the earth—the giver of food, water, and breath. The Egyptians revered the Nile as the lifeblood of their civilization; the Greeks worshipped Gaia, the living spirit of the land. To them, defense of the earth was defense of life itself. Robert Redford, in his modern way, calls us back to that ancient understanding. For he sees what many have forgotten—that without natural security, there can be no national security. The forests are our walls, the oceans our moat, the air our shield. When we destroy them, we destroy the very ground upon which our future must stand.

The meaning of Redford’s words is both practical and prophetic. He speaks not of distant wars, but of the war within—the war we wage against our own home through neglect and greed. The resources he names are not mere commodities; they are sacred trusts handed down through generations. The soil that feeds our children, the waters that sustain our cities, the climate that shelters our crops—these are our true treasures. To guard them is not an act of charity, but of survival. For a nation that cannot breathe clean air or drink clean water has already fallen, though no enemy has crossed its borders.

Consider the lesson of Easter Island, where once a great people carved majestic statues from stone. They thrived for centuries, but in their hunger for glory, they felled every tree, hunted every bird, exhausted every resource. Their civilization, stripped of balance, collapsed upon itself. The statues still stand, silent and haunting, like sentinels of warning. Redford’s words echo that tragedy: without defense of our resources, our monuments too will one day stand over barren soil. The story of Easter Island is not ancient—it is a mirror held up to our time.

Yet within these words lies not only warning, but hope. For if we can learn again to see the earth as sacred, we can reclaim our power to protect it. Redford calls for unity—a vision where every citizen, soldier, and leader sees that the battle for clean air and living waters is the noblest form of defense. It is the defense of children yet unborn, of songs yet unsung, of futures still possible. The warrior who plants a tree is as brave as the one who stands on the frontier, for both preserve what cannot be replaced.

Throughout history, there have been those who understood this deeper kind of patriotism. Theodore Roosevelt, the Rough Rider turned conservationist, once said, “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.” He set aside millions of acres for national parks, forests, and wildlife. He knew, as Redford does, that the true strength of a nation is not its armies, but its endurance, and endurance comes only from living in harmony with the earth. To destroy that harmony is to betray not only nature, but the soul of humanity itself.

So, O seeker of truth and guardian of the future, take these words to heart: to defend the environment is to defend your home, your people, your very being. Let no one tell you that this is a lesser cause. It is the first and highest duty. Reduce waste, cherish the soil, honor the water, plant trees, speak truth to those who would trade tomorrow for today. For every small act of care is a stone in the fortress of survival.

And remember this final truth that Redford gives us: when we speak of security, let us not speak only of weapons and walls, but of the breath of the forest, the flow of the rivers, the hum of bees. For if these perish, then nothing remains worth defending. But if we guard them, if we stand as stewards of the living world, then we will have built a defense that no force on earth can destroy—the eternal balance between humankind and nature.