Rough men stand ready..

"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." ~Winston Churchill

The Kipling poem says it more colorfully, though:

I went into a public-’ouse to get a pint o’beer,
The publican ‘e up an’ sez, “We serve no red-coats here.”
The girls be’ind the bar they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
…
O makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ drunken sodgers when they’re goin’ large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.  Rudyard Kipling

But i like Orwell's comments on it, too.

A humanitarian is always a hypocrite, and Kipling’s understanding of this is perhaps the central secret of his power to create telling phrases. It would be difficult to hit off the one-eyed pacifism of the English in fewer words than in the phrase, ‘making mock of uniforms that guard you while you sleep’.He sees clearly that men can only be highly civilized while other men, inevitably less civilized, are there to guard and feed them. ~George Orwell

Most of the time, we just need to lighten up, put things in perspective, & enjoy the life we have. Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously, & overestimate our own significance. We're just blips on the radar screen of eternity, & we might as well enjoy our short stay here. But to do that, i need & want my freedom. ..And i want it for my children & grandchildren. I'm willing to fight for that freedom, as my ancestors before me. It seems to me that the time is approaching, if not overdue, when we'll need 'rough men' at the ready. So keep your powder dry & your bow strung. We may need that sooner than we think.