 My name is General Tony Zinni, former commander in chief of the United States Central Command and a lifelong Marine. A Republic, if you can keep it. Those are the words Benjamin Franklin spoke when asked what kind of government our founders had forged in 1787. In the two centuries since our founding, millions have joined the fight to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. These last few years, however, all of us have sent something broken in our democracy, no matter where your politics fall. The extreme division, the hateful rhetoric. I have seen the devastating consequences of other nations giving in to tribalism, divisiveness, distrust. The rule of law has cast aside. Its people are silenced, democracy crumbles, and ultimately the Republic is lost. If we work together today to defend our democracy, we can keep it tomorrow for our children and their children. So today I challenge you, just like those before you, take steps right now that will reverberate through history. Protect and serve our democracy by texting Republic to 35565. You'll join a nationwide movement bringing together Americans of all political stripes to rescue our democracy. We're already making tangible changes to restore trust in the Republic, but we need to work together at an unprecedented scale to succeed. That means all of us. In the military, we say the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and now it is our time to be the caretakers of that freedom. This is our Republic of America, so let's keep it.