A modern-day Paul Revere: We will miss you, Dr. Peter Pry

In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 20^th, America lost a hero that was a champion of sound national security policies, a threat to America’s adversaries, and a hazard to the Washington D.C. establishment.  Dr. Peter Vincent Pry dedicated his entire life to a deep, unconstrained analysis of past, present, and future threats to the Republic in the context of world history, and in particularly in relation to the demise of past civilizations. His life’s work stands in bright contrast to the Washington D.C. establishment, who thrusts our modern civilization and our God-inspired governing principles closer and closer to irreversible destruction.

The D.C. establishment is about a lot of things, most of which distract or detract from getting the job done that the American people expect: using the authorities, power, and resources of the federal government to maintain the security of the United States by defending its people and its Constitution. Stylish clothes and snooty attitudes, cocktail parties and fat government contracts, and lots of talk with little action are just a few of the characteristics of many who fill the ranks of the senior circles of that establishment. Perhaps the most dangerous characteristic, though, is a consistent unwillingness to deeply analyze and then speak the unadulterated truth about the threats that are most dangerous to our Republic – both ideological threats and hazards to our nation’s most critical infrastructures – such as electromagnetic pulse (EMP). At best, the establishment seeks out the comfortable position of not commenting on these threats; at worst, they criticize those who do.

Dr. Pry has been America’s modern day Paul Revere, warning the nation about the catastrophic consequences of EMP to our vulnerable infrastructure. His research and writing on this topic are unequaled and his dedication to fixing the vulnerabilities overshadowed every other concern, particularly those concerns of the “establishment.” For example, a simple “image search” of Dr. Pry’s name on the internet reveals photos and video screenshots of a man who chose, like Einstein, a simple and consistent outfit every day, wasting not a minute on concerns of fashion. Anyone who would watch or listen to his countless interviews consistently would recognize his combination of dogged intensity and humble care for the American people. Pry’s own invites to D.C. cocktail parties and government contracts dried up over time because of this intensity for warning America – sacrifices never made by those in the establishment.

Unlike the establishment, whose ranks are filled with lobbyists, elected officials, and even government employees who often prioritize corporate interests and “diplomatic relations” with America’s adversaries – Dr. Pry prioritized understanding how those interests and those adversaries undermine the nation’s security. His unique ability to see these actions in the context of world history set him apart from anyone else with whom I’ve ever worked. I will never forget standing next to him atop a building in Washington for one of only a few social receptions open to truth-tellers like us. He pointed over to the Capitol and wondered aloud, “Do you think any of them, inside that building, have any clue how perilously close this civilization is to that of Rome immediately prior to its collapse?” He lived his life every day trying to expose the answer to that question to anyone who would listen.

In his latest books and articles, Dr. Pry exposed both the reasons for government and industry inaction on EMP-preparedness and the actual people and agencies responsible. His writings chronicled something we eventually named the “tyranny of inaction” – corporate and bureaucratic self-interests that stand in the way of progress on protecting our nation’s infrastructure from this catastrophic threat. This made him a real hazard to the establishment, but it also gave American leaders, including current and future elected officials, a list of the obstacles that need to be moved and people who need to be fired. Importantly, it also gives the American people a dose of reality surrounding the challenges facing our nation when it comes to EMP.

I will never forget what Dr. Pry told me about that frightening reality. He said, “understanding the threat to this nation posed by EMP really makes one want to run to the frontier,” describing the prudent response by those who understand the threat to want to begin making preparations for life without electricity. “Tommy,” he said, “the founders of America had an infinite frontier to run to.”  “Instead of running they turned, and they fought tyranny…and that’s exactly what we must do today…we must fight this tyranny of inaction.”

Dr. Pry, we will never forget you. In your memory, we carry the torch you lit and will continue that righteous fight against the tyranny of inaction.