Our path requires course corrections.

That was the gist of a message from retired Gen. Michael Flynn, former Trump administration national security adviser, in an opinion article he wrote last month that warned us about the evils of socialism.

Although the general was talking about our nation, it could also apply to the course correction in his own life.

A retired Army lieutenant general, Flynn has always been a strong conservative, but he remained mostly nonpolitical until he first met Donald Trump. He was immediately impressed that the president was not worried about himself but rather about the country.

After that, Flynn did a course direction, becoming more politically involved and vocal about our current path as a nation.

Flynn served as Trump’s national security adviser for just 23 days when a news report surfaced that he had lied to the FBI about discussing U.S. sanctions against Russia with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. He was prosecuted by Robert Mueller, the Justice Department special counsel who was probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

In a memo to the U.S. District judge, Flynn’s lawyers admitted he had “made a serious error in judgment, for which he has shown true contrition, but claimed that he was lulled into lying by FBI agents who wanted him “to be relaxed” and therefore didn’t warn him that making false statements to investigators was a crime.

Flynn later recanted his confession, arguing that his conviction should be thrown out because prosecutors allegedly withheld evidence from his lawyers.

When the Justice Department moved to drop charges against Flynn last month, it was celebrated by Trump - calling the investigation a hoax - and by other conservatives who consider Flynn a hero for standing against political correctness, liberal ideology and media bias.

Since being cleared by the U.S. appeals court, Flynn has shown a deep concern about the perilous times in which we live. In his recent opinion piece in Western Journal, he told how a small group of passionate people - a 2 percent vocal minority - is seeking to control 98 percent of the population and working hard to destroy our American way of life.

With treason and treachery rampant and our rule of law and law enforcement professionals under attack in major cities, Flynn said today’s chaos is well-orchestrated, well-funded and part of an overall effort to divide the nation and push a socialist agenda forward.

He said the only way we can maintain our constitutional freedoms is to understand that the one purpose of the “dark forces” is to promote radical social change through power and control.

Flynn believes they are also intent on driving God out of our families, our schools and our courts and that in order to remain an unwavering constitutional republic based on a set of Judeo-Christian values and principles, we must tenaciously follow our God-given common sense.

Support of our law enforcement professionals is one common-sense approach that must be followed since these are the people who are sworn to defend us against anarchy.

With the nation as polarized as it has been since the Civil War, this is a pivotal moment in history.

In war, as in life, Flynn said that most failure comes from inaction. Since the art and exercise of self-governance require active participation by every American, the people must challenge every politician at every level.

The silent majority - or the indifferent - can no longer be silent.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com