There is a story about two snails. One day, a little snail asks its mother, "Why do we have to carry these heavy shells all the time?"
Its mother answers, "We have no bones to support our bodies, so we need the shells to protect us."
The little snail asks again, "Caterpillars have no bones, either. Why don't they have shells?"
"Because they can change into butterflies and the sky is their shelter," the mother replies.
"How about earthworms?"
"They live underground. The earth can protect them," the mother says.
The snail cries, "How poor we are! Both the sky and the earth provide us with nothing."
"Don't cry, my little baby," the mother says. "We don't rely on the sky and the earth. We are protected by our own shells."
Taiwan is just like the snail in the story. We can't rely on the US and Japan to defend Taiwan. Should these two nations enthusiastically risk the lives of their own young sailors, airmen, soldiers and marines to defend Taiwan? National defense is a hard shell. We should protect ourselves by enhancing it.
As a citizen, I expect the legislators of all parties to try to strengthen national defense instead of arguing over trivial issues. For the sake of the nation's security, please support the arms budget.
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