As I watched the morning talk shows I became angrier and angrier. As a Boomer I am ashamed. Ashamed that my generation whines, pisses and moans when faced with defending ourselves from the threat of worldwide terrorism.
We ask "What's in for us?" How about not being flown into a skyscraper for starters, or having your children murdered?
"Why us, why not them?" we implore. The fatwa is on our heads. We can argue how many angels dance on the head of the blame pin to no avail, for the answer is still the same; America is the target.
We should be greatful that the Brits and Aussies signed on at great risk to themselves, that other nations joined in the peackeeping, not belittle them or betray the Iraqis again by handing them over to the tryants, thieves and miscreants at the UN.
We cry "It's too costly." What will the cost be if we retreat? The implied costs to our economy post 9/11 may have been as high a half a trillion dollars and a million jobs.
One attack.
We toss away billions of dollars on instant gratification without a thought. We are awash in personal debt, how many credit cards in your wallet, have a second or third mortgage? We will spend an estimated $2.6 B for halloween this month. — HALLOWEEN — people. Yet whine about firehouses for Iraq?! We have been making lousy choices with our personal income and tax dollars for decades.
Now you're worried?
We did nothing about terrorism or terrorist attacks for almost a decade after the first WTC attack, failed to secure our borders and ports, placated North Korea, squandered a Russian realignment, fought the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time in the Balkans, reduced the size of our standing military for theoretical strategies, and ham-strung our intelligence services with lawyerly caveats.
Now you're worried?
Are you kidding me?
Yes, the task ahead of us daunting and expensive, but failure will be even more so, if it is even an option. Turning away will not resolve this issue for our future is bound up with those who seek to destroy our way of life. We must defeat the radical element and provide the means for a better way of life for the generations to follow or we will reap terror for generations.
The war on terror requires a long view, much as the Cold War and the space progam did in their time. John Kerry may fancy himself the new JFK, but Kerry has nothing in common with John F. Kennedy other than a monogram. For like Senator and Presidential candidate Walter Mondale, who sought to cancel the Apollo program, John Kerry fails the "vision test".
"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."
--John Kennedy speaking at Rice University, 1962
Subsititute "moon" for "war on terror," are we up to the challenge or not?
Our fathers saved the world from tryanny, rebuilt Europe, defeated Communism and went to the moon.
What will be our legacy?
(cross posted to The Command Post Op-Ed page)
I know exactly how you feel, I feel the same way. The only light I can find is that will all the assaults on Bush from virtually every possible corner; from Hollywood, to CIA leaks, to Soros, to MSM Iraq is a quagmire, and on and on.. STILL at least 50% of us seem to understand terrorism is a real threat. E v e r y d a y .. I have to tell myself that the American people have not lost their sense of judgment, they will in the end do the right thing and support our President and on November 2nd they will recognize that if ever in the history of our country we needed a man with guts and conviction, it is now.
Posted by: TexasGal at October 3, 2004 02:44 PMHeh...um...look at that shiny thing over there!
I think most people get it, when they're not doing something really important, like madly flipping channels or trying to decide whether they want to super-size their order.
And then some days I just come home and want to put my head in the oven.
And then I remember that I moved back to the East Coast and we don't have gas anymore :).
"... squandered a Russian realignment..."
Too right, mate. In the early '90's, they looked to us for friendship and help; and we sent 'em spoiled, out-of-date food, impossible demands, and jobbed them in other ways as well. If we'd have done right by them, they'd have stood back-to-back with us, even taken the knife for us; but they quickly found out how we'd used and abused them, and now...
Oh, and your main point -- I agree with you there, as well. Whiny, selfish, short-sighted, stupid bunch of mush-heads... including me, usually.
Posted by: Bowman at October 7, 2004 07:11 AM