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| Anchoress: "Sometimes the warrior must have his day, or all the poems will be lost." |
| 2006-11-07 |
| Ignoring the fact that much good news in Iraq goes unreported by a press that even the Iraqi’s call “biased”, the Democrats keep talking about “redeploying” the troops, which is a nicer way of saying “pull out of Iraq…” Because the Iraqi people haven’t been let down enough…we only told them once before that if they’d rise up, we’d be there for them, and then we skeedaddled. That certainly worked out well for everyone, didn’t it? Was honorable, too, right? Embellished the reputation of the United States, indeed! Just like pulling out of Vietnam did. The Democrats keep telling us retreat is the only course of action, pulling out is the sensible thing to do. Our troops who are actually doing the WORK, say differently. . . . And what are we supposed to do, once we’ve “pulled out?” Our troops go to Okinawa, to sit helplessly while Iraqis are slaughtered by insurrectionists and terrorists and tyrants? How do we then, as a nation, ever hold our heads upright again…how do we - a country that has ever-disdained empire but has routinely spilled her blood for the freedom of others - ever look at other struggling peoples and say “we will help you,” and expect them to believe us? If we pull out of Iraq, now, how does a visionary ever find the nerve to even make such an offer to another country, knowing that the “leadership” of this nation hasn’t the testicular fortitude to carry a mission through, to “keep on” when keeping on means some rough slogging? How will we ever look at ourselves in a mirror again, or tell our children to respect us, to respect their flag, their nation, their leaders? If we pull out of Iraq, how do we remain the nation we have always been? How does America continue to stand for something great and unique and age-defining? How do we prevent ourselves from slipping into the same suicidal-and-cowardly mindset which is very quickly disabling France and Germany and Belgium and Spain and Italy? If we pull out of Iraq, as the Democrats want us so desperately to do, then America throws away her greatness with both hands. She simply becomes one more dis-spirited country unable to rouse herself to anything beyond a sluggard and blearily-asked question: what’s in it for me? A country with no faith in the human spirit, a country which is unwilling to sacrifice, to work hard…to do anything, really, beyond writing a check for this disaster or that. . . . There is a vision in place. It’s difficult, and it is fraught with peril, pain, loss, doubt and heart-clutching fear. But it is the stark and single vision which can shift the Shari’a momentum. The vision is simply this: Help people find their liberty. If you can help them find that - and help them to learn to manage the messy business of freedom - they can begin to chart their own courses. Once they are free, they can enter the marketplace of ideas and industry and find means of movement that have nothing to do with a sword or martyrdom, and everything to do with creativity and human potential and hope. That is a bold vision. It is a vision rooted in faith, both of the supernatural and natural sort. Faith in God. Faith in mankind. And for some, particularly those who have long-since forgotten how to dream, who look at the world with grounded, earthbound eyes, it is a vision that seems utterly mad and impossible and futile. How sad for those who can no longer dream - who can no longer look at America and imagine the greatness within, and how that greatness might be shared - how the visions of the founders might be spread. How sad it is to realize that some of the people currently in leadership positions in this nation would look at General Washington and Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and they would say…”this was a bad idea…it’s getting difficult. We should just quit.” . . . Go read it all. If you have any doubt about why your vote matters, if you have any inclination to stay home, go read it all, and then get thee to a polling place. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #1 From another blog today (I forget which), I copied and e-mailed to myself a great quote, very appropriate to this thread: A quote from Teddy Roosevelt from 1901: Barbarism has, and can have, no place in a civilized world. It is our duty toward the people living in barbarism to see that they are freed from their chains, and we can free them only by destroying barbarism itself. The missionary, the merchant, and the soldier may each have to play a part in this destruction, and in the consequent uplifting of the people. Exactly as it is the duty of a civilized power scrupulously to respect the rights of all weaker civilized powers and gladly to help those who are struggling toward civilization, so it is its duty to put down savagery and barbarism. As in such a work human instruments must be used, and as human instruments are imperfect, this means that at times there will be injustice; that at times merchant or soldier, or even missionary, may do wrong. Let us instantly condemn and rectify such wrong when it occurs, and if possible punish the wrongdoer. But shame, thrice shame to us, if we are so foolish as to make such occasional wrongdoing an excuse for failing to perform a great and righteous task. VERY well spoken - 105 years ago. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2006-11-07 11:46 |