Posted on 09/22/2005 7:43:27 PM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
I just finished watching the Phil Donahue/Bill O'Reilly debate on FOX News. As I listened to Phil spew out unintelligable conspiracy theories and overall lambast those who continued to support the War on Terror, one line jumped out at me.
"Almost 2000 people have died."
It got me thinking (don't worry, I'm not going soft on those terrorist scumbags.)...and one very big fact jumped out at me: the Left has lost the concept of sacrifice. Wait; let me rephrase that: they can't grasp it, and they never have.
I'm not saying that the 1900+ deaths are insignificant. We should all mourn for those who died fighting for the freedom and liberty of our country and for those who were oppressed by evil men (I'm talking to you Saddam. I hope you get your just rewards.). However, instead of dwelling on their deaths and clinging to them as if they were an immovable tombstone, we should acknowledge that they fought for a noble cause worth dying for.
A cause worth dying for. That is a phrase whose meaning has been lost on many people, particularly those on the Left.
Take Cindy Sheehan for example. Sure, she lost her son. She had her talk with President Bush (more than once, I might add). And yet she continually spews hatred and nonsense that no sane person should have to acknowledge, due to the sheer idiocy of it all. And yet, she does a disservice to her son by this. What is even more appalling is the fact that the mainstream media (AKA, an old and antiquated fossil; in comparison to the new media of the Internet and the bloggers, it is ENIAC compared to an IBM bladeserver, and that's being generous) continues to give her lip service and outlet for her misguided words, even though no one cares anymore. It made me chuckle to hear Phil call the upcoming protest in D.C. 'the biggest since the Vietnam War' in light of the fact Cindy's own White House march garnered only 29 supporters. That's right. 29. Are we supposed to believe that the anti-war crowd comprises the majority of America as Phil Donahue seems to believe (take into account deductive reasoning and the contrapositive, and his 'pro-war equals minority' statement equals the exact same thing)? I think not.
And yet, the Left continues to scream that the Iraq War is illegal, and that is a quagmire. It is strange and surreal to hear them say that; from a military standpoint, things in Iraq are progressing with unprecedented success. Iraqis are becoming more involved with defending their own country, and enemy terrorists are decreasing in number in light of increasing Iraqi security. Even the leaders of the Sunni mosques (you know, the ones who encouraged Sunni Arabs that voting in the Iraqi election was 'unIslamic') are encouraging people to vote on the constitution, and that they owe it to be loyal to the new Iraqi government. To hear the Left declare that the war in Iraq is going horribly are either ignorant, or they simply don't care for it. Either option implies very bad things for them, and it doesn't speak well for the Left (Speak well? For them? Pffft.).
But still, one has to wonder why they are so vehemently anti-war (aside from the fact they want to stroke their egos and feel important again). One has to wonder why they continuously stroll out the death toll of Americans (and curiously never giving a second glance to the enemy death toll).
And then it clicks.
They do not understand the concept of sacrifice.
For instance, take this figure.
| War | Deaths | Addendum |
| American Revolution | 25,324 | Bunker Hill cost 400 American lives |
| War of 1812 | 2,260 | |
| Mexican War | 13,283 | |
|
Civil War
|
498,332 364,821 |
Antietam cost 5,000 lives on both sides: bloodiest day in American history |
| Spanish-American War | 2,446 | |
| World War I | 116,516 | Battle of Somme cost 19,240 British lives on a single day (total British casualties that day: 57,470) |
| World War II | 405,399 |
Other Losses: At Dunkirk the British suffered 68,000 casualties |
| Korean War | 54,246 | |
| Vietnam War | 56,244 | |
| Gulf War (1991) | 148 |
The death toll in all other wars, save for the Gulf War (which lasted only a month), outpaces that of the Iraq War. Even the Spanish-American War has more casualties. To continuously repeat the death toll and scream the death toll as if some horrific genocide has occured is idiocy. There are single battles and solitary incidents that have taken more deaths than the entire span of the Iraq War.
Antietam in the Civil War. 3620 Americans killed. Add wounded, and the number jumps to 23,110.
Pearl Harbor. 2,403.
D-Day. Roughly 2,500.
9/11. 3,021.
Did we obsess over the death toll for the battle of D-Day? I'm sure some did. But no one else cared what they had to say: everyone else was focused on ridding Europe and the world of the Nazi scourge. No one cared about lamenting the losses; they knew time for that would come AFTER they won the war. To do otherwise would be detrimental to the cause. Why can't the Left grasp that?
Simple. They are unable to. And if they tried, the would cringe, as they don't have the character to do so.
Take this excerpt from the Declaration of Independence:
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. --And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Do you understand that? The Founding Fathers put everything on the line for freedom and liberty. They pledged their lives, their wealth, and their honor for the sake of the United States of America. Even if the Revolutionary War had been lost, they would not have cared to appease the British; they did what was right. They did not care for the consequences. To put it bluntly, their lives were forfeit once they signed the Declaration of Independence.
When you think about it, it makes the Left seem so petty and arrogant that you have no choice but to shake your head out of pity or laugh. Their hatred of Bush has consumed them, blinding them to common sense, logic, and facts.
Here's another example. Every year, 60,000 Americans die. 60,000. From what, you might ask?
Auto accidents.
That's right. Yet you never hear the outrage from the Left, asking for the banning of cars from the road. You never hear them roar for the creation of 'independent commissions' for investigating why so many deaths have occurred. They simply shrug it off, tune it out, or ignore it.
But when it comes to the Iraq War, it's open season. They hound every solitary death statistic like vultures picking at a corpse. Their hypocrisy is so staggeringly obvious that it makes one gag.
Nevertheless, it only reinforces my point. In their attempts to deride the Bush Administration and to feel significant again, they are blinding themselves to the truth.
Of course the deaths of American soldiers are worth lamenting. Such brave souls are worth mourning over. However, to decry the noble and righteous moral cause they died for as unpatriotic sullies every soldier who died in the service of our country. Continually lambasting the Iraq War and the War on Terror as 'illegal' is akin to soiling on the soldiers' graves.
So to Phil Donahue; next time you want to get on the air and decry the efforts of American soldiers, you only affirm the fact that you are a coward who doesn't have the strength of character or the moral conviction to sacrifice personal comfort and your life.
And take my advice: never go to interview a Marine, a Navy SEAL, or a ground pounder. They'll probably punch your lights out.
That is my BOY you are talking about! Yes, my teenage son, homeschooled and a potential founder of the Young Freeper Corps!
I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!
he is going to be upset that I wrote this, but this post of his was brilliant.
BUMP!
Alright alright, no more horn-tooting. Don't want to be accused of being biased, do ya? ;-P
Why not, exactly? Love is the highest virtue - and love is not being "unbiased."I'm put in mind of Seven Stars for Aslan, a thread by Nattie Shea - a homeschooler at the time. You can read that thread and critique it; it's fine work for a HS student. But Nattie Shea turns out to be (as of that writing) eight or nine years old. Nattie Shea wanted to be judged without reference to her age, and the work was good for anything less than college-level work. But it reads entirely differently if you understand that the writer was literally in diapers seven years before she wrote it.
As long as you are in your teens, adults will make allowances and be the more impressed with good writing when they know that allowances properly should be made. Nothing else makes sense to an adult. It's easy for a conservative adult to be impressed with a teenager who articulates a sense of historical perspective as clearly as you did. After all, we're used to seeing millionaire journalists on TV (you mentioned Phil Donahue) who by comparison strike us as raving idiots.
Not that I had any reason to suspect that any allowance at all was called for, when I read your excellent piece.
There is a large disconnect in the liberal mind to ever comprehend sacrifice. In history they have always been reactive rather than proactive when our country needs protection most. Sadly that has always put them on the wrong side of history and they continue to lack embarrassment.
They look at our Constitution as a living breathing document fit to be changed to suit their hidden agenda. We all know they want the Constitution eradicated completely so they can implement socialism.
Ends justify the means for these unpatriotic nitwits.
I know. We just tend to joke with each other that way. I saw that Aslan thread; somehow, it doesn't surprise me that a young'un wrote it. Excellent piece.
Not surprising. They want to be able to sacrifice their own child's life so they don't have to go with less twinkies in their cyupboards...
The only sacrifice the left believes in is the killing of the pre-born.
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player05.html?092205/oreilly_donahue2_092205&OReilly_Factor&O%27Reilly%20vs.%20Donahue&acc&O%27Reilly%20Factor&-1&new
Video Url to Phil and Bill exchanging words on Fox News.
Bill O'Reilly talks about his debate with Phil Donahue
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player05.html?092205/views_oreilly_092205&OReilly_Factor_Talking_Points&Bill%27s%20Talking%20Points&acc&Opinion&-1&new
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