Posted on 10/17/2001 9:35:06 PM PDT by Texas Mom
Very good quote. Prophetic.
A Dick Cheney Quote
Vice-President Cheney's words below, spoken less than a month ago on the 226th birthday of the US Army, now have an eerie prophetic ring to them today. Thought you might be interested.
Washington, DC, 19 August 2001 Quote from Vice President Dick Cheney:
"On my way to work last week, I stopped behind a purple Geo Metro with my least favorite bumper sticker ever plastered across the back. It read: It'll be a great day when schools have all the money they need and the Air Force has to have a bake sale to buy a bomber."
At that moment, I realized who the most undervalued and under-appreciated segment of society is. And it isn't teachers. Teachers, I believe, rank second on that list. Heading the list are the men and women of the armed forces, who, throughout history, have protected our country from the Hitlers and Stalins - they who would have had our white children marching to the school bus in jackboots and our minority children locked up in laboratories and labor camps.
The U.S. military-the most powerful and influential group of people in the world, hands-down-gets an awfully bad rap these days. Many Americans seem to think that simply because the communist Soviet Union no longer exists, the world is as safe as Beaver Cleaver's neighborhood.
This, of course, ignores three facts:
1) Dozens of countries have nuclear weapons that could take out millions of people with the turn of a key.
2) Leaders of several countries (e.g. North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Lebanon and perhaps China and Russia) would love to see the U.S. and its people blown to pieces and, most importantly;
3) The U.S. has the greatest collection of human, economic, natural and technological resources anywhere on Earth, making it the greatest natural target for military aggression.
Though some would like to fashion the U.S. of the 21st Century as a flowery feel-good fantasy where war and violence are mere after thoughts of a time gone by, that can never be the case. As bad as our crime and drug problems are, we're still considered the jewel of the planet by the half of the world that has yet to make its first phone call.
In ancient Greece, the people of Athens were unparalleled world leaders in art, philosophy and technology. Their rivals in Sparta were not. Instead, the Spartans built massive, well-trained armies. When the two countries fought, who won? Sparta. And, guess who lost their entire civilization because they didn't think it was important to build an appropriate army? Athens!
Right now, the U.S. has the best of Athens and Sparta: we are the most cultured and most well-defended country in the world. As we continue to lower our defenses by devaluing the military, we open ourselves wider and wider to a takeover.
A takeover of the U.S.? Ridiculous, one might say. But why does it seem so unlikely? Because the power and protection of the U.S. military has been so overwhelming in the last century that Americans have been free to enjoy a comfort level unlike any in the world. We all take it for granted that we will never be invaded by another country, but few other countries can afford to be so sure of themselves.
It's not only Americans who can go to bed feeling safe. Children everywhere from Israel to England, from Brazil to Japan know that, if their country is attacked, the U.S. will be there to help.
On TV, the military is often represented by stiff, buttoned-down generals or the occasional drill sergeant. In reality, things are much different. The men and women of the armed forces are, in most ways, just like everyone else: they are mechanics, pilots, cooks, photographers, engineers, secretaries and X-ray technicians. They work from 8 to 5 and then come home to their families.
The one difference comes when the U.S. or any of its allies is threatened by a foreign power. In that case, military people pack up and ship out, off to fight -- and many times die-so the rest of the country, including teachers, can continue their lives without interruption.
Teachers mold young minds into intelligent, independent people, and they should be admired for the job they do; however, I don't know any teachers who are required to catch bullets and swallow shrapnel if so ordered by the principal. So, old-fashioned as it may seem, I'm happy to give my taxes to the military and tell the tots and teachers to fire up the oven if they want extra dough. Make muffins, cookies and candy and be happy you're allowed to. Because, as the old saying goes, if it wasn't for the U.S. military, we'd all be speaking German now.
It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. -- Dick Cheney
Which was my point to the other poster. Drugs for everybody or drugs for few. Either/or. Neither was intended in the general welfare clause.
Even Dick Cheney can't avoid the patronization.
The rant was great, except for that comment.
What group has done more harm to this country than teachers? - - As a group they are anti-America, anti-freedom, anti-Christ, and pro-drug, pro-homo, pro-abortion, pro-tyranny of every kind.
We have no need for teachers, as home schooling has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Enough !!
wait...I think the Vice President just said that, didn't he..
;-)
Thanks for the post; it's a great one, from a great man!
I thank God that our men and women in the military are finally getting the respect and support they so richly deserve.
I would never complain about federal taxes if most of the money went to improve the living conditions and safety of those in our armed forces.
Thanks for the flags, John and TGYC.
Great speech! Thanks for the flag, John.
Only total war and complete distruction of the airforce and tanks of ALL the hostile regimes in the Middle East, followed by siezure of their oil fields, complimented by a full shutdown of their capacity to rebuild any sort of offensive military ... will get our butts THROUGH, not out, of this mess.
Prosecuting a limited police action against terrorist will not work and it will only sacrifice thousands of US and our military in an ongoing relentless fashinon.
We must follow this total crippling of all hostile nations with a TOTAL blockade for as long as they continue to spout their Islamist filth. We must also take out ALL their TV, radio and print press capabilities. They need to go back to the dark ages and stay there untill a new generation is willing to return to the civilized world.
I believe neutron bombs need to be used against any concentrated troop movements as well once the major offensive is launched.
Don't give me any of that bedwetter "this will start WWIII" crap either. If China thinks they are ready to start WWIII with us at this time then they need to ask themselves this: Can we actually make it through a US first strike? I don't think they will do squat if we have the balls to do what must be done.
Don't get me started on living conditions for us, on base, because I will blow a fues. If the military had 1/2 the funding the schools get, maybe many of would not have to live in homes that would already have been comdemed in the public sector. Thanks for the article.
It's funny, I was just talking about that bumper sticker the other day. What those people fail to realize is that schools have had more and more money thrown at them, yet they keep getting worse.....perhaps the problem doesn't lie in the lack of money? What a thought!
Teaching has 2 major objectives.
The first of which is to pass on the heritage and culture of a society, by way of history, literature, and language.
The Second, by developing character, strength, and knowledge; the student becomes a productive member of society.
That the teaching “profession” has let itself down does not equate to a ‘teachers redundancy.’
Whether Aristotle, The First lady, or a humble Grandparent, the wisdom attained by the process of teaching is invaluable and eternal.
A teacher teaches Children or young adults to learn techniques which will be constructive to them or to society: how to play a musical instrument, how to read and write, how to repair a car, how to fight, how to swim, how to bring up children, how to grow food, even how to use a computer and log on to FreeRepuplic.
The demise of education got us into this hell-hole. At the moment, it is up to the military to get us out of it.
However, I believe it will be the battle for the hearts and minds of our children that will be the mother of all wars.
Whether the classroom is at school, college, university, military base, bedroom, church, beach, car, the internet, television, prison, or the deathbed, I hope the message is without ambiguity.
Good MUST defeat evil.
Honey you don't have to tell me anything. I am married to a retired marine will celebrate our 43 anniversary next month, but we went down that same road, I also have two sons who are marine vets.
Now my one son is a cop and it's pretty much the same story but as he says at least he had the military experience to get him accustomed to it. 75
We who have served, of course, know full well the value of and the sacrifices made by military personnel and their families.
Recognition is 'a good thing,' as Martha would say..:)))
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