Posted on 10/15/2004 1:04:31 PM PDT by Rockyrich
Kirby Wilbur (KVI Radio) read this op-ed Friday morning 10/15/04 on the program. The commentary is from Matthew Manweller, a political science professor at Central Washington University.
"In that this will be my last column before the presidential election, there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high.
This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a nation that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will be two-fold.
First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle East is too big a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.
Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that you don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America. Twenty-four hour news stations and daily tracking polls will do the heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly photos from CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the homeland.
It is said that America's WWII generation is its "greatest generation." But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's "last generation." Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of WWII, they may be the last American generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor, and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake "living in America" as "being an American." But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities. This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp that 100 years from now historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the City on the Hill."
What's your Title and how is it at stake?
:)
MATTHEW MANWELLER'S COMMENTARY ON THIS ELECTION
Always use the correct title..for research purposes. You can put your editorial in parentheses.
WOW.
BTTT
Excellent message!
all we need to do is post a sign at each polling place saying:
BEFORE CASTING YOUR VOTE ASK YOURSELF ONE QUESTION..."What would Osama do?"
The answer is quite obvious...hopefully a vast majority vote differently then Osama would.....
He's a Poli-sci professor?!?. May the wonders never cease.
BTTT!!!
His greatest speach
He was the last of the truly great ones.
"Today, we are engaged in a great civil war..." Truer words were never spoken. At a time when the country was clearly divided over slavery, states' rights and moving from agrarian to an industril economy, President Lincoln spoke about "hallowed ground" at Gettysburg.
Our current civil war is between the GOP and the Demokrats and their willing allies, another axis of evil, the "Mainstream Media".
This divisive episode in our time IS true. Never have so many been so dead set against one President or one candidate. This is the legacy of Bill Clinton, his purpose was to divide and conquer so that his plans of self serving greatness would shine through. Unfortunately, his plan worked to some degree. His views and his actions while in office as he degraded and attacked his opponents grew to be the gold standard.
You can see Clinton's minions on TeeVee every night. Lockart, Lanny Davis, Carville, Tad Devine and on and on, they all spew the same lie at any cost, say anything with imperial aplomb and they KNOW they will not be challenged by the MSM. Anybody who dares to confront and challenge is simply slapped with the label of "----hater", you fill in the blank.
Today we are a house divided. President Bush saw this when he was inaugurated and said he was going to try to unite this country. Sadly, the leftists in this country can't accept the rule of law regarding Florida, they ignore the FACT that by ANY measure or recount, President Bush STILL won Florida. The left has taken up the same fight today, preparing to sue where they can't win, much like legislating from the bench when they can't win the argument in congress.
THIS IS the most important election since 1860, no doubt. Lincoln won that election and the aftermath of hatred against him ignited more fuses that led to Fort Sumter. What will ignite the left after President Bush wins election this November? Why can't the left learn from history? Just how will this current civil war be ended?
God Bless USAll...
G
"Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, 'What should be the reward of such sacrifices?' Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands, which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"
Samuel Adams
F-U John Kerry
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