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Tire Not. Engage.
By John
My friend Steve Schippert of Threats Watch Why is the defense of this nation a political issue at all? There are those who will argue that it is the manner in which we defend ourselves that is at issue.
That, my friends, is a convoluted disingenuous sheen of reason upon the unreasonable.
A former Attorney General currently vociferously defends a mass murdering dictator deposed by our own forces. An icon of the self-loathing anti-American academic Left, Noam Chomsky, embraces Hizballah, the chief beneficiary of Iran's terror export, and condemns the War on Terror as bigotry wrapped in fiction. A former Vice President travels to the home of fifteen 9/11 hijackers and professes that Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" by America and its sitting president and held in "unforgivable" conditions.
These are not arguments of the manner in which to defend America. These are sycophantic rantings of whether to defend her. The flood of emotions in disbelieving reaction range from anger and rage to depression and grief.
We dare not rest as the most important front of the War on Terror and for the very survival of Western Civilization lies not upon the sands of distant shores, but in our own common discourse. The most important battlegrounds are around our dinner tables and in intelligent and persuasive common sense discussion among our peers, seeking the discomfort of battle and the very defense of defense rather than the comfort and unproductive endeavor of agreement among friends.
The line has been clearly drawn. Tire not. Engage.
Beautiful. The War on Terror isn't gay marriage or stem cell research or abortion. It isn't a topic that should be debated during high school forensics matches. We have a category here at Op For called "One Team, One Fight." Charlie and I are constantly searching for examples of one America, one war, one fight. It's how things should be, but aren't. There shouldn't even be a need for a category that recognizes something Americans should be doing in the first place.
Steve ended on a positive note and I agree. Ignore petty politics, fight the good fight, tire not and engage.
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Comments
Good job, Steve - well done. It is the obvious that needs restated often and clearly. The debate is about power, not about how to use that power, although the politicians on both sides address process and not the end product.
How about freedom and liberty? For us and for as many others as we can positively affect. We are the world's sole superpower. We do not need to be liked by anyone, but we have to be able to look into the mirror at the end of the day and know that we did right.
Power for the sake of power is not an end game. The only one who has enunciated a long-term goal has been President Bush and he also published a plan for its implementation. The Democrat plan was no plan at all - just a Bush bash. The sheer power of the United States has created dysfunctionality in D.C. - our elected leaders are addicted to power's narcotic affects... It is for us outside the beltway to shower them with the cold water of truth.
I agree every argument won, every friend, relative; acquaintance either swayed into grievance or embarrassed into silence is one small victory that multiplied over millions is a huge victory. This very concept is what carries the Blogosphere to the level of influence it has.
I do thou long for a leader I want a leader not a politician. I like Bush and I think he is willing and able to do what needs to be done to win but he just cant talk worth sh*t. I want a non-PC leader who speaks with heart a Teddy Roosevelt or Andrew Jackson that can get up and rally a crowd a nation.
I still think if Bush had kept on the rallying of the nation been out front calling those like Murtha, Gore, insane reporters out early that the world would see a nation that is solid and dedicated and by that they would be looking to either negotiate or negotiate at least until Bush was gone. But it is an unfortunate reality “you go to war with the president you have”.
One bit of interesting news: Noam Chomsky will be on CSPAN 2 this weekend addressing the cadets at West Point. I'm not sure why he was invited, but it should be interesting watching him respond to a crowd not composed of left-leaning yes-men. Times are below:
On Saturday, May 27 at 7:00 pm and Monday, May 29 at 10:30 pm
CIA planned (the war) to use Bush when the war started. Selling off the WMD program for all OOs at CIA was a goal and Plame was chosen to do that-Rice's degree was'nt liked.
It's political because we're not sure the people who started the war work for us.
I can not believe that Noam Chomsky was invited to address our new officers at West Point! At least no one can say that the military, Republicans, conservatives, or the right is afraid to hear an opposing view. Could you imagine Donald Rumsfeld speaking at Berkeley? Hypocrisy.
The issue is always political, just as it has been in every war this nation has ever fought. To wish it were otherwise is borderline delusional.
The way in which issue is used by members of both parties, however, is neither helpful nor proper for the situation. Both sides want to use victories and defeat to prove their own points. Furthermore, one side seems to want to continually refight issues which at this stage are moot. The other, in retaliation, continues to fall back on the "bloody shirt" to justify their position.
Both sides have points in their favor. And both sides have done things which impede the cause of the defense of this country and those who are charged with its defense.
But to say that the issue of whether the war should be fought, or how, should not be debated is improper and out of characterstic for democratic societies in general and United States society in particular. Societies which discouraged self-questioning, self-criticism, invariably fail.
That's a truism. All societies invariably fall, eventually.
The question is whether it's healthy to blame ONLY elements of your own society for the world's ills.
Debate, fine. But place blame where the blame lies, not where you'd like the blame to lie. Every ill in the world is not America's fault. I can complain about a few things the USA has done to us that are annoying but let's face it, there are much worse countries around.
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Let not your heart be troubled.
We're winning.